Ruthless

This was a standard action flick where one guy takes on a bunch of thugs to save a young girl. It's like Taken but not as good. I was entertained. The detective guy was so cheesy that I liked him. The only person that could have acted better was the young girl.

I will now repeat what I just said to reach the character count.

This was a standard action flick where one guy takes on a bunch of thugs to save a young girl. It's like Taken but not as good. I was entertained. The detective guy was so cheesy that I liked him. The only person that could have acted better was the young girl... . . . . . .

...Sometimes you lose. Movies like this are not Oscar winners. Or really winners at all. However, they serve an important purpose of a palate cleanser. As of late, many movies are met with harsh criticism as "the worst ever" or "so awful I couldn't finish." Those reviewers have not had the pleasure of seeing this film.

Ruthless was just that. Ruthless on my sense of coherency, Ruthless on my eyes. The films saving grace was in that it can stand as an example and a learning moment.

Dermot Mulroney carries this film on his back. In a flurry of poorly delivered, poorly expressed and flatly read lines, he adds some depth where depth is needed. Beyond his laconic grieving father figure, the movie cannot decide if it is a thriller, a drama, an action comedy, or a revenge flick. This lack of direction forces the audience to look at every glaring plot hole and inconsistency with even more confusion. I can forgive the lack of logic in a for fun movie, but not in a serious movie.

If you are looking for something to fill time, you can see 60% of this movie and still understand it. If you are looking to be inspired, turn back. If you are a filmmaker or student, watch this and take extensive notes. Then do the opposite.

Although this is not a terrible movie, it was clearly written for, and exclusively meant to be watched, by middle aged fathers. The best way that I could describe this would be as a guys version of a Hallmark crime drama, trying to remake Taken. The action was alright, not exactly believable, but satisfying; the plot, if you can really call it that, was expected but still watchable; and the acting, while bad, was still campy and mildly enjoyable/watchable. Honestly, one of the weirdest parts of the movie, that made it hardest to watch, was the fact that so many of the actors clearly had veneers, and it was weirdly obvious that they did.

If you are a middle aged man looking for a tv movie version of Taken then this is the movie for you, if you're anyone else then maybe give this a pass.

Ruthless is directed by Art Camacho and stars Dermot Mulroney and Jeff Fahey.

What should've been a competent Taken/ Death Sentence ripoff instead becomes one of the most poorly made and laughably incompetent movies I've seen this year. Dermot Mulroney stars as Harry a high school wrestling coach whose teenager daughter was murdered. He takes matters into his own hands when one of his female students is kidnapped and sold into a child trafficking ring in Las Vegas by her mother's abusive boyfriend.

Aside from numerous plot holes this movie has (like Mulroney's character not getting CPS involved from the start.) and the horrible dialogue and artificial supporting cast of actors (excluding Jeff Fahey) where it feels like this is their first ever acting gig. Director Art Camacho has been working in the industry for years as a stunt coordinator so for him to deliver a movie on this level is just sad. He ain't no David Leitch or Chad Stahelski unfortunately. Also I have to mention for a movie called Ruthless Mulroney's character isn't ruthless at all here and doesn't kill anyone he just breaks a lot of arms and fingers. Granted I should've known what I was getting into because most films that are distributed by Saban Films are on this level or worse but I was at least expecting something more competent than this.

If there's any reason to watch this movie it's for Dermot Mulroney who has always been one of those actors who consistently delivers good performances in everything they do but never really had a breakout role. He elevates the bad material he's given here the best he can but there's only so much he can do. He deserved a better action vehicle for himself. I can only hope he had a better time making this movie than I and probably anyone else will have watching it.

A basic revenge action flick. I've always liked Dermot... he's embraced the straight to DVD/B-movie flicks in his later years. Fahey went the B-movie route years ago (I was always surprised he didn't make it bigger than he has). There are plenty of holes in the pretty much non-existent/basic plot, but it was't terrible. The more brutal action sequences were reminiscent of the early Seagal stuff... before he gained 200lbs and slapped that ridiculous rug on his head!

The only really bad part was the executive producer inserting himself into the movie as the detective... he's absolutely terrible. No screen prescence at all. He looks like he's just reading lines. That was a bad call... enough so that I looked it up to see who he was. When I saw how bad he was compared to EVERYONE else, I figured he was involved behind the scenes... and I was right. I don't mean to be harsh (I'm sure he's a great guy), but he needs to stop trying to get in front of the cameras.

It was no "Death Wish", but it wasn't a total waste of time. I made it through the entire film and the action scenes were decent.