Simply Perfect

Memorable, crazy movie

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Blackjack starts as former FED Jack Devlin (Dolphh Lundgren) is called in by his brother to protect his young daughter Casey (Padraigin Murphy) with good reason because shortly after an attempt is made on her life, luckily Devlin is pretty much bullet proof & hard as nails so a heavily armed gang of mercenaries is no problem although one throws flash grenade which temporarily blinds Devlin but simply not being able to see isn't enough to stop Devlin killing all the bead guy's & saving his niece. However the attack has left Devlin with a phobia, he is afraid of the colour white which is a bit of a problem. Anyway, when his former FED buddy Tim Hastings (Fred Williamson) is shot while protecting a supermodel client named Cinder James (Kam Heskin) Devlin takes over the operation & sets about finding out who wants to kill Cinder & stopping them, obviously...This made-for-TV American Canadian co-production was surprisingly executive produced & directed by John Woo who deserves better than this & one wonders why he made Blackjack straight after the big budget futuristic action flick Face/Off (1997), to me it seemed like a step backwards although having said that his next film after Blackjack was the big budget Tom Cruise flick Mission: Impossible II (2000) so I can only assume he made this over a couple of weekends to pass the time. Anyway, the script by executive producer Peter Lance is to be blunt tripe. For a start it's unoriginal, it's predictable, it has very low key action scenes & set pieces, bad dialogue, clichéd character's & it's dull. Then there's this nonsense about Devlin being afraid of the colour white, I'm sorry but I was like sitting there thinking so what? It's hardly the most exciting plot device in the world is it? The only reason it's original & hasn't been used in any other film is because it's such a stupid notion nobody ever wanted to use it before. The scene when the bad guy gets away because he drops a large white sheet down in front of Devlin is hilarious & stupid in equal measure as is the fight in a huge pool of milk. The bad guy's motives suck, the script takes itself very seriously & there are no one-liners or wisecracks to lighten the tone & there's no chemistry between any of the character's either.Director Woo is on autopilot here, sure there are maybe a couple of decent motorbike stunts but apart from that there's some shoot outs with his traditional slow motion shots there but very little else, it's certainly not exciting & where do I get some of those razor sharp playing cards that Devlin has? Devlin is hard, in fact he's so hard he even has a butler who wears an eye-patch... You have every right to expect better from Woo.With a supposed budget of about $10,000,000 Blackjack had a much bigger budget than I first thought although Lundgren was paid $2,000,000 & the film looks like what it is, a low budget made-for-TV action flick, there's no style or substance here at all although it's well made for what it's worth. The cast are alright although Heskin never convinces as a supermodel in either looks or acting department. Fred Williamson is wasted in small cameo.Blackjack feels like something Woo made during his weekends, I don't really understand what anyone would see in it as it's not exciting & it's action scenes are below average.

Blackjack may not be Dolph's or John woo's best films but it is still A decent film. The only problem is it sometimes drags on a bit and the action scenes are few and far away but when the action scenes finally come they are well directed by action guru John Woo. the plot is simple Dolph plays jack Devlin who is a bodyguard trying to protect a beautiful super model who is being targeted by her homicidal ex with the help from his loyal friend's jack tries to stop the maniac and also get over a phobia of the colour white. the plot is more a more action oriented version of the bodyguard (albeit some differences) the acting is good Dolph is good as always and the main villain is very convincing. not the best actioner out there but worth to get if you are a Dolph Lundgren or John Woo fan 7 out of 10 see ya

Listen This movie is a cult, Its all about the slow motion scenes, all the unrealistic is the cream of the movie, after all its trash, but its fun. (its not like "The Killer", but still its one of the best) as other commented here, it is not the opposite of fun, this is true fun, as long as it sticks a group of friends together, everybody knows the words ' lyrics' timing and so on. in our club there are guys that imitates Dolph Lundgren eye movements and when Devlin shows up all girl shout and scream. at www.blackjack4winners.com We will have a special projection (live in one of our houses and live on the web !) every Friday evening. Ure welcome to join. John Woo rules.John.

Joh Woo has used over and over the slow motion scenes in his action sequences and he always finds a special trick to regenerate his style.But this time,it is a little too much clichéd.Your libido will be absorbed by the blond fluffy bunnies swirling around Dolph Lundgren's muscles and the action scenes are totally unrealistic but this is where all the fun comes from.John Woo always tended to stylize his movies and this one is no exception to the rule.His obsessions for choreography of bullets and killed bodies, as well as friendship and honor, are strongly embedded in all his movies. Unfortunately this movie was made for TV and it demoted the result.