Sanctuary: secta asesina

Luke Kovak is part of a covert group within the CIA that works on illegal black ops involving blackmail and assassinations. When his boss orders the murder of one of the team, Luke realises how expendable they all are and gets out (taking proof of their activities with him). He now lives as a priest until the group start to get close to tracking him down.

I'm a big fan of Dacascos, and I'm constantly at a loss as to why people like Seagal have had big hits but he remains very much part of the `direct to video' stable. This film has a pretty standard plot in that an ex-CIA agent is on the run from the very group that he was once part of. The plot is still passable, what it lacks in originality it makes up for by being pretty dark and gritty. The film has a few action scenes but these too manage to be quite dark and work the better for it, coming off as more than just the usual bangs for the sake of bangs.

The direction is pretty good and the use of a gritty film stock makes the dark subject matter feel a lot better for it. A downside is that Dacascos doesn't have too many chances to do his martial arts stuff, going for more traditional action instead. That said, he is still quite good in the lead role. Aside from being moody in the first bits of the film, he is actually quite charismatic despite his character. The rest of the support cast is not so good, they are workmanlike but there are a few really poor performances in there.

Parts of the film don't work that well, and this isn't a blockbuster or class act – it is just an above average video thriller. The flashbacks are a little confusing early on, and those that flashback to Luke's childhood are poor and too simplistic. Despite this I enjoyed the film – it isn't anything new but it has a good gritty feel and the dark nature of the film makes it feel a cut above the usual video thriller things.

The previous Mark Dacascos movie I watched—buddy kung fu flick Drive (1997)—was hugely entertaining nonsense, with a lightweight but fun plot, likable characters, and very impressive martial arts scenes; Sanctuary, made the following year, is the antithesis of that film, a joyless thriller that takes itself way too seriously, suffers from lifeless direction, and which completely wastes the extraordinary fighting skills of its star.

Dacascos plays CIA agent turned priest Luke Kovak, who finds himself pulled back into the violent world of black-ops espionage by his ex-boss Dyson (Alan Scarfe), who is keen to lay his hands on an incriminating tape that could prevent a senator from becoming security adviser at The Whitehouse. A confusing narrative structure that involves numerous dreary flashbacks, coupled with a plodding pace and a lack of martial arts makes Sanctuary a B-movie bore from start to finish.

I was surprised to find so low rates for this very interesting story, that could have been made so much more of, while instead the technical effects with splatter and murders galore are allowed to take over and dominate, which reduces every quality.

When a boy in Chicago gets his mother murdered in front of his eyes, he is taken care of by a kind of godfather, who educates him to a special agent and perfect assassination engine. He doesn't entirely agree with this kind of education, and although he sticks to his duties and does what must be done, he tries to get away to hide and find some alternative life, disappearing into Nepal and monasteries and eventually becomes a catholic priest, but his past catches him up, and he is involved in some very difficult operation with casualties, which ultimately turns him into an angry rebel. The film starts with his confession in Italy to some priests, and in the end of the film we return to see the results of this interview, which finishes off the story with a surprising but logical twist.

There are some very good scenes, especially when he finds sanctuary with Rachel among the loafers and homeless in a very basic camp under a bridge, and the first operation is carried out under great exciting stress, leading to the clever second operation, while it's the third that takes a critical turn, but ultimately provides a fine finale to this rahter inhuman story - like all spy stories usually are.

Mark Dacascos makes a convincing enough performance, his nervous face betrrays no unnecessary extra acting except tenseness and reminds you of both Mel Ferrer and Montgomery Clift, and the other actors are also good enough. The film is Canadian (Toronto) and consequently rather matter-of-fact and cool without other exaggerations than the extreme brutality and violence.

This one should have gone to the big screen. It's the different kind of action thriller that everyone has been waiting for. It's got lots of action, drama, and thrilling moments. And in this one everything is not perfect. There are no happy people and endings. This is dark and gloomy. Mark Dacascos stars as Luke Kovak, a former special agent turned priest. But when his former people find out that he's alive they send killers to take him out. Now that was the short version of the plot because there is a back story and subplot that help make this film go along better and feel unique. This film is dipped in darkness and never lets you out of it. It has a gloomy tone and every color is drug out to the fullest extent. Also the film has a noir quality because it's has this brownish tint to every scene. To add to the darkness, there is a dark backstory supplied by flashbacks that explain some of the story and they are very serious. The cast is the normal straight to video cast but Dacascos is great and should try to get out of these b-movies. The spy element is there with gadgets and guns. So action fans will be very happy. Sanctuary is a dark, straight to video spy thriller that is a great watch anytime and a darn good film. A very unique action thriller.

An assassin turned priest has to get his bearings - and his guns - when killers are after him… an honest thriller, well filmed, but which never goes beyond its primary goal as video-club fodder, though it was obviously made for the big screen. Dacascos is good though.