The Stranger - Lo straniero

I found The Stranger to be OK for a TV movie but not so suitable for the big screen. The truth of the conspiracy was cleverly hidden. Steve Austin's formidable presence made the fight scenes more realistic than typical choreographed fight scenes. He worked well with Erica Carr. Erica was the best actor. She made the film flow more smoothly. Mason Reese's and Viv Leacock's opening scenes were somewhat stilted. Overall the supporting cast did acceptable performances though there were no stand-outs. The story is unfinished and I would like to see how it ends. Kudos to Calista Bashuk for her first appearance in a feature film. From the little we saw of the young lady I sense an emerging talent.

"The Stranger" is a routine, adequate action thriller that mostly works as a vehicle for wrestling star "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Stone Cold plays the title role, a bad ass who keeps changing his identity and line of work as he travels cross country. The earnest psychiatrist who hopes to help him recover his true identity is Grace Bishop, played by Erica Serra. The other recurring character in his life is Mason Reese (Adam Beach), an FBI agent who also seems to know a whole lot.

Stone Cold actually isn't the problem here. He has a strong screen presence, but also does not embarrass himself when it comes to acting. He gets to speak multiple languages, as well. The supporting actors - Ron Lea, Viv Leacock, and Jason Schombing as various Federal agents - are decent enough, with Beach an obvious standout. The movie can't be faulted in terms of pacing, but the story (by Quinn Scott) is patently predictable and pretty ridiculous. What makes "The Stranger" hard to watch much of the time is the overused technique of rapid fire editing and chaotic camera movement. You just wish the picture would stay still.

The movie (mildly) amuses, and is instantly forgettable.

Although set in the United States, it's all too clear that it was shot in Canada.

Five out of 10.

It moves a bit slow at times but the story was good and Steve Austin was fine.

That male cop is AWFUL though. I think his name is Eric Beach. Terrible actor.

Some action flick of sorts. FBI, automatic weapons, and a few explosions. The fight scenes are strangely wooden. The actor Steve Austin used to be in show wrestling (fake fighting) This shows in most action scenes where you expect Steve to go into Hulk position (hold invisible ball and shake your chin). Obviously he was hired because of his burly physique, not his martial skills. Looks like a B movie with a bigger budget. Adding: Obligatory sweaty torture scenes in slow motion. Short range shoot-out scenes with hundreds if bullets without any causalities. If you don't like it, stop watching half way. It doesn't get better.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin stars as a man with no memory who travels cross-country (and in Mexico), trying to find his home... but the Russian mob wants him, the FBI wants him, his psychologist wants him... and there's millions of dollars on the line.

Let's just sum this one up: semi-poor writing, very poor directing, atrocious cinematography. Just a mess all around... sadly, the best part of this film was Steve Austin's acting. Austin effectively pulls off fight scenes, speaking in Russian and Spanish and English and just being an all-around decent lead.

I can't explain the pointless motorcycle camera shots, or the opening scene, or many other filming gimmicks they tried and failed with. I also can't explain why they thought "Tom Thomachevsky" was a good name... it's just silly sounding.

There's not much to say beyond that... the film is not worth your time or money. I hate to slam a film, but this one was just such a drag to watch I think it would be unjust to praise it even a little.