Road of No Return (2008)

I liked this film not b/c it had spectacular action sequences but b/c it was a thinking man's action film, it had heart, it had characters that had a past and had something to say. You don't usually see that with Hollywood films in particular action films. So it was quite refreshing specially that you don't expect it. But I must say that I was a bit disappointed that Carradine and Madsen's time on screen was limited but I think others did a really good job carrying the film. However, the production value at times was weak, you could see that it had been made on a shoe-string budget. It was definitely an indie film and it showed but I like low budget indie films. The film worked for me and left an impression. If you don't like dialog this film is not for you.

"Road Of No Return" was one of the last movies David Carradine made before his death. Curious about if he was still able to give an entertaining performance at this time like his past performances was one reason why I rented it. Another reason was that Michael Madsen was also in the movie. The front of the DVD box seems to suggest that they are the two lead actors in the movie, but that isn't so - they are given supporting roles. Not only that, I noticed that though they share several scenes together, not once do you see both actors at the same time. (Obviously, they were each filmed at separate times and edited together later.) And Carradine looks very old and tired in all of his scenes.I probably could have lived with those facts had the rest of the movie been entertaining, but in actual fact there's not much entertaining here. The movie has a sense of humor that is occasionally amusing, but is mostly loud and tiresome. While the movie is decently shot on a poverty row budget, the other production values are often flawed, with stuff like one shot being repeated, stock footage, and obvious post-dubbed dialogue. But the biggest problem is that the movie eventually comes to a slow crawl, and it's tiresome making the slow slog to the end. Some more gratuitous action and pruning down of scenes would have helped considerably.

This movie is terrible, the negative reviews are spot on. Unbelievable characters and a stupid story. Even if the DEA could hire hit men that would kill every single drug dealer in the country, there is no way they would do it. They would be destroying their own jobs.Also, what was up with kids? Unless its going to be super awesome most child actors suck.One weird thing, all the people who gave this a positive review have all only reviewed one other movie, Capitalism: A Love Story. That seems sort of suspect to me. What are the odds...

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this film. I expected a typical brainless action flick with Carradine and Madsen. But, what I saw was quite well written and intelligent. I must admit it is not your typical action film so if you are looking for a dumb action packed film, this movie is not for you. For an action film it is a bit talkie but the dialogue is very well written, funny and smart. It covers a wide range of topics from religion to politics to racism all within the context of the interaction between the hit men. The characters are also very vivid and unforgettable. Even though they are stereotypical but it seems it was meant to be that way to draw our attention to the problem of stereotyping in our society and that there is hope for all of us to come together regardless of our ethnicity, religion or skin color. I give it two thumps up for great dialogue, great characters and solid acting.