O Desafio Final

Although this film is not interesting for its acting or its story line, you must see it (even with the sound off) if only for the absolutely gorgeous set design, lighting design, and cinematography, which combine to make this film an eye-popping piece of eye candy. It helps that the filmmakers had the beautiful old city of Prague to film in, with its rich architectural history, romantic interiors, cobblestone streets, etc. I wanted to print out almost every scene in the film and then frame them for my walls, so gorgeous were almost all the frames of film. Try it for this! You'll love it!

I feel bad writing this review, since my far-from-perfect rating mostly reflects my disappointment in having expected a different kind of movie. Honestly, HIDDEN AGENDA is a pretty good film from Dolph Lundgren's early DTV career...if you're looking for a spy thriller. The film is directed by the maker of FIRST BLOOD and co-written by one of the scribes behind STATE OF PLAY. Contained within a low-budget sphere, the quality is there, but it just doesn't deliver the kind of thrills I want to see from the Swedish Superman. This is definitely a movie you'll have to check out for yourself to get the full gist of it, unless you're looking for a genuine action film like me - then you can save your money.

The story: CIA agent Michael Dane (Lundgren) is assigned to apprehend the prime suspect in an ambassador's murder (Maruschka Detmers) in Prague and bring her to America, not knowing that he's about to be thrown into a web political intrigue and treachery.

Considering that the film was made for a slim $7 million and as a cooperative effort among five countries, it looks admirably good. There's one embarrassing instance early in the picture where the filmmakers had to fudge a laser pointer, but otherwise, director Ted Kotcheff's capabilities shine through - not only by successfully filming scenes you wouldn't expect to find in a cheap film, but also by making the East European filming location fun to look at. Authentic Czech is spoken throughout, which is pretty nice, and the film maintains a sense of gravity and importance that'd be exceedingly rare in Lundgren's subsequent career.

The movie isn't completely without good action. There's even a segment I particularly like, wherein Lundgren has a shootout with a sniper while clinging to the ledge of a tall building. However, the problem is that very little of the action is the kind that I like. It's almost all shootouts and car chases, which leaves exceedingly little room for martial arts. Lundgren once claimed to have injured himself before he could complete all of the scenes, which might explain the lack of more hand-to-hand action, but it's still disappointing. Additionally, however good the writing might detail the progression of the whodunit-style mystery, I have to take it to point for its truly forced romance between our two leads. Apparently Dolph's charms are so great in this picture that not even a lesbian character can withstand him.

For most fans, I'd imagine the movie is at least worth a look, unless you're on the same page as me and would miss the almost-nonexistent fisticuffs.

'The Shooter' (aka 'Hidden Assassin' which I find much cooler title) is quite trivial on the plot wise - special agent goes to Prague to catch supposed assassin, but things aren't like they seem. But the movie is well shot - bleak and cold cinematography creates nice '90s Eastern-European vibe, and somehow manages to feel artistic. By the time of filming this movie Dolph Lundgren's acting range had improved a lot and he is not as wooden as in some of his earlier movies. Heavely flawed, but still enjoyable time passer.

An alright film altogether. Decent acting from dolph and the rest of the cast. The hair suited him. The action was pretty good and there were some things that I did not see coming. I have to say its one of the better action films I have seen recently and altogether it was a fun watch.

I got it because I'm a Maruschka Detmers fan, and I wasn't disappointed in her part, however limited it was in showcasing her talents. I didn't take this movie seriously, and I'll bet the actors had fun making this movie.

The scenery and location were very impressive, the interaction between the main characters was good, with a touch of (unintended?) comedy throughout. Some of the scenes were unbelievable, but that just added to the feeling that you couldn't take this seriously as an action-adventure movie. For example, how could Michael pass by all the security points, evil bad guys pursuing him unscathed? If it isn't taken seriously, well that's the fun of it.

I had never seen Dolph Lundgren act before, and was comparing him to Arnold... both are hard workers.

The story line is this movie's weakest point, along with a few minor characters who obviously were put in the movie for appearance but no acting ability whatsoever.

Overall, I liked it and after repeated viewings, I still enjoy it.