The Stranger - Lo straniero

"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.

i found this Steve Austin vehicle to be mostly boring,with a bit of mild action here and there.there was one twist i wasn't expecting.Austin was pretty decent here in the acting department,but for me,Adam Beach stole the show.too bad the show wasn't worth stealing.i had to fight tot keep my eyes open for this one.i wouldn't recommend it.there's a lot of talking going on and not much else.and the dialogue isn't that great either.i'd give this one a miss unless you're a die hard Steve Austin fan.i'm he's probably done better work than this,although this is the first film i've seen of his.anyway,for me,The Stranger is a low 4/10

Well just like I said Stone Cold Steve Austin is just too good for this movie. I think the only reason I sat through it was because im a big fan of his work and you just cannot compare this to movies such as The Condemned or Damaged. As far as the acting goes he did a pretty good job playing his role but the acting wasn't the problem in this movie. Erica Cerra was also very good I liked her acting in this movie and have never heard of her before this. It's just too bad that the story wasn't put together properly otherwise it might have been good. Im gonna be brutal I was so disappointed in this one that I would go ahead and say it's not even worth a one time watch. Everything Stone Cold has done aside from this was way better but im betting The Expendables will make up for this failure of a movie.

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.

"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.