Rating of
2.5/4
A pretty good action movie
The M.O.W. - wrote on 08/02/08
"John Matrix" (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a retired colonel in an elite special military unit, now lives in a secluded mountain home with his young daughter (Alyssa Milano). They have a great relationship and are living peacefully -- until a military helicopter lands on their property.
On board the chopper, along with some armed soldiers, is "Matrix's" former commander, "General Kirby" (James Olsen), who informs him that the members of "Matrix's" former unit are being killed. He leaves "Matrix" and his daughter with the two armed soldiers, and, as he and his daughter are about to go back into their home, he notices some branches in a bush move. Seconds later, a man pops out of the bush and begins shooting, killing one of the soldiers and wounding the other in the shoulder.
After an exchange of gunfire, "Matrix" is captured by the attackers, and learns that they have taken his daughter. He is then taken to see the ones who planned the kidnapping, the former dictator of an unnamed country (Dan Hedaya) and a former member of "Matrix's" old squad named "Bennett" (Vernon Wells), who informs "Matrix" that if he doesn't do as he is told, his daughter is dead.
Along with two goons, "Matrix" is sent on his mission to kill the one who is leading the country the former dictator once lead, and is accompanied by one onto the airplane to that country. But, after killing the thug, he escapes just as the airplane leaves the ground and returns to the airport only to find the other thug hitting on a stewardess (Rae Dawn Chong).
"Matrix" then forces the stewardess to follow the second thug, who eventually sees him. She, who identifies herself as "Cindy", at first thinks "Matrix" is insane and tries escape from him. But, as it becomes more and more obvious that he is telling her the truth, she begins to help him follow the clues which will, hopefully, to his daughter.
There is some good action in this movie, but nothing really spectacular. Even though there is a lot of breathers between the action scenes, I think there could have been a little more action. The breathers are a bit too long for a Schwarzenegger movie if you ask me, not to mention I felt that there was not enough suspense either. But, as typical of a Schwarzenegger action movie, there are a lot of good explosions -- especially in the final battle where "Matrix" is attempting to
Character development in this movie was pretty good. Most of the villains were not developed past knowing their motives. After their motives are known, they are not seen much on screen. The one with the least amount of development is "Jenny" (Milano), who, after her on-screen father goes on his mission to save her, spends most of the movie alone in a room as a prisoner. I guess Milano didn't have a lot of experience acting to have a fully developed character in this movie. In fact, she had the least amount of lines in the whole movie out of the main characters.
When it comes to the music, nothing really stands out. In fact, I really didn't notice the music until the closing credits began to run.
This movie is far from perfect, but it might be a good rental. However, I wouldn't put it on your "Must See" list.
