Puncture Wounds (2014)

When this movie popped up on Netflix recently, I decided to give it a look since it had Dolph Lundgren in it, one of my favorite B movie actors. Also, with this movie he returned to his acting roots of playing a bad guy after so many years of playing heroes. Sadly, this novelty did nothing towards saving this pretty bad movie. There are many problems with the movie, but the main problems are that the movie is very slow and boring. The pacing is sluggish, and there are some plot holes and murky plot details that reek of amateurish writing. The movie could have been livened up by some good action, but the movie disappoints in this area as well. Believe it or not, in the first hour of the movie, there are only about two minutes of footage that could safely be called "action". And when the action does come, it's choreographed, directed, and edited in a way that comes across like the protagonist (or antagonists) are not skilled at all in hand to hand combat (or other kinds of combat, for that matter.) As for the acting, lead actor Cung Le (who in many scenes looks like Cuba Gooding Jr.) is really bland and lacking charisma, and Lundgren gives a very lazy and unemotional performance, clearly just being here for the paycheck. Not the worst action movie I've seen, but it's so boring that I would only recommend it for insomniacs.

Review: I must admit, I was expecting this to be one of those typical badly made movies with a ridiculous storyline, but it didn't turn out to be that bad. The acting was a bit sketchy, but there was meaning behind the violence and the characters all played there part in this movie about revenge. Basically it's about a war veteran whose suffering with post traumatic stress and he ends up saving a girl from getting a beating in the parking lot of his hotel. The girl turns out to be a prostitute who works for Hollis (Dolph Lundgren), who isn't too happy about the guy taking out his men. To keep up his street cred, Hollis teaches the guy a lesson for messes with his business, which turns out to be a big mistake. It isn't a very deep and intelligent script, but you do end up sticking with the storyline, just to see how the whole mess pans out. The fighting scenes were OK but it still looked a bit cheap and the main character needs some more acting lessons. Average!Round-Up: What the hell was going on with that stupid wig and the ugly looking moustache on Dolph Lundgren. I've heard about actors getting into character, but that make-up was terrible. Anyway, Lundgren seems to be another one of those actors that hit the big time when he was young but now they can only manage to go straight to DVD. I quite liked him in the first Expendables but I haven't really seen him in anything amazing since then. The guy who plays the main character, Cung Le, also starred in the awful Man With The Iron Fists but he hasn't done anything else that major. You can actually tell that he hasn't starred in anything in this scale because his acting is quite stiff, like when the Rock first started out in the movie world. Anyway, if you want a no thrills type of movie without that much depth, then it's worth a watch.I recommend this movie to people who are into there action/thriller movies about a stressed out war veteran who takes on a drug lord after saving a girl from a beating. 3/10

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday MorningJohn Ngugen (Cung Le) is a former army vet who's struggling to adjust to civilian life, blah blah blah, who finds redemption when he comes to the aid of a damsel in distress, blah blah blah (at least it's none PC), and incurs the wrath of crime lord Hollis (Dolph Lundgren), blah blah blah, and sets out on a mission of revenge when his parents are murdered, blah blah blah.I care about writing this review as much as I can when there seems so little point in doing it. It's hard to give a distinctive summary of it as a film in itself when it is so indistinctive from any other similar film out there. A Certain Justice follows the action movie formula by the book and fires out a none stop battering ram of clichés at a rate of twenty to four. The result is a film that can pass the time maybe if you're on a late night plane flight home or trying to nod off after a long hard day, but that you will care precisely nothing for. Likable but not awfully charismatic leading man Le is, well, likable but not awfully charismatic, while bad guy Lundgren has reverted back to his Johnny Mnemonic get-up, with imposing facial hair and biker hair.Formulaic. Generic. By the numbers. Take your pick, but there's really no other superlative for this pot boiler. **

Puncture Wounds is another depressingly familiar C-Grade film with a plot we have heard many times before – innocent man's family is killed in a brutal fashion by a bad guy. Innocent man hunts down bad guy, kills him and his henchmen. Film over. This kind of storyline can be done well if writer, director and cast are willing to create some areas of deviation or innovation to make their mark. Sadly, Puncture Wounds is limply paced with actors mouthing dubious dialogue without conviction. A key scene is meant to show the innocent man's decency through a speech delivered by his ex commanding officer. That said officer appears on set in an ill-fitting uniform and facial hair that would never be permitted in the American armed forces removes the said scene of any impact. Dolph Lundgren is the nominal star but plays the bad guy in an unconvincing wig and fake moustache. (Indeed the fake hair in this film has to be seen to be believed.) It is an interesting performance from Lundgren whose character displays some particularly vile misogyny towards a prostitute in his employ. Cung Lee is our good guy but simply does not have the acting skill to sell his roll convincingly. Vinnie Jones is second billed but plays little more than a glorified cameo. His contribution to the film is reasonably effective but hardly career definining. What the film does benefit from is a number of solid character actors in small supporting parts. James. C. Burns. as Sergeant Mitchell conveys a subtle humanism as well as conflict between his duty and what he knows to be A Certain Justice (to use another title the film was released under.) Briana Evigan brings humanity to what was likely on-paper the fairly vacuous role of the used and abused prostitute and the ever-reliable Robert LaSardo adds a touch of gravitas in a single sequence mid film. Probably the best performance though is from Mario Melchio as Shady, a disreputable neighbour of Cung Lee. He sweats constantly in the thrall of his drug use, twitches and paroxysms of pain evident as torture is inflicted upon him. There is also a memorable yet just death scene. Production values are efficient but far from memorable. Action scenes are overcut and lack any impact. Little production errors (like the woman seen wearing underwear seconds after being pack-raped offscreen by the bad guys are numerous. Puncture Wounds is watchable action fodder but lacks memorable elements or effective cohesion. Four out of ten is a fair representation of its value and demerits.