Disarmed

Ordered this On-Demand on Cox Cable last night. Actually has pretty good action and good acting by the lead characters. Seemed to be more hand to hand combat vs. military action which isn't what I was hoping for, but the lead (AJ Draven) is clearly a talented fighter and is very like-able. Some of the smaller characters acting abilities are a little rough, and the love interest is seriously lacking.

The sound gets sorta bad in the middle of the film, its like the music gets too loud for the dialogue, but then seems to correct itself after a while. If you can get through that, its actually pretty entertaining. Good to see a film without (obviously) a huge budget, still hold up for pretty much the whole thing.

Overall if you like low budget action films, its a worthy rental due to some cool fights, action sequences, and like-able actors.

The first line of the film says it all - A soldier recovers consciousness on a shoreline after an ambush which claimed the lives of his entire team 'Captain Kyle Pearson US Marines' he says into his radio whilst standing in plain sight on a beach waiting to get shot. What about taking cover? What about Sound discipline? what about covert call-signs? The moronic dialogue, demented, perfunctory, linear plot and execrable acting conspire to ensure that never for a second will you accept the illusion that that you are watching a squad of elite soldiers, carrying out a special ops mission.

From the very first scene you are in no doubt that Disarmed is a Turkey. With dodgy eyelines, awful lighting, blatantly amateurish audio and endlessly uninventive shot selection throughout, this film looks like a cheap seventies TV series which has been dubbed into a foreign language and then dubbed back again by a different set of actors.

At the start of the movie Capt. Kyle Fierson is lying on a beach in the Phillipines. We have to go back in time to find out why.

Lilian is rich and influential and she can call special military units--not necessarily affiliated with the U.S. government--to get things done. In this case, her company's stock is going down because a scientist has made a major breakthrough. An entire power plant can fit in a very small space.

This is not a good thing. For corporations, it means a major loss of business. For terrorists, it means a major opportunity to create havoc. Including nuclear weapons. This development must be stopped! Fierson's unit is official, but "disposable"; no one is expected to live. And after more shooting than you would see in most movies not involving Schwarznegger, Van Damme, Willis or Stallone, only Fierson is alive. He must get answers and save himself and the world? Can he?

I'm not really sure who the "special ops" were. If this movie was supposed to celebrate our military, it didn't do that good a job. Except in showing how Capt. Fierson can get himself out of any jam.

And of course the scenery in The Phillipines is great.

There's also some humor here and there as Fierson has to scheme to get things done.

But there have been better action movies.

A.J. Draven deserves all the kudos he's received. He's a skillful fighter. This is a good action movie Draven fights with originality and fluidity . . very cool action. And he's totally photogenic so hope to see more of him in movies.

The Philippines is a character in the movie, too. Very enjoyable to see city streets, the jungle and beaches. Some of the beaches are truly gorgeous. But probably the scene of city life were the most colorful and interesting as the hero searches for his proof, fights through the alley ways and works hard to save his reputation.

If you like action flicks, good story and want to see great scenery of the Philippines, you'll like this movie. (and nice supporting cast, by the way)

If you want baubles and shiny phoniness of multi million dollar slick movies from Hollywood, this movie probably isn't for you.

A black ops team led by Captain Kyle Fierson (a solid and credible performance by A.J. Draven) gets ambushed during a raid to retrieve a nuclear device. In the wake of this unfortunate incident, Fierson not only has to track down the missing device, but also has to clear his tarnished name.

Director Tom Shell, working from a compact script by Jennifer Lee Roy, keeps the engrossing story moving along at a snappy pace, stages the plentiful action set pieces with skill and aplomb, and further tops everything off with some nice touches of humor. Draven makes for a handsome and likable lead; he receives sound support from Rez Cortes as the chatty and amiable Daco Santos, Marie Lanoy as Daco's feisty daughter Nita, Miguel Vasquez as the ferocious Bin Malik, Finola Hughes as the ruthless Lilian Carlisle, and Steven Bauer as the corrupt Colonel Caine. Kerwin Go's sharp and lively cinematography provides an impressive polished look. Joe Cruz's robust score hits the rousing spot. A fun flick.