The Package (2012)

A courier for a local crime lord must deliver a mysterious package while being chased by a horde of unusual gangsters. Not one of the best action movies of any of the 2 leading men but that Steve Austin v.s Dolph Lundgren scene was pretty awesome especially when Stone Cold start punching him in the ribs and the dude felt absolutely nothing it was out of this world it's not a film for anyone but it's probably better than other straight to DVD and blu-ray action movies that starred Austin and Lundgren. If you're an 80's and 90's action buff and love this 2 men you will not be disappointed but you need to know what to except before you see it.

I have to wonder whether The Package (not to be confused with the feature-length film by the same name produced about twenty years earlier) was directed by an "artiste" whose area of specialization is pornography. I say this because the cartoonishness of the characters and the general stupidity of the dialogue and plot, conjoined with the stereotypical and wooden acting, typically come together in the lowest of all low-budget genres: cheap pornography. When I saw these stats, I became even more convinced that the director usually does porn:Opening Weekend: $1,095 (USA) (15 February 2013) Gross: $1,277 (USA) (15 February 2013)Seriously? How can these numbers possibly be correct? The actors all volunteered for their roles? Maybe because they are all porn stars and were hoping to break into mainstream Hollywood, if only someone in the business had the opportunity to see them in all their glory on the big screen? Well, anyway, whatever the explanation, this attempt at a movie is a very low-brow, minimal intelligence production which aspires to be a high-energy action flick but fails. Just bad. In fact, on reflection, I should probably change my rating from 2 to 1. Done.

I've read the reviews and I must say; some are very harsh. I also find the apparent lack of open-mindedness to be frustrating. It's a movie and they should evoke a sense of fun and excitement no matter the content. I've seen near all of Dolph Lundgren's movies and not all are great, not all are amazingly well written but all have something decent about them and this one is no different. I'm not the one to go to if you want to see someone denigrate someone's work. I try to find the good points in everything. The Package, while ill acted at times, does have a good story line. Tommy, played by Steve Austin, is the hired muscle employed by the mob. He's married, loves his wife and wants a better life for both of them. He doesn't like what he does and he doesn't feel good about it but he does what he has to, to make a life and pay the bills.Tommy is paying off his brothers debt to his boss and with one more job, he is promised an "out" and a clean slate for his brother. The only thing he has to do is deliver a package to a man only known as "The German" played by Dolph Lundgren. As he travels to his destination he is followed and attacked repeatedly by thugs from all sides. Their intentions are to take the package, kill Tommy and collect a huge payday. What they don't understand is that "The Package" is not what they think it is and Tommy is not just a delivery boy.If you look past the semi bad acting you find a story that is actually pretty good. You end up routing for Tommy and feeling bad for "The German". Not every bad guy is bad for bad reasons. Sometimes they need to be bad for a good reason.

I read some of the other reviews, and I concluded they must be by the fembot, art history major, wanna be a critic crowd. This is a straight up action film, with much of the action meaty hand to hand fighting. And it does a good job of portraying the fact that most such combat is pretty brutal.There are girls, they are beautiful, one is deadly, the other is lovely. The roles they play are secondary.Dolph has aged a lot, and unless it is the makeup, I think not to well. But he continues to carry the style he has shown in several recent action movies, as a menacing, brooding threat. From the outset we are aware he is a threat, but the relationship of this threat to the main protagonist is not clear.For me, Steve Austen was a pleasant surprise. I recall another of his movies, and he was not good at all. This was much better, and the director played to all his strengths in respect of both his verbal and action abilities.There were several little plot twists, and a few surprises along the way, which added to the enjoyment.There are a number of recognizable supporting characters, which is also a pleasant surprise.So my conclusion is that if you are hunting around for an action movie one night with some time to kill, this movie is for consideration. No, its not Gladiator, or Star Wars, or the Avengers, or Saving Private Ryan, but thank god, its not Brokeback Mountain or some other drivel either. Its a decent regular budget action movie. Take it for what it is and you will be fine.