Movie Review of The Condemned
Stone Cold Steve Austin Flexes Movie Muscles
The exciting action film "The Condemned" practices violence, but preaches anti-violence.
In the live, on-line reality show “The Condemned,” 10 death-throw inmates are snatched by a scheming television producer, Ian Breckel (Robert Mammone), and taken to a remote island to play a “game” where only one rule exists: “kill or die.” Convicts represent various nationalities in order to attract the largest worldwide audience. Breckel hopes that between his small, but seemingly loyal crew and his 10 unwilling participants, he can attract Super Bowl numbers of 40 million viewers.
Meet the Contestants
Among the game’s contestants are an angry Brit named Ewan McStarley (Vinnie Jones), who eagerly jumps into the killing spree, and a tough American named Jack Conrad (World Wrestling Entertainment’s Steve Austin), who seems strangely reticent to discuss his past crimes or fight for his life – until, of course, he’s pushed. What some may call a vile snuff film using death-row inmates, others, such as Breckel, refer to as reality TV streaming live over the web. Their motto: “This is not war. This is television. It’s much tougher.”
Although Austin and bone-crunching violence are the main stars of The Condemned, the movie also features a few laughs, an indictment of the government, reality television, and the media, and two attractive, well-endowed women convicts in low-cut shirts fighting for their lives as they compete in the game. As focused as this R-rated movie is on violence, curiously enough cinematographer Ross Emery blurs some of the gorier scenes using jerky hand-held cameras, long-shot views seen on small computer screens, and sometimes even bypasses the action altogether showing only reactions of horror on the viewer’s faces.
The Story Goes Deeper
It’s interesting to watch Breckel’s well-oiled media machine break down at crucial moments, and the story goes a little deeper and contains a few unexpected twists and surprises for a mindless action flick. However, the dialogue, written by director Scott Wiper and Rob Hedden, is (perhaps unintentionally) laughable. Get ready for clichés including: “Good to go;” “I was born ready;” “Rock and roll;” “Oh, that’s gonna hurt;” “Another one bites the dust;” “You crossed the line;” and “Now, that’s what I’m talking about.” These and more await you in this grueling Survivor for sadists.
Although Austin never quite comes across as the warm and cuddly killer he’s supposed to be, he certainly manages the muscle-bulging scenes quite nicely. Mammone fully brings the detestably smarmy producer to life, and Jones embodies his cold-blooded killer character with great gusto.
The Condemned creates a world where the most brutal convicts have good teeth and great bodies, members of the media are physically attractive but lack a sense of morality, heroes are abandoned by their countries, and the mass population greedily consumes grisly and unnecessary violence as a voyeuristic indulgence. While the movie might be fun escapism for the guys, this is a “reality” many of us can do without.
- The Condemned
- Director: Scott Wiper
- Run time: 100 minutes
- Rating: R (scenes of graphic violence)
For more information on action movies, read DVD Review of Next, Review of The Forbidden Kingdom, and Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo.
