Blood of Redemption - Vendetta

This is a decent genre movie working through the codex, coupled with some veteran actors who performed with a various level of enthusiasm and talent. A nod to classical kung-fu movies, John Wu, Russian Mob, Italian Mob, Irish Mob, crooked senator, and a few more, for a bit of a hodge-podge that is best enjoyed while doing something on a side, like watering a lawn or solving a sudoku. With more gratuitous nudity, I would even skip my two visits to the fridge and a phone call. Directing and editing were loud and intrusive, like a drunk best man at the wedding, humor was cheesy and the story convoluted, so, all in all, and enjoyable experience, particularly after a third beer.

Once again Serafini, Lundgren and Capaldi hook up to make a Movie. And they fare somewhat better this time around.

Plot: small time Corleones need to step down to avoid jail time. They cannot agree on how among themselves, but some are prepared to kill to get their way...

Rush, which I reviewed a couple of Days ago, was far too complicated for its own good due to too layered characters although 3,1 is too low a rating. On this Point Blood of Redemption succeeds much better with not so complicated characters.

On the other hand, the plot twists and secrecy gets the better off of this one. In this Movie the writers try too much to create suspense whereas in Rush they try too much to create interesting characters. Perhaps the next Movie will get these things right. I like Movies that have different groups of people and/or individuals with different goals that at the end Clash together because they usually tend to be entertaining. but here it does not quite convince which may be due to lacking script, budget and acting performances.

However, the current rating is 4,1 which I Think is unfair. The acting is good enough and Lundgren, Zane, Jones and Capaldi do their job (at their capacity anyway) and the action sequences are decent enough, at least to the level where they do not bother you. the only thing that bothered me is that some of the bullet holes/blood splatters looked like CGI work to me, which is something I do not appreciate (CGI or not, they still look bad).

I give it 5 out of 10 because it is entertaining enough. The quality of the Movie is like Caught in the Crossfire, Nico, Marked for Death and Under Siege 2 for instance.

I am a fan of Dolph Lundgren. While he may not be a master Thespian, he is a perfectly good action star, and that's why I rented "Blood of Redemption". Sadly, this is a considerably lesser vehicle for him. Lundgren here looks tired and worn. I know he's aging, but he's come off a lot better in other recent movies. Probably his tiredness comes from the fact that his surroundings here were not adequate. This was a very low budget production (only a $2 million budget), and while I will praise the filmmakers for squeezing every last penny out of their limited funds (the lighting and photography *do* look good), much of the movie still looks cheap. I could have lived with that had the rest of the movie been good, but it isn't. The script is way too talky, slow-moving, and boring. While it does offer a twist towards the end, I think many viewers will be able to predict the "surprise" long before it comes. And the limited action sequences are choreographed and directed with absolutely no punch. It certainly doesn't help that the gunshots have been "enhanced" with obvious CGI effects. You have to wonder how Dolph and the rest of the memorable B movie cast were all convinced to appear in this utterly forgettable production.

You have some really big names in the B-movie department participating in this. Be it Billy Zane, Vinnie Jones and/or Dolph Lundgren. The movie is very predictable (from the starting "end", to the flashback after that until the conclusion). Lundgren plays a convincing lead, even if you might not believe his relationship to a much younger woman he is having during the course of the movie.

The whole twist of the movie though does rely on some very shaky grounds and it will leave you shaking your head at the end. The action is nicely done. Though nothing to get too excited about. Don't look for a message either, watch if you're a fan of one or more of the actors though

I was curious about how this film is and I must say that I'm happy that I've allocated the time to watch it.

I must reckon that Dolph Lundgren was one of the reasons which lead me to this. I've seen recently a few new films with some 'action- colleagues' that aren't anymore in their first youth and I must say that Lundgren is still in a good shape. And the film helped him.

He's somehow involved in all the events as an observer, but he keeps himself away of the things... and when he's in everything is developing in a fast sequence.

Considering the budget I think that they've done a good job that deserves some credit.

The plot is quite full of suspense and the way on how everything is told is quite attractive. You have action, situations that don't look as you would think and a few sex scenes.

As a conclusion, a very pleasant action film.