The Big Ugly

I was initially interested in this because of an article about it being filmed in the area of Morehead, KY. Malcolm McDowell's son was so bored spending time in Morehead that he requested to go home rather than spend another night walking around in the local Walmart. I don't blame him.

I started out watching out of morbid B movie curiosity, but eventually warmed up to the story. I've known guys like "Junior" IRL and in many movies. Immediately upon meeting Junior, I knew this movie version would probably be getting his comeuppance in the end. However, I didn't know how everyone else's story would play out. There were a lot of small stories being woven into the picture and those are what kept me around. I don't feel it was time wasted.

I think this is my first review. I only wrote it because I thought some of the others were much too harsh.

The Big Ugly is a typical story you can expect with Vinnie Jones. Vinnie Jones was as a footballer (soccer player for the Americans) already one of the meanest player there could be and in his movie career he's just playing that same character over and over. I guess he has the face for it, but it would be nice to see him playing something different in the future. Vinnie Jones, Malcolm McDowell and Ron Perlman did a fairly good job playing their characters, the story on the other hand is one of those stories we've seen before, macho against macho seeking revenge. It's all déjà-vu but it's entertaining if you like that kind of stuff. Good enough to watch once.

Hard-Guy Vinney, soccer-player-turned-actor just about acquits himself here. The W. Virginia location looked good, as did the contributions of his screen-partners Ron Perlman, as aged London gang-leader, "Harris" , and Malcolm McDowell, red-neck oilman's-leader, "Preston". The clash of culture between limey metropolitan gangster and backwoods oil-man, with an unexpected ecological & ideological tinge was always going to be a pretty difficult one - as it proved. The real disappointment here was the Plot, which started OK enough, but really was grasping for straws a long time before the last reel of film.

The film had a good plot but was unfortunately butchered by the lack of character profiles and terrible script writing, the action scenes sucked, it was like the producer was a fan of sons of anarchy and snatch and thought " ooo that would be a good film!

First, the cast is good for a cheap action B movie. Vinnie, Ron and Malcolm do an acceptable job here. Second, the script itself it's simple but well executed. Last, Vinnie here looks more human than ever. Remembered me sometimes a cheap Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino. So, overall an acceptable B-action movie from the old Vinnie.