Cross

History, Mythology and old-style comic books! They all meet up in a film that sends you back to the feeling of past of serialized films. It's a story of good and evil with a bit of irreverence (and exploding balls!) that's meant to be fun! If you're looking for gun, explosions and jokes that poke fun at the genre, look no further. Oh... and... Michael Clarke Duncan!!! Who doesn't love Michael Clarke Duncan!!?? Then, add Danny Trejo and let the action begin! If you're expecting a deadly serious film with a lot of social comment, you'll be better off somewhere else. If you're looking for a fun night with popcorn, check out Cross.

This film is a textbook case of "biting off more than you can chew." Which sucks because with a couple million bucks, it could've been something impressive.

The premise is actually promising: mythological-powered heroes sharing the spotlight with action heroes in a comic book universe as they save the world from supernatural threats. There are actually some clever and well-written lines and zingers in the script, and these are the lines usually best delivered. It also manages to not take itself too seriously, which makes it easier to digest. I'd argue that it's a direct descendant of "Adventure of Buckaroo Banzai" which makes it's failure all the more painful.

Unfortunately, the movie tries to do too much with too little. While half the cast is composed of well-known and very talented actors, the other half is composed of stunt men and friends of the director's, and it shows. The budget is woefully small for subject matter of this magnitude, and while there's some spirited camera-work and clever production schemes to compensate, it doesn't quite pull off.

The biggest problem is that the director didn't have what he needed to light it properly. Considering that the budget was likely under $800,000 it could have been anything: not enough lights, not enough money to get additional shooting days, or not enough money to keep the talent on longer than needed, etc. but the limits of the budget really show. The setups are nowhere near as dynamic as they need to be, the lighting is stark and practical, and the set design virtually nonexistent. The setups reminded me of a lot of mid-budget HD porn movies where they shoot the action head-on and in two shots to keep the borders of the set (and the warehouse beyond) out of frame.

The cast is staggeringly impressive; there's some real talent here, and Sizemore, Busey and Jones tend to have the best delivery of some truly underwhelming lines, but even their contributions can't distract from the fact that the film was so rushed that they didn't have time to learn their lines as well as they should. In the commentary, the director admits that Sizemore often had to learn his lines minutes before they shot a scene, so this probably happened more often than not. More than anything, it looks like Hollywood actors doing a favor for a film student and his buddies.

Visually, it looks like a cross between "Repo: The Genetic Opera," "The Batman XXX" parody, and the "Angel of Death" web series with Zoe Bell.

Still, the fact that the director managed to get the film made with the cast he did for the money he had and in LOS ANGELES (at God knows WHAT rates) is nevertheless impressive, and I have to respect him for that. Because the budget was so low, it's hard to tell how much of the film's failure is due to ineptitude or finance, so I'm not going to write off the filmmakers just yet. With more money and a larger crew, he might actually have done this (or the sequel) right.

It falls short of the "Buckaroo Banzai" level it wants to be, but its a digital age cult curio nonetheless. Perhaps not one of the best, but no less worthy of consideration.

As an indie filmmaker, I know the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into creating a film. After watching "Cross," I have nothing but utmost respect towards this film!! It is an instant classic because it has all the ingredients that a quality film needs: big weapons, clever witty script, sarcastic humor, large explosions, great locations, gorgeous cars, damsels in distress...I could go on and on for ages!! To know that a fellow indie filmmaker was able to gather up all of those amazing stars...I mean amazing!! We are talking roles from Danny Trejo, C.Thomas Howell, and Billy Zabka. We are talking lead roles from The Michael Clark Duncan and Vinnie Jones. Tons more too!! The fact that these actors signed on to this project in the first place is proof that this film is an inspiration to all of us indie filmmakers out there. I say bravo! A job well done on creating this instant classic!!

I felt a lot of heart went into making this movie, but it just doesn't make the grade.

Cheesy one liners, though delivered well and fit the spirit of the movie well, still end up being cheesy one-liners.

Special effects were worse than what you would see in an episode of a Sci-Fi Channel original or TV episode like Stargate.

The only thing that got this movie beyond TV was the mid level, mostly washed up actors, who have been popular in the past, or were in good movies at one point in their careers.

Regarding Danny Trejo at the top of the Bill, he shows up for literally less than 20 seconds, and wasn't even part of the movie from what I could tell.

Names like Shark,Ranger,War,Riot,and Backfire make me think they did everything they could do put the movie at C or worse. It's like they didn't even make a pretension of trying to be better than that. Almost like they all got together and said "let's make a really good D-movie, and let's work really hard to make it that way!"

Anyways, to sum it up...The heart and hard work was there, and the acting mostly decent, but I feel with the cast and the story line it could of been better...Maybe even end up something of a cult flick, but it doesn't quite get there.

I watched this film and it was...awesome!

It is action-packed and the stunts are really well-done all the way through. Each of the characters is really vibrant and attracts you into their world. The writing is enjoyable and hysterical.

Memorable one-liners and very entertaining. Better than Green Lantern! Overall highly recommended and you will not be disappointed.

All of Durham's films have a strong plot and memorable characters and "Cross" is no different. I'm really unclear about the first few reviewers' motives as their comments are clearly unfitting for this film.