The Marine

Lemme just say this. For all of those people who are comparing this to "good" movies, remember that tastes for such things vary from person to person. I personally liked this movie. Yes, it was corny. Yes, it had 15 explosions (I counted). YES it was unrealistic, but, well, it made a nice get away. John Cena is very funny, very good at being macho, and is very wooden. I wouldn't suggest watching this movie if you're looking for something to pin a blue ribbon on. It's a funflick. No questions asked. As for Robert Patrick. I heard he enjoyed doing this movie. Who wouldn't, it would be fun.

I'd wager WWE made the thing in the first place because they had extra money to spend.

I LOVED IT!!!

Better than "Man on Fire", that's for damned sure.

Plot line is weak? Yes. The acting is bad? Well... you can't expect much acting from such a weak plot line anyway. But what I liked about this movie is that it is NOT an action movie, it is a comic action movie. Just sit back and enjoy some great explosions, fighting scenes and snappy comic remarks. I couldn't stop laughing through the whole movie. At least it looks like they didn't try to make a "serious" action movie. They tried to make a movie for those who enjoy WWE, I guess. And that is why I'm giving it an 8/10, since I think the movie fulfills it's purpose.

It has some of the greatest explosions I've ever seen in a movie, seriously, kudos to the SFX team. The comic remarks vary from silly things like the "I hate rock candy" to references to other movies (when you see the movie you'll understand). That is why I say this isn't a "serious" movie.

To watch this movie I suggest a few friends, some beers and turn off all brain activity. I did that and had a good time watching it. And I still use quotes from the movie to grab a quick laugh.

I am a huge John Cena fan, so I'm not writing this just to pick on him. But "The Marine" is the worst film I've ever seen, and I've made a habit of seeing bad films.

*May contain SPOILERS* The short version: See John shoot. Shoot, shoot, shoot. See John run. BOOM! Run, John, run. See John drive. See John swim. Swim, swim, Boom! Run, swim, hit, BOOM, hit, hit, kiss - The end.

The long version: I'll skip the cheesy opening credits and the bizarre soundtrack (which at more than one point seems to be channeling Celine Dion). The movie was supposedly directed by one John Bonito; I wouldn't say that the movie was directed so much as it wandered along aimlessly, occasionally bumping into scenery. Even the scenery refused to "act" (Queensland, Australia is NOT South Carolina, Mr. Bonito). Mr. Cena ambles along through the famous jungles of "South Carolina," occasionally stopping to glance around, never conveying the slightest hint that he might actually be thinking something. Five minutes into the movie, I apologized to the friend I dragged along with me to see it. Ten minutes into it, I officially began imagining a completely different movie. By the end, I no longer cared who lived. I wouldn't have minded if the characters had simply begun shooting themselves, just so that we'd all be put out of our misery.

I wanted this to be a fun movie - I like a fun, cheesy action film as much as the next person - but this movie didn't even try. I was so disappointed ... Mr. Cena, you owe me $9.50!

Do not see this movie if you are really into performances and acting, because this is not that type of movie. It is Violent! Quite Violent! Yet if you like bullets and explosions and fires and crashes and other destruction sequences, then this movie works. It is a typical far fetched action movie, where the main actor is "SUPERHUMAN", but is really a mere mortal with skills that would make him a superman without the ability to fly ---- no wait I think he does fly in many of the explosions. Plot is almost non-existent. The bad guy --- from terminator II --- is really a bad guy and admits to being insane and acts accordingly. There is some humor regarding the Terminator during a car chase and appears to be intentional, and it is cued so the audience should catch it clearly. There are some scenes that drag out and you can see the bad acting in those, but for the most part killing or getting killed does not require great acting and there is a LOT of that! Overall it is entertaining, if only for all the violence and explosions with neat fire effects ... some almost look like little nukes with high yields. If you have NOTHING better to see, then this is a movie for you.

I saw this movie on TV and it left me in a state of confusion. I simply could not understand why the people making this movie, made so many misstakes. And what was up with those opening scenes? I got Rambo flashbacks during that. I consider myself to be within the target audience, boys who like action movies with guns, babes, car chases, fights and so on. The problem with this movie IMO is that it underestimates its audience. Just because we like action movies, does not mean we like movies with just action scenes. Nor does it mean that you do not have to make any sense.

10 years ago i would have thought that this movie was tha bombe. I would have thought that it was cool. However this is not 1999, it's 2009 (yes, i know the movie is from 2006). After all the things that have happened in the last couple of years, you simply can not show such unbelievable stuff as getting shot at a 120 times from 3-10 meters away during a car chase and not get hit once (outside the Matrix of course).

This movie made me doubt myself. Have i learned so much about combat tactics, guns and ammo, warfare, law enforcement, crime and human frailty (from watching Discovery Channel and National Geographic) that i am simply incapable of enjoying a simple action movie? After thinking a lot about that i concluded that the answer is yes. Yes, i know to much to enjoy a simple action movie. And The Marine is about as simple as it gets. A bit more work on the script to make it more logical and coherent and this movie would have scored at least 1 more point (probably 2). I know the marines are tough guys, but i also know marines are not dumb. Stubborn yes, but not dumb. The marine in The Marine is tough and dumb.

The Marine is fun to watch, but only when you have nothing else to do. If you need to kill some time, then The Marine will kill it. And you will watch it all the way to the end because of Kelly Carlson. If you are a man you want her to be your lover or hostage. If you are a strait woman or gay man, Kelly Carlson's hair will make you go "oh wow, look at that, that is hot". But remember, if you want to enjoy it for more than Kelly Carlson, dumb yourself down a bit.

I gave this movie 5 stars. 1 for Kelly Carlson and her hair, 1 for Robert Patrick and his lines, 1 for the guns, fights and explosions, 1 for the cat-fight and 1 for giving me hope that one day someone will give me a multimillion dollar budget to make my own action movie.