The Condemned - L'isola della morte

There is something about those WWE films that just grab me and make me want to watch. There is always plenty of action, even if they emphasize violence and dismiss the sex to placate their fans.

It doesn't matter whether it is The Rock, John Cena, or, in this case, Stone Cold Steve Austin, they deliver movies that are just fun to watch. No thought required; it is just guilty pleasure.

Besides Steve Austin, we also have Rick Hoffman (Hostel), Masa Yamaguchi, and Vinnie Jones, who we first saw in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. It was a good cast that kept us interested until the very end, even though we knew the hero would go home to momma.

Keep them coming.

Hey, this is not going to test the gray matter but if you want an entertaining albeit violent movie to fill in a few hours this is not a bad choice. The plot is predictable but the main saving grace is Steve Austin as Jack Conrad as he comes across as a compassionate and somewhat likable hero who ended up in this predicament by trying to do the right thing for his country. He does not exactly have to stretch his acting muscle but you do end up hoping he will win through. Although much of the violence is not right in your face in parts it does carry on that bit long although this is used to separate the "no morals, no borders" team from the good guys within the production cast. This movie serves up exactly what it promises but is still an entertaining movie. I would recommend to a friend.

The concept is simple: 10 vicious felons are put onto an empty island and told that the last one standing after 30 hours will go free. To make their efforts to kill each other, weapons have been stashed in various places around the island. To make the effort pay itself off, the organizer of this event is airing it over the internet where viewers can subscribe and watch the mayhem. Naturally one of these felons is actually a good guy who's wrongly in prison.

As a setup for a testosterone packed action film it is hard to argue that it's bad since it does pretty much what it sets out to do. The whole subplot of violence as entertainment is also interesting enough. Naturally both of these things have been tackled on film before and in better form than this, but this by no means makes the film bomb by trying to out run itself and be too smart. Where the film does mess up is with another subplot involving the hero trying to get back to his wife. You see, he was a government agent and went to prison to keep his cover as a "badguy" and this kept him out of contact with his wife. Not only is this the most clichéd part of the film, it is the least interesting and the least relevant to the message that the main part of the film sets up. Sure, there needs to be some audience sympathy for the protagonist in a film like this, but it shouldn't interfere with the rest of the movie.

Another thing is the shaky cam, as it has come to be called. Is this some sort of budget cutting device? The production doesn't use dollies and camera rigs any more to cut down costs? The fight scenes here are pretty good, and they should be in an action film, but with such messy camera work they are not shown very well. Some films manage to have good shaky cam scenes as they give it a certain edge, but many films either get the rhythm wrong or go to far and it doesn't look as good as it could have looked. --- 6/10

BsCDb Classification: 13+ --- violence, profanity

A very popular Japanese film called Battle Royale concerns an entire class of bad tempered middle school students forced to fight to the last survivor on a deserted island for their transgressions. Considered too controversial for American audiences, it's never been released in the states. "The Condemned" is basically a remake of that film. Instead of unruly teenagers, death-row inmates from around the world forced to kill each other for the pleasure of an insane internet magnate's 30 hour snuff reality program.

Steve Austin joins 9 other on the island where they stalk and eliminate each other in some of the most violent ways imaginable.

This part of the story is fairly involving, but as the violence becomes more sadistic, it no longer seems entertaining. The sobering effect spreads to the movie characters as well, too late to help the combatants. Self righteously, the producers use this as a podium to speak down to the audience who bought tickets to watch the very entertainment they are presenting.

The movie is not helped by a stateside subplot involving Stone Cold's girlfriend who lives on a sprawling ranch and supports herself as a waitress.

Simply put - if you like action films you'll enjoy The Condemned.

Following along similar lines of Battle Royal and the newly released The Hunger Games, a group of international death row inmates are sent to an island to fight to the death in order to win their freedom - with the whole thing broadcast live on the internet.

As highly unbelievable as this situation may seem, the moral repercussion are actually adequately addressed. The illegal show gains a mass following but not without attracting the attention of certain international agencies.

I'm not a huge fan of Steve Austin or WWE wrestling and so at first I was a bit sceptical about a WWE production with the lead role being given to a pro wrestler. But despite this he performs his role well, and the acting is of a pretty good standard throughout. The fight scenes are gritty and believable, and the sub-plot back story doesn't interfere too much with the action.

This is switch-your-brain-off entertainment. Enjoy it for what is is. 7/10