Very disappointing...

That was an excellent one.

A Major Disappointment

It's one of the most original films you'll likely see all year, which, depending on your threshold for certifiably crazy storylines, could be a rewarding experience or one that frustrates you.

Jack Conrad is "purchased" by a wealthy television producer and taken to a desolate island where he must fight to the death against nine other condemned killers from all corners of the world, with freedom going to the sole survivor. The Condemned is far from being one of WWE's best films but it's definitely not their worst one either. Steve Austin does a pretty good job with what he has and the same goes for Vinnie Jones. The Condemned is action packed and a whole lot of fun and a pretty much entertaining action flick to rent and watch. (7.0/10)

I can't say that the director is good, but he filmed it at least in a acceptable way. And the cinematography is beautiful, whitch helps. The script is predictable. The protagonist as every other character are bad. The movie even tries to create a backstory for the protagonist, but just make it worse. The cast are horrible, Vinnie Jones almost make it enjoyable but the dialogues don't help in any way. I saw this movie when I was a kid (yes, totally wrong), and in that time I was able to visualize that this movie isn't a big thing, but I actually enjoyed. I rewatch it this year, I was not able to reach the end. If you like to see strong people killing each other you can give it a try. Maybe you enjoy it.

There are lots of pretty negative reviews of this movie and one has to wonder why those people watched it in the first place. Did they miss the essential clue as to what they would get? The opening credits clearly tell everyone that this a WWE movie. It would seem, therefore, that those who don't like the fake, meticulously staged regular offerings of World Wrestling Entertainment wouldn't want to watch this either. That isn't rocket science - is it?But no, the wowsers and wet-nellies just HAD to watch it anyway - and then grumble and whinge about gratuitous violence and sadism. If they don't like professional wrestling, then there's a pretty sure chance they're not going to like The Condemned so why did they watch it at all? Mind you, I wouldn't mind betting that, if the story were ever true, those wowsers and wet-nellies would be among the first to sign up to watch the programme on the Internet - and then still complain! It's a bit like the well-known fact that the most vociferous anti-porn campaigners also happen to own the biggest collections of porn! (Of course it's all kept as "proof" of just how corrupted the world is - or so they say!)OK, getting to this movie for what it is. It is a B-grade action flick with mostly B-grade actors (although there ar a few exceptions to that). Personally, I thought the story concept was quite good. The real protagonist is an entrepreneurial guy who knows that an awful lot of people actually do like gratuitous violence (he probably did research on how many viewers professional wrestling gets) and decides to convert that into a reality show. The problem is that no self-respecting TV network would ever run it and so he resorts to the obvious and puts it, live streaming on the Internet.Without wanting to introduce any spoilers, I will stick to what the film's own promos state, which is that ten convicted criminals from death-rows around the world (another clever ploy to ensure that the maximum audience can be secured to support "their" champion) are let loose on an island which is rigged with numerous cameras and told that they must each defend themselves against the other nine as only one of them can ultimately survive. The survivor will be freed with a new identity and a big wad of money to go and do whatever he likes. There are a few little "twists" thrown in for good measure and I'll leave those who want to watch it to find out what they are. I found that I was placing myself into the shoes of each of the criminals and wondering how I could make the best of the situation. Of course, the first thing I had to do was remember that I was already sentenced to death and then view the situation from that standpoint. Secondly, I had to remember that my opponents were also killers and thus there was no room for compassion on either their parts or mine.With that frame-of-mind established, I found myself entering into the story with a different attitude than I would have had it been presented differently. I was reminded of "Running Man" as far as the plot went but the difference was that this movie is set in the present and, as such, was (with some imagination) "believable."OK, 'nuff said. If you don't mind action with lots of violence, then you will probably enjoy The Condemned. If you like Mary Poppins and romances, then don't watch this movie. Simple really!

The Condemned starts as ten hardened condemned to execution on death row prison inmates from around the world are flown by helicopter to an isolated & remote island in the Pacific, they have been 'brought' by ambitious television producer Ian Breckel (Robert Mammone) who is planning to stage a live reality internet broadcast called The Condemned. The aim of the show is simple, the ten condemned inmates are dropped off on the island & the one still alive after thirty hours gains their freedom but only one can walk away, with plastic explosive strapped to their ankles the inmates have no choice but to play. Wrongly imprisoned ex secret service ops Jack Conrad (Steve Austin) is brought in as a last minute replacement from a prison in El Salvador & starts to turn the game against Brecknel in a bid for freedom & revenge...Co-written & directed by Scott Wiper this modern take on the basic premise of The Most Dangerous Game (1932) is actually a pretty decent film, I would struggle to call it a great film but it is good solid action fare that also tries to have a strong moral message which is both an asset & a hindrance but more on that later. The Condemned updates the theme of a lone man being hunted with the odds stacked against him by setting the events up as part of an elaborate internet based reality show where subscribers pay to see hardened inmates kill & abuse each other, the mixing of the survivalist genre & reality show works surprisingly well here although surely the whole affair is illegal & every Government in the world would be after Brecknel. Most of the condemned inmates don't have much depth apart from Conrad & McStarley with the other's simply being cannon fodder to increase the body count & provide a fight every few minutes, the script tries to make out that Brecknel the producer is the real villain for his brutal exploitation & staging of events. Now, the script does try to make the point that watching violence is bad which seems a bit hypocritical & there are a few speeches denouncing & questioning the show & scenes of people cheering on the action that reinforce this message but feel out of place & stand out uncomfortably in a film which obviously wants to appeal to that very audience, the type of audience that enjoy wrestling & Steve Austin is surely the type of audience that would lap a show like The Condemned up if it ever became a reality as wrestling is surely nothing more than grown men beating each other up & while it stops short of people getting killed I think you can see the point I am making. Or then again maybe The Condemned is really just an anti reality television show film, now that's an idea I can relate too...At almost two hours long The Condemned runs at a decent pace & never really lags or becomes boring, I would maybe have liked to see a bit more varied action though. The fights are brutal & weapons are introduced later on which adds some spice but other than an exploding helicopter there's nothing else over the fights. There's an implied rape, some blood splatter & a guy is impaled on a wooden stake after being thrown out of a helicopter. At the end when Brecknel is in the helicopter why did it just hover there? Why not fly off into the distance? Why wait for Steve Austin to thrown a bomb on-board (that was a bloody good shot by the way wasn't it?)? The final confrontation between Austin & Vinnie Jones is also a bit underwhelming & isn't so much a brutal fight to the death confrontation as a very harsh conversation. While the quick machine gun editing of recent action films is absent the jerky hand-held nature of some fights aren't & The Condemned sometimes becomes a blurred mess which is a shame as the fights do look good otherwise.With an opening box-office weekend of just over $3,000,000 I think it's safe to say that The Condemned was a flop, although set on some remote island The Condemned was actually shot in Australia & does look quite nice at times. The acting is alright, Vinnie Jones is amusing & gets some nice one-liners although wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin is just very wooden & lacks any charisma or personality, no-one else stands out that much to be honest.The Condemned is better than average action fare with a solid plot that steals from a classic & adds a modern twist quite effectively but the overriding message that watching violence is bad & those who make, distribute & profit from it are also evil is a paradox in the sense anyone who enjoys The Condemned is bad & the makers who made it are evil themselves. Work that one out.