Good concept, poorly executed.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Although I/you shouldn't associate this with the TV show. If we do, then only with the currently last season (for some reason they are going to continue with it, but that's a different story). No it was a neat title or summary for a very low budget movie, with some decent fight scenes on display.Dolph Lundgren has some fun with his role, a small one, since he's only a supporting actor in this (no pun intended). The main guy plays like he's in an 80s movie. So if you like those kind of movies from back then, you might be entertained enough (even more so then other people are). There are some females though not that many in this, one of them in particular has some fighting to do. It's a bit convoluted at best when it comes to "story", but that's not why you'll watch it anyway ...

PRISON RIOT is another B-movie thriller set in a violent prison, where an undercover cop is gunning for revenge against the crime boss who had his family killed. Although Dolph Lundgren features predominantly on the box art, he's actually playing in support here, with the main role given over to unknown actor Matthew Reese. There's also a third character, played by Danielle Chuchran, who seems to have been added to the mix to bring in some female-on-female action.Inevitably, the plotting and narrative of PRISON RIOT aren't up to much, but the focus is instead on plentiful action sequences. And the good news is that they're pretty good. Gone are the lumbering, slow fights of many a 1990s-era straight-to-VHS fight flick; instead, we get martial arts-themed bouts that have clearly been inspired by the likes of THE RAID. I'm talking multiple opponents and weapons, actors being thrown around the sets, and mucho violence.Things culminate in a large-scale prison riot - as the title would suggest - which doesn't disappoint. Yes, the acting is rather wooden, with only Lundgren bringing some of his trademark charm to the proceedings, but when a film offers up a wealth of hard-hitting action it doesn't matter too much. Given that I'm a massive fan of THE RAID, any film which seeks to imitate that film is okay in my book, and PRISON RIOT hits the mark nicely.

The last few Dolph Lundgren flicks have been rough going (specifically the Serafini ones like BLOOD OF REDEMPTION), so I entered RIOT with expectations lower than usual. So it was nice to see it actually putting forth some effort. It is essentially a vanity project (lead Matthew Reese's name appears 3 times in the first 30 seconds) and you have to suffer through UFC fighter Chuck Liddell - sporting a huge HGH belly - doing one of the worst Russian accents in the history of cinema (not an easy feat!), but the filmmakers came up with a twisty plot, some cool guard costumes and did some interesting fight choreography (which was obviously influenced by JOHN WICK and THE RAID films). Not a Dolph- classic by any means, but a decent 85 minutes.

Formula for Riot is simple; put haphazard fight scene in prison, followed by random investigation of corrupt cop, crime syndicate or elaborate conspiracy, then do it all over again for one and half hour. I dislike speaking ill of actors when they are trying to broaden the characters, but the acting involved here is weak. Furthermore, the action sequences can be too timid or exaggerated, sometimes in the span of same few minutes, in exception of a couple of decent performances.If there is a convoluted way to present B-movie, this is it. There are so many interweaving subplots, from the cliché dead wife vengeance angle, the pursuit of dirty cops, sudden undercover agents. At one time there's even the daughter of the villain who strolls from out of nowhere, gives a speech while another subplot happens simultaneously, then leaves. The script looks like every plot from similar movies scrambled together in one joint.Dolph Lundgren plays as a socially awkward inmate who might have shady secrets, however his attempt to portray a more simple man is very bland. It like seeing a giant pretending he's shy even though he towers above practically everyone. Meanwhile, Chuck Liddell delivers one of the most unconvincing villains in recent years. He seems emotionally detached and the odd accent doesn't help much either.Action scene, where all the hope lies, is unstable. Some extras either look confused or overly zealous. At one point some civilians would act ridiculous hammy then running to the wrong way, the next moment there's a guard who is hit by a punch and does somersault to sell the move. Fight scene can look good, but it's mostly the actors doing slow choreography and the usual punching the air motion.The good points here are the main lead Matthew Reese, who looks like a proper action star. He presents the better action scenes which is a level above the rest. The other most notable performance is surprisingly Danielle Chuchran as supporting female. Her role is simple, but she does more heavy lifting than most actors here, doing decent fight scenes as well as average Mission Impossible espionage stuff.The movie is a spectacle as noisy and messy as the title suggests. Aside from one or two good instances, this jumbled mess of narrative and choreography is not an appealing case for a visit.