Mercenary

As a lover of action movies, this one took me by surprise, both because of how much I enjoyed it (which is hard to say these days) and because of how atypical it is for the genre. It is really like Laurel and Hardy do action... Funny, funny, funny! John Ritter is great as the guy who thinks he can do all the stunts, just cause he wants to go along for the ride, and Mr. Gruner is a powerful force, with a hint of the comedian hiding beneath his straight man. Great effort by Nesher, the director, who moves this great story with sheer force from the first frame... A must rent!

This was a remarkably BAD idea. JOHN RITTER, who we knew for so long as the main guy in the " Three's Company " comedy series, had made a step out to the big screen to play a great role in SLING BLADE. He could have stopped right there and let that performance be the standard he was judged on by his fans.

WHY he even gave this ridiculous film a second look is unbelievable. His role is ridiculous enough, but every other role is right down there too. After 8-10 minutes of watching this literally incredible mess, the thought came to me that it might indeed be a dark comedy -- even with the rat-tat-tat action scenes, and the seriousness (?) of his revenge. It's as if the director tells Ed Lauter "OK, all you gotta do is give me your best Dolph Lungren from beginning to end". The gangsters that Ritter's front man encounters early at the sleazy bar are so damn over the top with their evil schtick that they are indeed HILARIOUS. And this film is remarkable in how poorly the actors use curse words -- so dramatic, so overdone ..... sooooo WHATTTT ?

This entire production will not endure as a resume highlight of anyone who is In the closing credits. One hopes that everyone involved retired with this effort. To this film, PLEASE JUST GO AWAY ... RIP ....

Now, granted, "Mercenary" is ultimately on the routine side of B-movies, but it's got a decent story and enough action to ensure that some peoples' attention won't wander.

Olivier Gruner stars as "Hawk", an operative hired by a very successful, arrogant businessman named Jonas, played by none other than John Ritter. A Russian terrorist for hire, Phoenix (Martin Kove) stages a massacre at a party Jonas is throwing for an author, and Jonas's wife is killed. The businessman is then ripe for revenge; his initial attempt to win over Hawk doesn't work out (largely because Jonas insists on coming along for the mission) but when Hawks' good friend and colleague McClean (Robert Culp) is set up and sent to the slammer, Jonas realizes that he can manipulate Hawk into doing the job by securing McCleans' freedom.

As written, by Patrick Highsmith and Steven Hartov, and directed, by Avi Nesher, "Mercenary" is acceptable turn-your-brain-off entertainment, with a twist to the plot and some amusing characters. It's particularly interesting to see Ritter in this sort of action fare. He's good, and he and the stone faced Gruner do have some fine comedic moments. With a cast featuring Culp, the beefy Kove, and the kick ass character actor Ed Lauter as Jonas's head of security, you know you're in for a good time. Of course, the movie is not without problems; for one thing, the big confrontation between Gruner and Kove is pretty disappointing. But there's so much gunfire, so many explosions, and so many stunt people flying through the air that the movie should suffice for undemanding genre fans.

Look for Jaime Pressly as a foul mouthed kidnap victim, in what is really one of the movies' better scenes.

Seven out of 10.

Olivier Gruner stars as Hawk, a commando who is hired by John Ritter(!) to take on Phoenix (Martin Kove) the Russian terrorist who killed Ritter's wife and our band of mercenaries have their share of problems since there is sabotage on the inside and Ritter goes the one man army route to get vengeance for his disturbingly (much) younger wife. This is probably the only time you'll ever see John Ritter as a one man army teaming up with Olivier Gruner kickboxing various people and jumping behind explosions. Truly this novelty is enough to give one the giggles but the biggest shock is that Mercenary is surprisingly well made. It's no classic and none of it is worth watching unless you're a fan of straight to video schlock, however this is probably the best movie i've seen from Olivier Gruner and the action sequences deliver the sufficient crunch that you would expect. Plus it's an action flick with John Ritter getting the lion's share of the action and that alone is something you won't see ever again. So Mercenary isn't as bad as I thought it would be, on the other hand this is movie reserved only for those who are fans of the genre. Hence why it's a two star rating.

* * out of 4-(Fair)

I knew this was a bomb when at the beginning, there is a barrage of gunfire yet no guests heard it but one man shoots one bullet and they all scatter like roaches. Went downhill from there. One bad guy says "screw you" and I laughed. Watch it for comedic value.