Direct Contact

A few things you should know about, "Direct Contact.":- 1) It is not very good at all. In fact, it's pretty dire. Don't believe all this stuff about it being, "action packed," as half of those sequences come from other movies anyway and are badly edited in.

2) It's badly made. The continuity in this film is all over the place, partly due to scenes from other films being shoe-horned in. I lost count of the number of times gun miraculously change from one make to another as characters walk through scenes. We get a helicopter hovering in a bright, cloudless sky that is in a snow storm any time there is a close-up, cars that rocket back and forth in condition during chases, and, best of all, a motorcycle chase that goes from sunny day, to ice covered road in the middle of nowhere, to sunny day in the middle of town in three, continuous cuts.

3) It's badly written and makes no sense whatsoever. The dialogue is like something a teenager who's seen too many bad action movies would churn out. The plot manages to be non-existent yet totally unfathomable at the same time (why hire Dolph to kidnap the girl when you have the general and his entire army guarding her in your pocket?) and it contains one of the worst excuses for a love scene ever committed to film. They literally go from not giving a stuff about each other to doing it in five seconds flat.

4) It's badly acted. It's saying something when Michael Pare puts in the best performance in the movie. Dolph lumbers around like he's only half-interested in what's going on and, at times, his movement is so laboured I was wondering if he was injured. By far and away though, the worst is, "Uncle Trent." He is so bad as to be hilarious and has the immortal (misread) line of, "What if he goes A.O.L?" A.O.L.??? 5) The director really does have something against roadside cafes. I counted no less than three that were trashed in three separate car chases. He does however love showing the same wall being hit with bullets and showing great gouts of blood erupt in slow motion from people when they are shot.

Not as bad as DTV Seagal.... but not by much!

DIRECT CONTACT surely is a bad movie: the plot is generic, the direction is laughable, the editing sloppy, the acting aside from Lundgren terrible. Furthermore some scenes are taken from earlier Nu Image-movies like U.S.SEALS 1&3, OUT FOR A KILL or DERAILED. Despite these facts DIRECT CONTACT is a highly entertaining piece of B-movie as it manages to keep the pace high and fills 80 minutes with as much senseless action as any sucker for this kind of movie could hope for. Lundgren kicks ass, and anyone who was disappointed with the lack of solid action in MISSIONARY MAN can rejoice. Although the violence often looks ridiculous (blood spurting from hats, etc.)it's fun watching Dolph doing what he's best in, and despite his age he really delivers. Danny Lerner on the other hand should finally finish his attempts to be a director, in more competent hands this movie could have been a b-action-gem since the budget is moderate, the visuals nice, the score okay, unfortunately the many flaws make this movie just another case of trashy but at least amusing guilty pleasure.

Mike Riggins (Dolph Lundgren), a former U.S. special forces soldier now in a Russian prison, is sprung by a U.S. Embassey official (Michael Pare) with the condition being that Riggins must locate and bring back a kidnapped American girl (Gina May). Naturally, the Government official is all sorts of lying and Dolph's not gonna stand for it. Not to be confused with Lundgren's earlier DIRECT ACTION (2004), this Bulgaria-shot actioner showcases how average a recent Dolph direct-to-video vehicle can be when he is not at the helm. Director Danny Lerner gave the world plenty of Nu Image big monster crap as a producer and his directing credit before this being SHARKS IN VENICE. Ugh. He barely knows how to shoot an action scene and fills the film with odd plot holes that he tries to cover with some quick ADR work. Pare actually looks good for a guy who just turned 50 and his villainous character meets an explosive end (perhaps the film's best moment) during a fiery showdown in an abandoned building. Thankfully, Dolph's next two DTV projects he is handling himself.

The worst move ever shot in Bulgaria probably since I didn't watched many. Poor acting, poor stunt, poor effects many mistakes. Not very convincing story. Too much blood and unnecessary show of that. In that cheap movie you can see cars that you cannot see in this region from many years -like Trabant, Moskvich, Lada or GAZ. You can hear moaning in many languages like Russian, Bulgarian or some mix, but nothing sounds like real. I am sorry that I have spent so much time for that stupid film. There is really no point in that movie that I could like, sorry. Although I like good actions.... The only reason for watching this movie was the play of Dolph Lundgren. He act normally, not bad but that cannot compensate the lapse of a logical reasons for his hero's acts. The only real chance for some romance thread was missed in the worst not convincing way.

It is a mediocre B-category movie, nothing more... The plot lacks reality and is full of goofs, supposed moments, shootings at random and product placement (especially cars). Almost all the locals (incl. police) are blunt and bloodthirsty; the events take place clearly in Bulgaria, but the US Embassy is in Luka for some reason.

Lundgren looks tired and old already, May is just-another-thriller-chick, but Chalke as Trent Robbins is really awful. His lines are just for show, his character is not truthful (especially in final scenes).

Watchable for those fond of chases, explosions and shootings, but even Lundgren has starred in much better movies. If you have a choice, pick something else to watch.