Blood of Redemption

I am a fan of Dolph Lundgren. While he may not be a master Thespian, he is a perfectly good action star, and that's why I rented "Blood of Redemption". Sadly, this is a considerably lesser vehicle for him. Lundgren here looks tired and worn. I know he's aging, but he's come off a lot better in other recent movies. Probably his tiredness comes from the fact that his surroundings here were not adequate. This was a very low budget production (only a $2 million budget), and while I will praise the filmmakers for squeezing every last penny out of their limited funds (the lighting and photography *do* look good), much of the movie still looks cheap. I could have lived with that had the rest of the movie been good, but it isn't. The script is way too talky, slow-moving, and boring. While it does offer a twist towards the end, I think many viewers will be able to predict the "surprise" long before it comes. And the limited action sequences are choreographed and directed with absolutely no punch. It certainly doesn't help that the gunshots have been "enhanced" with obvious CGI effects. You have to wonder how Dolph and the rest of the memorable B movie cast were all convinced to appear in this utterly forgettable production.

To start I began my love affair with Dolph Lundgren when I was about 12 and was heartbroken when he ceased making movies, or so I thought. It seems he'd been stuck in the straight to DVD funk and needed a good script or, in the case of his comeback, an old friend.

When the Expendable came out and I went to see it it was a little after my 40th birthday and I was astounded when I saw a familiar yet somewhat lost name in the beginning credits. "Dolph Lundgren" Oh joy! Needless to say, I had to own it once it hit DVD status and it reawakened my love for this brilliant man.

I began looking for his movies and to my surprise, I was met with titles I'd never seen before and future works in progress.

Since then I've seen almost all of his movies with exception of a few and that's only because they have yet to be released. So now, lets get started with this movie review shall we.

We are told that "It begins with a mans death." and in fact it begins with a family watched over by a man named Axel, (Lundgren)a long time body guard and friend of a mob boss. When his charge is eventually killed he takes it upon himself to find out two things. Why? and Who? With the help of a beautiful young woman named Laryen and an FBI agent he begins to put the pieces of a very troubling puzzle together. But the picture he ends up with is more disappointing then he anticipates.

In the end Axel must follow his own advise to stay alive long enough to exact vengeance on the one who murdered his friend.

*I enjoyed it so much that I bought it*

You have some really big names in the B-movie department participating in this. Be it Billy Zane, Vinnie Jones and/or Dolph Lundgren. The movie is very predictable (from the starting "end", to the flashback after that until the conclusion). Lundgren plays a convincing lead, even if you might not believe his relationship to a much younger woman he is having during the course of the movie.

The whole twist of the movie though does rely on some very shaky grounds and it will leave you shaking your head at the end. The action is nicely done. Though nothing to get too excited about. Don't look for a message either, watch if you're a fan of one or more of the actors though

Yes it's another low-budget Direct-to-video Dolph Lundgren film but this time he's surrounded by a damn decent cast of B-movie performers such as, Vinnie Jones, Robert Davi & Billy Zane.

Big old beefcake Dolph plays Axel, the head of security to a family of criminals but when the family falls apart & their empire begins to crumble Axel leaves & comes back three years later to find out what really happened & why.

Dolph is fine as always & plays the same type of special skilled Bad-Ass that he usually plays. Billy Zane plays one of the criminal families sons & big bro & goes to jail for three years when nutter Vinnie Jones takes over the family business with his uncle Robert Davi (with a dodgy British accent) & everyone is paranoid of each other because of the families fallout three years earlier. There's alot going on here with lots of twists & turns & raunchy scenes & some action here & there. Blood of Redemption is more of a crime thriller than an all out action flick & the cool cast do their best & are all pretty good.

I found Blood of Redemption to be entertaining & i liked it & i was surprised by the ending.

At times this little B-movie felt like a very low rent "The Departed" just mildly sometimes.

I did enjoy the cast of B movie veterans as I'm a fan of Dolph Lundgren (The Punisher, Battle of the Damned) & Robert Davi (Maniac Cop 2&3, Predator 2) & i don't mind Billy Zane (Demon Knight, The Phantom) & Vinnie Jones (Escape Plan, The Condemned) & the actors in the movie were fine too.

Nothing special but still a fun B-movie Crime Thriller.

This is a decent genre movie working through the codex, coupled with some veteran actors who performed with a various level of enthusiasm and talent. A nod to classical kung-fu movies, John Wu, Russian Mob, Italian Mob, Irish Mob, crooked senator, and a few more, for a bit of a hodge-podge that is best enjoyed while doing something on a side, like watering a lawn or solving a sudoku. With more gratuitous nudity, I would even skip my two visits to the fridge and a phone call. Directing and editing were loud and intrusive, like a drunk best man at the wedding, humor was cheesy and the story convoluted, so, all in all, and enjoyable experience, particularly after a third beer.