| Direct Action (2004) Cast:Dolph Lundgren, Polly Shannon, Conrad Dunn Dolph Lundgren stars as Frank Gannon a direct action unit officer who tries to testify against the corruption of his overall unit, however the direct action unit don't want this to happen and along the way many assassins and goons face off against Dolph in this decent actioner that has an overall routine story but offers enough action and entertainment to be worth a look. It's weird how a director can either make or break a film, in Sidney J. Furie Direct Action nearly falls apart, if not for the effortless charisma of Dolph Lundgren as well as some admittedly exciting actionscenes this movie would be as routine as it's plot would indicate. This is Direct Action's biggest weakness because it needs someone willing to go over the top and push the point home, for instance had this been a PM production this might've been something great. Compare this with The Sweeper or Last Man Standing two movies I greatly admired because of the fact that it was jam-packed full of spectactular action, not that Direct Action isn't either, it's just not quite on par with those two movies mainly due to the fact that everyone seems to be taking it a tad too seriously. However what I did like about Direct Action was that it aimed for a more realistic take on action, many of the fightscenes are over quick but have a realistic edge to them, this is why Direct Action earns a recommendation mainly because of this, also Lundgren is more relaxed and adds a playful edge to his character and of course the villain is also well handled by Conrad Dunn. Plus there is a sense of humor such as the radio talking about men who live single or the scene where Dolph Lundgren takes out a guy wearing a Punisher T-shirt, all of this alone makes Direct Action enough fun to be worth a look. Direct Action stands head and shoulders above most in it's genre and the movie has enough character development and excitement to be worth watching, it's just that Direct Action could've been even better and in the hands of a better director this could've been great, as it is now it's just an entertaining actioner. Although that is definitely commendable.D.Sidney J. Furie*** |