The Condemned play a Most Dangerous Game like Battle Royale
Written: May 13 '07
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Vinnie Jones always makes a great villain
Cons: Borrows too much from other movies
The Bottom Line: It's tough to watch, but has some interesting social commentary.
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| phungus's Full Review: The Condemned |
The Condemned is an ultra-violent ‘last man standing’ movie that borrows many plot elements from other movies, such as Most Dangerous Game, The Running Man, and especially Battle Royale. It’s about a bunch of death row inmates who are placed on a desert island and forced to fight each other so that the last remaining survivor will gain his or her freedom.
In The Running Man, prisoners were thrown into a sadistic type of game show where they had to fight off various bad guys armed with all kinds of crazy weapons. Audiences would cheer on their heroes and bet on who would die first. In the Asian film Battle Royale, a bunch of schoolchildren are placed on an island with a bunch of weapons and they had to fight until one remained. So the plot of this movie is nothing new.
These manhunt type stories have been around for a while, and the common thread in all of them is that they contain subtle social commentary about our use of violence as entertainment. I found this particularly interesting since the lead star of this movie is Steve Austin, better known as the former wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin. This movie does also touch on the desire for people to watch some of the more sadistic material on the Internet. I know for a fact that with a few clicks of the mouse you can watch videos of people being killed in various ways – some accidents and some intentional. The people who run these sites make money by hosting advertisements, usually for porno sites.
I went into this movie expecting it to be really stupid, but I came out of feeling almost guilty for seeing it because I actually liked it. Although I thought the violence, with its rape and murder and torture, was extremely over the top, it did fit the movie. In fact, this movie sort of makes you feel bad for seeing it, especially with some of the things that happen toward the end. It’s a movie that attacks itself for its own content.
This is Steve Austin’s first major movie role and I think he does pretty well considering the subject matter. His dialogue is reduced to mostly one-liners, but he’s not all bad. Since he comes from a wrestling background, his fight scenes look really good and he has the physicality to look the part. I do wonder what kind of future he will have in Hollywood since this movie is not exactly an appealing role for him. Maybe he should play some sort of good guy in his next one.
Vinnie Jones plays the second major role in the film as perhaps the most ruthless of the other killers on the island. He was perfectly cast and it was kind of fun seeing him be a completely heartless badass from beginning to end. The guy just looks mean. Before getting into movies, he was an English football player who became famous for roughing up the other players. He’s probably best known for his role in Snatch.
This movie was shot in Australia and the scenery is really gorgeous. The island where it all takes place reminded me a lot of the jungle where the movie Predator was shot. It has lots of rivers and cliffs and large trees that become almost like an extra character in the movie. I liked that the movie utilized the setting for the story, rather than just have it be something in the background for people to ignore.
It may come as no surprise that this movie is not doing very well at the box office. Besides borrowing too much from previous movies, it was just too violent and lacks the star power to compete with the big boys like Spider-Man 3. It may find more success in the DVD market, because I think once this movie is really discovered, more people will want to see it.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Guy Movie
Worst Part of this Film: Plot
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