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I covered writer/director Ernesto Díaz Espinoza’s potentially awesome action flick “Mandrill” way back in the year that was 2009, but the film is just now getting around to entertaining folks living within the boundaries of Region 1. Which is a good thing, really, because I haven’t had the opportunity to check it out. That issue will hopefully resolve itself this February. Can’t remember what this one is all about? Read this: Completing contracts with ruthless efficiency Mandrill is always on the lookout for the man who killed his parents when he was a child. When a contract comes up and it looks like this may finally be the man responsible for the death of his parents Mandrill discovers that the only way to get to him is through his daughter Dominic. But revenge is often a terrible cycle and Mandrill may not see this through to the end.

Mandrill Directed by Ernesto Díaz Espinoza Chilean director Ernesto Diaz Espinoza and his action star collaborator, Marko Zaror, are three films deep now, with a fourth (in 3D!) on the way. Clearly they've found a formula that works for them, but I'm not as convinced. There's plenty of  buzz around these guys, and they're hyping their newest, Mandrill, quite enticingly. IMDb lists Mandrill's tagline as "Cooler than Shaft, Hotter than Bond, Faster than Lee," and my Fantastic Fest packet promises that I'll be one of the first to experience the future of action heroism in Mr. Zaror. Now, I don't want to try and predict Zaror's career, and he definitely has the martial arts chops and camera-ready looks to be an action star, but I don't think this is the movie that is going to take him there. It simply tries so earnestly to present a character cooler than Shaft,...