As for my "Catching Up With Dolph" initiative I started last week, THE MECHANIK was my third pick. I ended up enjoying/appreciating this one the most, surprisingly also a film directed by Dolph himself. And he does a good job, honestly. Now I am by far not an expert on all things Dolph, but I can appreciate a decent effort when I see one. THE MECHANIK has a bare-bones story - fairly big on the clichés, I might add, though thankfully not including a tired re-found love angle - but it's put together with a consistent style (you'll have to dig the contemporary look & editing, though) and the cinematography looks fine, using faded, stained colors with hard contrasts. It's all about Dolph being on a mission (again) and getting revenge (again) while at it. But it's executed in a proper fashion. What really made the film pay off, was it promising a decent shout-out climax and even coming through on that promise. Western fans might even dig this film. Lots of violent kills and bloodshed, and it all looks pretty damn good & realistic on screen. A job well done, Dolph. I applaud you, and I will be checking out MISSIONARY MAN next and I hope it'll score as high on the Dolph-scale. Either way, nice to see you're doing well!
Review of The Russian Specialist
The Russian Specialist
(2005)
Forget about the dolphins. This one's all about Dolph!
16 September 2009