The Marine 2
The Marine 2 is a direct to film flick that takes its cue from 80’s action films with a decent plot and good acting for the most part for a film actually worth watching.
Film making 16/25
Video 17/25
Audio 18/25
Bonus Features 15/25
Total 66/100
You just know a movie is small when the previews for other movies at the beginning of the film are ones you have never heard of. Okay, I did hear of one and even reviewed it because of the work I do but the others in the preview are ones I have never heard of and will probably never see.
This does not bode well for the main feature film, but first impressions can be deceiving and this one actually is. The Marine 2 is a pretty decent film even though it was a lower ranked direct to video which has been a stigma since DTV, direct to video not digital television, first became a DVD and now Blu-ray staple.
With direct to video we usually see low budgets, writers and producers who are either new or clueless and actors who could not convince an audience they could star in a commercial much less a full length feature film. Luckily with The Marine 2 we get a decent story that does not go all out and try to save the world in this action film.
We also have acting that shows promise even if it is not Oscar quality and effects that rival those Oscar films along with some good location shooting. The film may be one of those wife gets kidnapped by bad guys who want the foreigners to leave them alone so the marine busts in and saves the day but it works, almost.
Some of the scenes and actions the story takes is a statement in questionable tactics and events that have got to have any veteran or current military member shaking their head in disbelief. While much of the movie and story is good some things jumped out at me like the hero sneaking into the resort with guards patrolling everywhere.
But our hero has no weapon in sight, only a bag of them on his back, what’s he going to do scare them into giving up, other scenes like this have you wondering about the plot as well. The kissing scene with Ted DiBiase Jr., our action hero and in film wife played by Lara Cox is straight out of South Pacific with the waves crashing over their almost naked bodies.
Why the flippers they doffed to struggle in the sand do not wash out to sea is beyond me as you can see them working to and fro in the surf but it’s a wonderful moment, don’t ruin it with reality. Other scenes are just as unbeivalably odd that the movie really is a great mix of decent acting and story with 1980’s style action and old style movie cliché’s.
The films story is a simple one where veteran soldier Joe gets five days of leave and his wife gets a free trip to a resort somewhere in Asian waters. The wife Robin works for a billionaire who wants to create a resort on this tropical Asian island using the volcanic rift to power the place making it green and attractive to tourism.
The local rebels do not want anymore outsiders meddling with their islands so they kidnap employees and owner for ransom to use the money to continue their fight for freedom from outsiders. Joe escapes, is captured, escapes again and, oh you get the idea in a very topsy turvey Die Hard type series of narrow escapes from the bad guys.
The film is alright at times but does devolve into clichés with Joe escaping and of course doing away with one after the other of bad guys until the final boss fight at the end. Kind of sounds like a video game which it very well turns out to play along like one but in the end Joe and Robin get to go home after the harrowing ordeal.
The film has some very good video which is kind of surprising for a direct to video release and the Blu-ray is good but not great. The scenes are very well filmed and look like they could have done a great job but at times things go from great to inconsistent video.
Colors are uneven and jump from great to gray and even the darks that should add to the action of the sneak in and other night scenes takes away because of too bright whites and too deep shadows. The island local they film in is Thailand and some shots are great with brilliant blues and colorful tree lined beaches but other scenes are dull and gray or just too bland.
Audio is also not the greatest but does have the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound that uses side and rear speakers well. The audio is about par for the course for this better direct to video movie and does the film justice if not elevates it a bit in standing.
The Blu-ray release bonus content on the same movie disc is punctuated with about 45 minutes of behind the scenes making of features and outtakes from filming. Really the only thing that makes the bonus content really worth watching more than once is the outtakes from the fight scene where Ted DiBiase Jr. takes on two rebels with fists.
The Marine 2 is a better direct to video release and worth watching as a quick action flick for those that like the good guy beats bad guy routine. I would not recommend this as a permanent collection addition unless you just have to have all the WWE film releases or really like the budding career of someone who may become a decent actor.