Based on a comic book, this stylized violence-with-no-redeeming-value macho flick is actually entertaining. My esteemed colleague once noted that she can enjoy wanton destruction in a film now and then, if it's done right. For some strange reason, this film makes all the violence work.
Start with a group of burly soldiers playing cards as they await a mission. Then listen as their leader calls them "losers"...only to learn that these guys are not losers at all. They are heroes who refuse orders to destroy a village when they deem children present.
The professional hires are betrayed, as they usually are in flicks of this type. But the bad guy is a true mad man...and not since Gary Oldman played BAD-MAD in The Professional have we seen evil so wonderfully depicted. That would be due to Jason Patric's super acting and unique lines.
Now add to this unlikely plot a femme fatale who's one mean bitch, sexy too of course, and you've got the making of a nice pot boiler. Zoe Saldana plays the wicked lady perfectly.
Guns blaze and the good guys survive in this shoot-em-upper. Expect to see lots of deadly face-offs, super weapons, and more than a hundred villains slain! You'll think STUPID! as you watch the first fifteen minutes, but strangely you'll keep on watching!
Lots of mindless fun.
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