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A 'sequel' to the moderate success from 2001 starring Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson, Axis of Evil
could have easily been it's own film. The original flick only made a
dash over $50 Million upon it's release (not a massive success, and by
no means a failure), so you have to wonder whose idea it was to develop
a franchise almost half a decade later.
Honestly, if that's the direction we're heading, should we expect to see "Tin Cup 2: Hole In One" or "Fracture: The Second Crack" on our DVD shelves in the near future?
Starring Nicholas Gonzales (Sexy Garden Boy #3 on The O.C.) and Keith David, Axis of Evil
is surprisingly suspenseful and somewhat of a guilty pleasure. Really,
when you chuck in a straight to DVD sequel - expectations aren't
exactly poised at an all time high. So full marks must be given to all
involved when such a flick grabs you by the short and curlies from the
get-go.
The real strength here is that the story is fresh and
new - and not simply a rehash of the original. In it, the fate of the
world hangs in the balance when a team of U.S. Navy Seals is assigned
to destroy a North Korean missile site and avert a possible nuclear
strike, failure is not an option. But the mission is abruptly aborted,
stranding four soldiers in enemy territory. In order to survive, they
must defeat the rebel forces that threaten their lives, their allies
and the entire free world.
Considering what must have been a
paper thin budget for a film with this much action, director James
Dodson has done a stunning job of making the most of whats on offer.
The unrelenting edits, sped up shots and dull Private Ryan-esque
colour toning distracts you from the cheaper sets & scenes which
struggled to find available background extras. While it does get
somewhat annoying by the final 30 minutes (the final few scenes in
particular are just completely over edited - no doubt to compensate for
the lack of cash for explosions) it's actually the editing that gives
the B-Grade flick a Blockbuster feel.
Theres a lot of unsubtle
stabs at the U.S. Government and their "Shoot First, Ask Questions
Later" military attitudes, and all in all, it's quite a cleverly
written piece.
The cast do well to keep you invested in the
characters, and you get the feeling that the film may have even
suffered with a bigger name star (having Vin Diesel running around
might very have well taken you out of the realism of the story).
The final act seems somewhat of a let down, but there is enough good work on display throughout Axis of Evil to make it a worthwhile affair.
If more Direct-to-DVD features were like this, perhaps the notion of "Jingle All The Way 2: Jingled All The Way" isn't as horrible as first thought.
Well worth checking out.
EXTRAS
Nothing
on offer here, which is interesting. But I suppose theres only so many
times you can watch behind the scenes footage of actors at boot camp
(every war movie has one in-toe these days), so there's no big loss.
Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: N/A
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