Agent Red

I am assuming that the 2000 action thriller "Agent Red" (aka "Captured") was a straight to video release. Regardless, while I did know that the movie existed, I actually never had a chance to watch it before here in 2025.

Was I harboring any grand expectations? No, not particularly. Why? Well, this just oozed low budget action movie from Dolph Lundgren, and God knows he has been in more than his share of such movies. But still, I opted to give directors Damian Lee and Jim Wynorski the benefit of the doubt.

The storyline in the movie was straightforward, though a bit on the generic side. Sure, it was a watchable enough movie for the generic action thriller type of entertainment that it was, so I suppose writers Kevin Bernhardt, Steve Latshaw and Damian Lee did a fair enough job with the script.

The acting performances in the movie were fair. The only familiar face on the screen, though, was Dolph Lundgren.

There is a fair amount of action in the movie, which definitely helped to keep the movie afloat; pardon the pun.

Watchable, sure, but hardly a movie that warrants more than a single viewing.

My rating of "Agent Red" lands on a generous four out of ten stars.

Another Cold War Red-movie, so popular in the 1980ies and 1990ies... And a tough guy in a limited space and time trying to prevent a major disaster and succeeding just before the final countdown, leaving behind tens of kicks, bursts and dead bodies - familiar, isn't it? The plot is very predictable and consequently rather horrible, but thanks to Lundgren the slightly more than 1,5 hours do not pass totally wasted or tediously. There are some funny lines and word plays (however, most of dialogs and events are rather artificially constructed), and even the bad guys are there not for money, but more sublime ideas - overshadowed by revenge, though.

The thrill is not there throughout the movie, but if you have nothing against Lundgren, it is watchable in a male company. Much worse movies have been made!

How bad is this film? VERY! I don't know where to start... well I do. Expectations were low from the opening credits listing (no not just because Dolph Lundgren was top billing) but a guy with one of the worst names in the business - Randolph Mantooth - was SECOND billing, obviously I wasn't expecting much. The love interest role fell to a woman who looked like she would be more comfortable in a porn film, add to that:

1) Some very bad acting (mostly from big Dolph) 2) A totally rubbish villain 3) Offensive Russian accents 4) straight-to-TV plot 5) Some cheesy sex-related one-liners that are disgusting and offensive

then you have one really, really bad movie. Just when you thought Dolph couldn't stoop any lower he does. In fact Dolph sums it up himself with a line from the film - asked if he knew what Agent Red was he replies "sounds like a bad action movie", boy was he ever right!

Well the quote belongs to none other than Dolph Lundgren. And this is an understatement.

Dolph Lundgren stars as a naval officer who must keep a deadly virus out of terrorists hands.

I thought I was following Agent Red well until I saw "Dolph Lundgren" steal an aircraft which is footage from the startlingly routine Storm Catcher. This scene is more stylish and overall better than anything else in the film plus the guy is 5'11 Dolph is 6'5! This is incompetent filmmaking at it's worst. Avoid this like the plauge because once exposed you cannot survive.

1/2* (Out of four)

Wow... where to start... I'm still reeling from the experience of watching this piece of garbage and I think I'm permanently brain damaged after being exposed to it. Words cannot express how terrible this movie is. I don't care how bad that J. Lo movie "Gigli" is, it will not hold a candle to this waste of matter for pure crappiness. Dolph Lundgren is a marine -(who apparently is the only member of the entire US armed forces who can fly a stealth fighter in footage lifted from another crappy Dolph movie)- that must go board a sub in Russia so that some chemical weapon that the Russians stole from the Americans during the cold war can come back to the US. On board is Dolph's "ex-fiance", who aside from looking like a reject from a Ron Jeremy movie, is also possibly the worst actress to ever set foot on the planet. I had to look up this "actress" to see what other suckers have hired her for movies and found out two things.... 1. thankfully, she's not "in demand" and 2. Her shoddy acting is eclipsed only by her amazing spelling; I think her name is "Melanie" but it looks like some sort of indecipherable mumbo jumbo the way it is spelled. Anyway, I'm off track... this movie is pure crap.. not even one of those "watch with your friends after some herbal refreshment" movies... Everything from the recycled (and butchered) storyline of terrorists on a sub, where every possible cliche is used (and screwed up) to the awful performances, to the terrifyingly bad dialogue. This is the kind of movie that I think can be used as a torture device. There is one saving grace though, after watching the performances in this stinker, you'll be appreciating the master thespianism that is one Jean Claude Van Damme.