User reviews

Tasked with destroying each other, an FBI agent and a rogue DIA agent soon discover that there's a much bigger enemy at work.

The film has been called one of the worst movies ever made. At the box office, the film made $19.9 million on a $70 million budget. With a total of 116 reviews, the highest for a film with a 0% score, "Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever" is the worst reviewed film in the history of Rotten Tomatoes.

The first thing wrong, really, is the title. Not knowing who Ecks or Sever are, why do I care if they are versus each other? Just call the film "Ballistic" so it doesn't sound like a sequel to a movie nobody saw. I'm guessing some ticket sales were lost because of the misconception of it being a sequel.

Of course, that would not make it a better movie, but it would at least be less confusing.

Let's be honest with ourselves for a moment. In a movie like this, the producers don't pay expensive actors to act or to create realistic performances or to use their talents to win our sympathy. No, they pay these actors for face and name recognition, so when a movie like Ballistic: Banderas vs Liu comes along we don't have the inconvenience of learning about characters and plot. Hell, we don't even have the inconvenience of wondering, "Is this actor hot while all this excitement rushes them by?" Name recognition, baby, it's all marketed by name recognition.

And why should they let actors acting take up precious moments from the rooftop chases, the explosions, the gunfire, and posing like models? Everyone already knows these actors right? No need to develop anything more than flimsy excuses for action/motivation, right? Sarcasm aside - I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I think Ballistic would have been a better, more sophisticated, film if they scrapped the plot and cliché character developments and just went for 90 minutes of uninterrupted Banderas and Liu gunning at each other backdropped by a slow-mo explosions.

This film would have to scale a cliff before reaching the level of plot intricacies and intelligence that just thrive in Michael Bay films.

We get a crappy plot and crappy characterizations anyway just in case we don't have a favorite actor to root for. We get ultra cliché scenarios that anyone who has been to a theatre in the last fifty years will pick up on. Oh no, a child's been kidnapped – we're supposed to sympathize with the boy. There's the old (young?) has-been former cop (FBI guy in this movie) who lost his motivation – we're supposed to sympathize with him and the loss of his family. And then there's--oh, but wait? What are these plot revelations? What are they pointing towards? Gasp! They're making the already obvious villain even more obvious! Me? I was rooting for the aliens from Independence Day to come down and blow them all up, but the bastards got stuck in traffic.

Somewhere in the movie is a subplot about a nano-assassin, but I cared about that as much as the movie does.

And since we're being honest, I admit this is a great film to watch after a night of provocative and cultured cinema to recalibrate your personal scale to the realities of the industry. Like I explained to the guy at Blockbuster, "I just got a box-set of Hitchcock, been watching those back to back, and the other day I watched De Palma's Femme Fatale. I need something trashy before I become a full-blown film snob." So I walked out with Ballistic and Shark Attack 3, went home, and turned off my mind for a marathon of stock footage and needless gunfire/explosions . . . and all was well.

I liked the trailers, I hoped for the best and then sat in dumbstruck horror as one of the worst films ever made (as in so bad its painful to watch bad) unspooled before my eyes. Rumor has it that the film makers know a thing about movie making. I know the cast does, but what wanders across the screen looks like the dailies of a really bad TV commercial put together by someone with no sense of film structure. I'm told that this has something to do with two assassins fighting each other after some one is kidnapped, but I'm not certain since things just sort of happen for no real reason. I would like to think that this movie was a big joke on the movie going public but no one would want to spend what it cost to make this movie as a joke, especially when there was no hope of ever getting the money back in ten thousand life times. A void unless your eyes need to experience cinematic blunt force trauma applied to them.

When I say "Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever" was incredible, I don't mean that in a good way. All the main characters are current or former US federal agents, presumably to keep it interesting, but all the action takes places in Vancouver, BC, which, last time I looked, was not in the United States. The basic storyline was fairly straightforward (and rather hackneyed), but the motivations of the various characters were utterly incomprehensible. The film was somewhat on the short side, and I couldn't escape the feeling that the three scenes which might have tied together the loose ends inexplicably ended up on the cutting room floor. Banderas phoned in his performance (for God's sake, enunciate, man), and the musical score was just irritating. The only two things "Ballistic" had going for it were the presence of some rarely-seen hardware (fun for you firearms buffs) and some spectacular action sequences (though these were plagued by some annoying clichés, such as a protective vest preventing all injury to a character, and henchmen showing complete disregard for personal safety), and these were simply not enough to save this turkey. Avoid.

...says Lucy Liu about her role in this film. When one of your two leads is willing to say, on the record, that they haven't got a clue what the film in which they are starring is about or the motivation of their character is, you know you are in trouble.

Ultimately, this film's big sin is that it is so incoherent and completely lacking in motivation for the characters or backstory that it is boring. And cool slow motion flips through the air Matrix style and explosions - lots of them - are not going to change that. I have no idea what the background is between the two adversaries, no idea what makes the bad guy a villain, and no idea how they can spin this into a warm family drama, which they attempt to do at the end, I am just supposed to forget about all of those charred bodies left behind in Vancouver.

The director of this film goes by "Kaos". And somebody actually let him direct another film after this bomb. Granted, it was ten years later, but he got a second chance. I guess I could say to look at the video game of the same name for some guidance concerning the plot, but it is nothing like this film. Except for all of the loud noises, recommended as a substitute for Sominex.

This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life. I literally left the movie going and went to my computer to surf the net. I would turn around to see what was happening when I heard an explosion, but otherwise just wanted it to finish. I rented this movie six months ago but never bothered to comment on it here and then they showed "The Making of Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever" on HBO last night and I was reminded how bad this movie was. I think the 3.5 stars is gets for a rating here is way too high.

I've always liked Banderas.

I don't anymore.

How on earth such an actor could even contemplate acting in such a ridiculous piece of tediousness is waaaaaaay beyond me.

There are absolutely no redeeming features - monosyllabic dialogue, wooden, stilted acting, John Woo-ish plagiarism - without the effect, mind-numbing musical score,NO sensible plot.

Please, for the love of God, do NOT see this film. Wish it on your worst enemies........no, not even !!

absolutely the worst movie i have ever seen. the acting was horrible, the plot, totally useless and I am really wondering how this movie made it to the screen, not to mention how the script ever got sold.

Well-made action film since 70's action film that made action films successful in 70's, this one is one of the greatest action films. Because of due to too many complaints with too many MTV camera moves from recent action films like Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, 3000 Miles to Graceland, Fast and the Furious, XXX, and many more recent action films. But Fast and the Furious was a good movie but one annoying thing about this film was camera moves. So By the way, about Ballistic, I thought this film was well formed action film that I ever seen for a while since early 90's films. Thanks to Kaos for making his own philsophy and I agree with his philsophy for making this film. Well done explosions, action scenes, camera techinques, and the music was great. I prefer this film better than Lord of the Rings. Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever goes for an A+ grade and 100% out of 100 due to many many many negative reviews from people who kissed Lord of the Rings and Titanic asses. I was planning to give this movie a B grade with 85% out of 100 but due to that reason I gave it an A+ and 100. If you missed the greatness about action films from 70's then go see this film.

Let me just open by saying "Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever" is by far one of the dumbest, most god forsaken titles I have ever heard of.It's 2 titles over crammed into one.It's just an awful title.

So,here's the deal with this movie.The story side of it sucks.It's predictable, cliched, unbelieviable, and just loaded with plot holes.By the end,I don't really care about what's going on.

But...on the other hand...they just blow s--- up alot in this movie! And I got to hand it to them,blowing s--- up is pretty damn cool! Really, the "plot" of this movie is just a cover so they can have some really cool explosions.And that's not a bad thing.Because explosions in movies are cool.Also,the fighting sequences and shootouts are really cool too.

Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu do a fairly good job here,but the plot is beyond what their acting can save.Even though they are the 2 big name stars in the movie,the real stars of the movie are those oh so cool explosions!

I'm going to give this movie a 6 out of 10,which is way more then this movie really deserves.If I was judging this for for it's plot,it would be a 1 of 10,because the script is on the level of "Glitter" or a Joel Schumacher Batman movie.The reason my rating is that high is simply because I like the explosions...the explosions are cool!

I can't understand why this film was made. It's so appalling and so bad that someone involved in the production must have noticed something. Everything in every area of filmmaking is wrong with Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever. Even the title as Banderas and Liu are not in competition with each other.

Here's the plot. Oh, wait a minute, I can't tell you what the plot is because it doesn't exist. It just a massive load of old cobblers. And what's even worse is that the nonexistent plot is full of holes. Make sense? No didn't think so. It's not even worth watching to see what I mean.

The dialogue is the truly worst ever. At least the bad dialogue in movies such as Dolemite is eternally quotable. Ray Park's 'acting' makes Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal on their worst day look like Laurence Olivier. The 'action' is so basic it feels like a made for video production, it lacks anything resembling sophistication and excitement.

I'm surprised Alan B. McElroy wrote this. He's done some good stuff (Wrong Turn, Spawn Animated Series) but this must have been something he wrote without much inspiration. Every writer comes up with a turkey but WHAT a turkey this is. Still, a bad script can sometimes make for a good movie if the delivery and direction has skill behind it. that ain't the case here.

Positive energy does not surround this film!

The DVD is in Dolby 5.1 and 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen.

Start out with the Lucy Liu character. Wear a long coat and slacks everywhere you go. Look into a mirror and erase every expression you have. Speak about once every few hours.

Then you can do the Banderas character. Don't shave. Muss your hair. Put 15 jumbo olives in your mouth when you speak. Shuffle when you walk.

Oh yeah special effects. Let the gas on your stove run for about 10 seconds without lighting it. Then light it. Say "Boom". Repeat 100 times.

You can get a copy of the script really easy: Buy 10 comic books. Tear a couple of pages out of each one and staple the pieces together. Be sure that they don't fit too well together. They don't even have to be right side up.

If you do this, you won't need to rent this stinker.

This was a terrible shamefully bad movie.

Sooo BADDDDD was the acting you just had to think all the actors (all of them) were just praying that this would go straight to video to be quietly forgotten. Well, we have not forgotten and we will not let this bad choice fade quietly into the night - hear us - this movie sucked. And we will remind you of it every time you make some stupid comment on how great an actor you are.

Don't even get me started on the video editing. Do not let children play with video editors - weird cuts and edits do not make you cool. Go back to your AV broom closet and stay there.

Direction - If only I had the directions to the directors home I would post it here so that we could all take up pitchforks and torches and pay him a visit.

This movie had no plot whatsoever but the action was quite good. I wouldn't run to the theater to see it but it's not bad. The story is pathetic but Kaos(ha-ha) has a good eye for action scenes. The worst thing about this movie is the acting. Lucy and Antonio have proved in the past that they have some acting ability but not here. A great rental!!!

Brainless. Useless. Painful.

I would have gotten more fun from burning my money. This movie was unbearable. Or at least the first 70 minutes of it. That was how long it took until I decided to cut my losses and escape this torture. With this quality - we could all be screenwriters in Hollywood.

Yep,

I won't go lightely on this one.

Music score 0/10 Ok you all know now that there is no story in this. But it is very rare that I can say that even the music score annoyed me. Not that it wasn't good, the music didn't even went with the film. I had the impression of listening to a very bad video clip that only had explosions in it.

Dialogue 0/10 I think Lucy Lu had 3 lines in the movie. One of Banderas line was: "Don't worry, I found you...I'll find him" Wow, I was flabergasted. Unless you prefer..."What do we do now". I have nothing against one liner who doesn't love classics a la Clint Eastwood or Arnold great lines. But this...it's not one liners it's one line because they have nothing else to say.

Direction: 3/10 Ok fights were fine, but aside this I could "hear" the director say to the actors place yourslef there and say this. There was NO direction plain and simple. All you see is a bunch of clips glued together with static caracters almost reading their 5 words line.

Ho I forgot the camera, closer than this and I could have counted Antonio's nose hair. This is just too close man..up in my face.

All in all really it is one of the worst (I'm in my 40's) Even if you love Banderas and or Lucy please do yourself a favor don't go spoil your image of them. Both have made a big mistake accepting to play in this "thing". I don't even know how they got the money to shoot that thing.

Did I mention this movie stinks. My apologies if I am being arrogant to other reviewers, but if you found anything redeeming in this movie, you were not watching the same crapfest I saw. Lets see, what would be a good formula for an action movie. Incomprehensible and totally unmotivated Antonio Banderas + stone faced psycho killer Lucy Liu + non-stop explosions and gunfire + the most jumbled up, idiotic, and unresolved plot ever + a soundtrack that is all techno and actually frequently says things like "go go go go" during action scenes + some of the most ridiculous looking stunts ever caught on film = GARBAGE!!!!!

Oh and lets not forget the touching moment when Ecks (Banderas) is reunited with his wife just as the movie is having its most poignant moment. She was staring at a manatee in an aquarium. Then he shows up, they hug, we go to slow mo and some intelligence patronizing flashbacks and dialogue, and boom we understand the brilliance of the film. No, no no. This movie fails on every level on cinema. 1 is the only correct rating for this film, but this is America and we're entitled to opinions so if you gave it a 2, I guess thats ok too.

In short, Luci Liu and Antonio Banderas must've been desperate to risk their future career to star in this wreck. Having those two stars on board, a lot of money must've been wasted on this rather forgettable turkey.

Hey, don't get me wrong, I love mindless action movies. But even a mindless action movie needs a lot more than just a catchy soundtrack and a bunch of dynamite to make it more entertaining than a 4-minute long Linkin Park video clip.

Even a marginally decent action flick is capable of making the bad guys so nasty that in the end we don't have any choice but root for the good guys. However, Kaos is not even capable of rehashing that tried-and-true formula. His movie suffers from poor character development. I don't care if the good guys win, since the villains are so laughably two dimensional. They're just empty cardboard props ready to be used whenever necessary. Just like those villainy machine gun-toting anonymous robocops resplendent in their bombproof uniform, who miraculously keep getting back on their feet, even after being bombed at, shot at and booby-trapped.

Toward the end, we are subjected to lengthy and rather pointless scene of empty freight trains being blown up to pieces. I didn't really see the purpose of this scene. However, now thinking about it, I think the reasons for that scene is just to wake up the audience for the final showdown between the good guy and the bad guy!

In the end, when the arch villain asks Bandera's character Sever, 'That's it? That's what you're capable of, despite all that training?' We actually want to ask Kaos that very same question.

I will not use many words to inform you about this movie. The whole movie exists of ripped ideas of other movies. There isn't one original part in it. Therefore one of the worst movies ever. The only good part of the movie is the two women playing in it. They are beautiful, but the rest....................1

Cooooooooooool flick, forget about the bad reviews and watch the"Ballistic:Ecks vs Sever" DVD edition... what an awesome sound, maybe the best 5.1 dolby surround I've ever heard in my home cinema (in my opinion better than "Saving Private Ryan"). "Ballistic" is a guilty pleasure, when watching it you now that it has gone too far in many moments, and anyone can notice that there's no screenplay (obviously no coherent story)...but who cares if you are having such a lot of fun.

If you are a die hard-fan of action movies this is your sort of film. Lots of fun + loads of action+ hundreds of explosions + perfect sound = an evening of fun...please, bring the popcorn.

I saw this when it was first released on home video, I do not remember much of the movie, but I know I saw it because I like both Banderas and Liu. I do remember enjoying the movie. Clearly though,since I have never bothered to watch it since, it was not an Earth shattering experience. I am sure that most of my enjoyment came from the fact that I was still in my 20s and a fast paced action flick was all I needed to be entertained.

I cannot figure out what encouraged me to go see this HORRIBLE movie. I should have been scared when the director was identified as KAOS, or in other words, the director doesn't want his name on this poo. WHY WAS THIS MOVIE RATED R????? There was no blood, no cursing, and no nudity. When a movie is as bad as this one, there should be at least be SOMETHING to make it worthwhile. Oh, Antonio, how far you have fallen! I remember when you were an unknown actor playing Tom Hank's lover in Philadelphia. Look at you now, you poor man. Well, actually, you're a very rich man. Anyway, Lucy!!! Lucy, what was that one movie you were in with the kicking and the explosions? Yes, that was a good one. I have no one to blame but myself for going to see this junky junk. Maybe I can blame my parents for raising me wrong. I am very glad that Florida movie prices are pretty low. That being said, here is my final statement: AVOID THIS MOVIE AT ALL COSTS!!!