The Specialist (1994)

A woman entices a bomb expert she's involved with into destroying the mafia that killed her family.

Director:

Luis Llosa

Writers:

John Shirley (Specialist novels), Alexandra Seros

Stars:

Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, James Woods

4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sylvester Stallone	...	Ray Quick
Sharon Stone	...	May Munro
James Woods	...	Ned Trent
Rod Steiger	...	Joe Leon
Eric Roberts	...	Tomas Leon
Mario Ernesto Sánchez	...	Charlie
Sergio Doré Jr.	...	Strongarm
Chase Randolph	...	May's Dad
Jeana Bell	...	May's Mom
Brittany Paige Bouck	...	Young May
Emilio Estefan Jr.	...	Piano Player
LaGaylia Frazier	...	Singer #1
Ramón González Cuevas	...	Priest at Cemetery (as Ramon Gonzalez-Cuevas)
Tony Munafo	...	Tony
Cheito Quinonez	...	Singer at Party

Storyline

Ray Quick is a bomb expert who worked for the CIA along with a guy named Ned Trent, who's extremely demented. When they have a falling out, Ray becomes a freelancer who lives off the grid. A woman named May Munro contacts and wants him to kill the three men who killed her family years ago, who work for the Leon crime family. Ray does it and after killing the first one, the Leons need to find the one who did it and it turns out Ned is now working for them and they task him with finding the bomber. The Leons get him to work with the police and he looks for the bomber. In the meantime Ray, while working on getting the others, can't help but follow May wherever she goes.

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Plot Keywords:

male objectification | bare chested male | barefoot male | bare butt | showering together | 

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Taglines:

Killing is his profession. Revenge is her goal. Together they take on the battle against the underworld of Miami.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, sexuality and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Specialist

Filming Locations:

Rock Island, Tennessee, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,317,765, 9 October 1994

Gross USA:

$57,362,581

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$170,400,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Jerry Weintraub Productions, Iguana Producciones

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In January, 1993 the Los Angeles Times listed The Specialist as the best unproduced thriller script in Hollywood, based on a poll of forty agents, producers and studio executives.

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Goofs

Obvious stunt double at the bridge explosion.

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Quotes

Ned Trent: Open the casket.
Priest: Who are you?
Ned Trent: [draws his gun] I said open the fucking casket!
[they open the casket, then he walks away in disgust]
Ned Trent: Bitch.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Love Affair/Wes Craven's New Nightmare/Exit to Eden/Hoop Dreams/The Specialist/Little Giants (1994)

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Soundtracks

Love Is the Thing
Written by Lawrence Dermer (as Lawrence P. Dermer)
Produced by Emilio Estefan Jr. and Lawrence Dermer (as Lawrence P. Dermer)
Performed by Donna Allen
Courtesy of Crescent Moon Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Very Good, Underrated Action Movie

People have been saying this is a terrible movie and it does have a few flaws in it, but its a fun, exciting action film with plenty of action for fans and good performances from the cast, especially James Woods, who is a terrific villain. I think it's worth a look and is Sly's best movie in a long time.