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Overall Rating : 5.5/10
Directed By : Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren (Universal Soldier)
John Enos III (Phone Booth)
August Schellenberg (Eight Below)
Matthew Tompkins
Supplied By : Sony Pictures
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : January. 21, 2008
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| PLOT A lone biker rides into town in the aftermath of the death of his good friend J.J. Once there Ryder discovers that his friend didn't die but was murdered by a local businessman who would let nothing stand in the way of his plans to build a state of the art casino on Indian reservation and. On a mission of justice Ryder confronts and defeats Reno and his men in a tour de force show down where the one (Ryder) vanquishes the many. |
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| THE REVIEW In MISSIONARY MAN, a lone biker named Ryder rides into a small Indian reservation town to attend the funeral of J.J., an old friend. From the moment of his arrival, the biker armed with a Bible and a penchant for tequila, the mysterious biker gains notice from the residents. Most of the residents welcome the biker, except for Reno, the town's tyrant and his gang. When news arises of Reno's plan to turn the reservation into a gambling casino doe his own profit, J.J.'s family, Reno's biggest road block, has the plans overturned. Not taking no for an answer, Reno and his men move in on the town, and targets J.J.'s family especially - it is then that word gets around that J.J. didn't drown like originally thought, but that he was murdered by Reno and company. This sends Ryder on a mission of justice as he plans to wipe out the evil that has taken over the reservation. With MISSIONARY MAN it marks the fourth film is with Dolph Lundgren both directed and also starred in a film(he also wrote 3 of them). While I haven't seen all of them, I have seen THE RUSSIAN SPECIALIST(aka THE MECHANIK), and I have to say that I found this one to be for more enjoyable. The plot for MISSIONARY MAN, although some plot elements may be original, the main plot is nothing at all new, in fact, it almost mirrors the plot that of WALKING TALL(original and remake likewise), In this film, an Indian reservation and it's citizens are threatened by a local business man with the threat of turning their land into a casino money crop - like the town's Sheriff in the WALKING TALL films, Lundgren's character represents the law man bound to stop it, and at all costs. Although the plot is very familiar, MISSIONARY MAN is a very entertaining film to watch, as long time martial arts film fans, here get to see Lundgren at almost his top form once again. The film, obviously low budget, sports a gritty, washed out look reminiscent of the early films of Tobe Hooper and the style that Directors like John Stockwell utilizes in their films today. At times the film may be a bit "overly grainy", but since this film is being marketed as a modern day western, I guess you can say that the grainy appearance assists in giving a rustic look to the film. As I said, it is like a modern Western in a sense, and it is also being promoted as a thriller(or at least it was on my press release I received). Although they say it's a "thriller" it is hardly - as there is very little of anything thrilling about it. But what it is, is an action film that will remind you of many that were released in the 1980s. The acting here is mixed as some of the cast are better than the others. But I have a feeling that the acting won't much matter much, as some of the action outshines it - and any Dolph Lundgren fan is sure to be happy anyway, as he delivers a great performance as he acts an a very "John Wayne-esque" demeanor. MISSIONARY MAN is a low budget action film with a great story, an action star with a presence, and even some very competent direction by the said star. |
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| GORE
METER 4.5/10 We get a bloody beating, bloody gunshots, in particular a brutal gunshot to the head at point blank. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 4/10 The score is often somber, and of the suspenseful action type....it was decent. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Prior to seeing MISSIONARY MAN, I heard many good things about it. And while I did expect it to have more action than it did, I still found the overall story to be actually pretty entertaining. This DVD will be released on January 22, 2008 |
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