Sabotage

This is a very good movie. Good story, excellent action sequences. Tony Todd makes an awsome villian. Mark Dacascos is good as usual. Don't expect anything like DRIVE though. Mark has just one short fight scene. But that doesn't matter because this isn't a kung fu movie. It's a thriller, and a damn good one at that!

I am surprised less at the average score the internet gave this movie and more at the number of reviews given. The film features a cast of relatively known people and has a few innovative bits, yet the whole thing has faded into obscurity, not even getting its own cover on IMDb.

If you judge the plot from the description alone, it appears to be a bit boring and cheap: some ex-navy seal gets mixed in a bunch of interconnected conspiracies with the FBI, CIA and hitmen involved. In practice however, the movie manages to lift the plot above trash. The recurring theme is that of a game of chess where the main character, whose surname happens to be Bishop, is taking part in the conspiracy game.

The acting by Mark and Carie-Anne are average. The script written for them should take most of the blame for that, as it can get shallow and cheesy at times, which is to be expected for this type of movie.

Nonetheless, this movie has class, which manages to keep it out of feeling too cheap. The action is well paced and is not too aggressive or overabundant, so that there is a feeling that a figurative chess game is indeed happening and it is not just a sweaty guy throwing chess pieces around in anger, which is what a lot of actions movies feel like. At the same time, it has a few memorable action scenes which have stayed with me all the way from childhood.

If you like action movies and have not seen this one, I highly suggest adding it to your checklist, although the only place I have been able to find it is on VHS and Youtube...a shame, considering the kind of garbage they still show on TV sometimes.

Surprisingly good action film. Far better than some big budget films that somehow made it into the theaters but should have gone straight to video.

Surprisingly upscale cast. Carrie Anne Moss of future Matrix fame. Also excellent veteran character actors such as Graham Greene.

Good sniper-themed films are few and far between. The original Day of the Jackal, Sniper, Shooter, Quigley Down Under, Enemy at the Gates. You can pretty much list them on the fingers of one hand.

Admittedly Sabotage makes a few technical gaffes regarding the nitty-gritty of how snipers operate. But if one is willing to overlook them, Sabotage is actually one of the better sniper-themed films around.

Lots of "gun porn" for firearms freaks. Lots of intrigue, double-crosses and triple-crosses for thriller fans. Satisfying conclusion. I disagree with those who say the ending was an anti-climax.

It even has some of the earliest uses of "bullet time." Judicious use too, used appropriately. Not overkill.

This is a fine example of the kind of films I like to see Mark Dacascos in. Mark plays an ex black ops leader. After being double crossed and left for dead, he resurfaces as a bodyguard for high profile political figures. After his client is assassinated he uncovers a web of arms dealing, corrupt cia officials and a strange link between his past as a black ops member and his clients murder. This film offers some of the earliest examples of the highly overused "bullet time " effect as well as some brief but well staged fight sequences. This is one of the best examples of a low budget film that pulls out all the stops.

I seem to have a knack for stumbling upon obscure little movies, which is how I ended up watching this entry in the Canon of Dacascos. Some endorsement, I know, but this surprised me for a low-budget actioner in a decade rampant with them.

The plot, with its blatant chess metaphors and convoluted twists, is a lot of nonsense, as is par for the course. However, now and again the script shows flashes of genuine intelligence and attention to detail that offset the boilerplate dialogue. Even at just under 100 minutes it drags a few times - a couple of action scenes back-to-back followed by stretches of exposition - but never becomes outright boring. Those action scenes are fairly routine affairs, with a bit too liberal use of John Woo level slow-mo. However, there are a couple good uses of pre-Matrix bullet cam, even if the effects haven't dated very well.

Mark Dacascos has always had an interesting screen presence without being much of an actual actor. Fortunately, the movie recognizes this and surrounds him with a strong supporting cast, including a delightfully hammy Tony Todd and vets Graham Greene and the late John Neville. Unfortunately, it also doesn't play to his strengths - there are only a couple of fight scenes, which are not only painfully brief and sloppily edited, there's a sense they aren't even necessary. The role doesn't embarrass Dacascos in any way, but it's not particularly suited to him either. A pre-Matrix Carrie-Anne Moss does decent work as a co-lead, even if the script isn't particularly interested in her as a character either. Todd gives the best performance in a walk, by virtue of not caring how far over the top he's going or how often his exaggerated accent just kinda wanders off.

This is an efficient enough time-waster that functions best as a stepping stone for its two leads to bigger and better things. It's kind of the same for viewers: there are definitely better and worse action films out there, and this does a decent job bridging the gap.