Product: The Marine (Unrated Edition) (2006)
Rating: 2.0
Old-Fashioned Action Film That Needs a Better Director
"The Marine" reminds me of the old-fashioned action films made in the 1980s like Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Commando." If you remember this film, our hero is a retired elite commando, single-handedly saves the kidnapped daughter, and kills all the bad guys. The story is incredible, I know, but fun nonetheless.In "The Marine" WWE's John Cena plays that hero John Triton, a marine discharged for disobeying the direct orders. The difference here is that the hero has to rescue his wife kidnapped by the diamond robbers and the gangs' leader is played by Robert Patrick. And watching "Commando" is more fun.Frankly I don't care the wooden acting of the cast and the predicable (and unrealistic) story as long as the film provides good actions. Actually I found John Cena is not that bad as critics say, and Kelly Carlson as his wife did a fine job. Also "The Marine" has one car chases with good stunt and one funny one-liner about Robert Patrick's career making role.But things start to look silly when these actions are drawn-out. There are scenes big explosions, but they only help lower the film's tension as the poorly-written storyline and choppy editing make it clear that none of these poses a danger to the protagonist who can easily survive and go to the next set-piece. Moreover, it's not exciting to see the baddies fighting among them more then once. It's not thrilling to watch them trudging through thick mud of the swamp, either."The Marine" is an old-school action film that needs someone capable of handling the materials (themselves not bad) in a much better form.