Customer Reviews

The Condemned (Full Screen Edition)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I just gotta say, of all the would-be films that were made by the WWE, this one delivered BIG time. I mean if you look at movies like "The Marine", and "Walking Tall". What do they both have in common-NO ACTING. I mean the stories were good, but Vince McManon, or how ever you pronounce his last name, just flat-out flopped them both. No emotion, no real expressions of loss, or pain, or just about anything. I think he needs to know what it really takes to make a good movie. However, "The Condemned" out-shined them with flaw-less proformance. I just pray that the next WWE film that comes out will just as, or better then this one. Steve Austin is the man.

First off was see no evil which was a decent horror movie but it was no classic and i couldnt watch it a 2nd time. The marine was a joke of an action flick which I couldnt even get through once. Now the condemned I've seen twice in 2 days and i wanna watch it again its one of those films. I really enjoyed this, Steve Austin was amazing there was also a few other good actors such as Vinnie Jones & Rick Hoffman but Austin definatley stole the show cant wait for the dvd release and I hope this is not the last hollywood see's of Steve Austin

This movie is a different twist on an older movie I saw several years ago (can't recall the name), but is basically an action/sci-fiction bringing back the old Roman theme of 'watching prisoners kill each other in a pit', only the pit is an island set up with cameras. Parts of the movie can drag a tiny bit, but not bad at all for an action/blood & guts movie for the 'Rambo types'.

Chrissy K. McVay - Author

After seeing See No Evil and The Marine, I was very dissapointed at what the newly created WWE Films tried to do: try and repeat another successful Rock-like wrestler-starring movie. See No Evil and The Marine both have decent acting, but the stories were extremely rushed and I myself decided to give WWE Films one more chance at making a good movie before I completely gave up. Enter The Condemned starring "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. I thought that, once again, the story would be rushed and make a terrible action flick.

Boy was I wrong.

When the movie started, it began pretty much like the last two WWE films: rushed. But when the actual story started (The game itself), the story slowed down and didn't just kill off one character after another to make the movie end quickly. The interesting plot twist in the middle of the film helped the movie greatly and the climax fight scene was just amazing. Yes, there are a few explosions (thankfully not anything crazy like what The Marine tried to do) but the characters adapted to each and every cut, scrape, and basically any bodily injury well (unlike John Cena in The Marine).

So, overall I recommend this movie to not only wrestling fans (like myself), but to anyone who wants to see a good action/thriller film. If you can only get past the jerky camera movements, you'll be in for a ride. I personally give this movie 4 Stone Cold Stunners out of 5.

The Condemned is a World Wrestling Entertainment-produced film starring "Stone Cold" Steve Austin as Jack Conrad. You could be forgiven for assuming this movie is a propaganda vehicle for wrestlers looking to break into acting, with a plot that's no deeper than brawny men beating the tar out of each other. And you'd be right.

But The Condemned has higher goals in mind. It features an online game show in which dangerous convicts are purchased by a wealthy television producer (Robert Mammone as Breckel) for use as contestants. Each contestant has 30-hours to live before an ankle-bracelet explodes. Additionally, a ripcord on the bracelet can trigger the bomb ten seconds later. Ten people enter an island rigged with cameras and cameramen, one killer leaves.

The Condemned divides its time between the killers offing each other, the technical team conducting the game show, and the FBI investigation trying to stop the madness. As each killer dies, the game show's website gets more and more hits. The more violent the movie gets, the more the audience loves it. The Condemned slyly begins blurring the lines between the audience watching the film and the audience in the movie.

Conrad is actually an undercover Delta Force operative, of course, and sets out to prove he's bigger and badder than everyone else on the island. It's no easy task, however -- the villainous team-up of Ewan McStanley (Vinnie Jones) and Saiga (Masa Yamaguchi) set the bar low with rape and murder under their belts.

It's the rape scene that proves a turning point for the producers and the film. The technical team begins having second thoughts about the show after that, and a rebellion of sorts breaks out, only to be brutally crushed by the usual tools of archvillainy - deceit, greed, and murder. By the time McStanley's in-game violence spills into the production studio, they've long since lost their grip on morality.

The Condemned is an ugly film about ugly characters. Its biggest flaw is that Conrad isn't particularly likable. The movie takes its premise too far. There's nobody to really root for. Midway through, The Condemned drastically changes tone from glorifying violence to soundly condemning it, which will likely turn a lot of wrestling fans off. Viewers may not be pleased to discover that the title isn't just about the contestants - it's about the audience.

A lethal agent from the special forces, is recruited for starring a true human slaughter transmitted by Internet, whose goal must be 40 millions of people.

Here is the drama. To watch this ferocious spectacle forcedly brings us back to the very times of the gladiators in the ancient Rome but with the same morbid vision. A moving thriller that underlined beneath the plot an issue worthy to comment. Who is really the twisted mind?

Steve Austin and Vinnie Jones are a hard to die team; besides a kinetic and witty script conform a tense movie.

Version: U.S.A / Lionsgate / Region A
VC-1 BD-25 / AACS / Advanced Profile 3
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Running time: 1:53:38
Movie size: 19,54 GB
Disc size: 24,45 GB
Total bit rate: 22.93 Mbps
Average video bit rate: 18.47 Mbps

DTS-HD Audio English 2046 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 2046 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital EX Audio English 640 kbps 5.1-EX / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround

Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of chapters: 16

#Audio commentary
#Deleted and Extended Scenes (48 minutes)
#The Making of The Condemned" - Documentary (38 min)
#Featurettes
--Capital Carnage Reunion (4 min)
--Stone Cold at Movie World (2 min)
#Theatrical trailer (HD)
#Bonus trailers (HD)

I'm not a big movie watcher, but this was a good movie. I'll watch it again.

The Condemned is a "logical result" film. In recent years, the reality show craze has included shows that involve people risking serious personal injury for bucks. The logical result is a show that involves people getting killed. This film is about such a scenario. Ten condemned convicts in "third world" prisons(a few of whom are from "first world" countries) are placed on a remote island. They will fight to the death as millions watch (for a hefty fee) on the Internet. The last one standing will be freed.

Cameras are placed everywhere on the island and subscribers to the show on the Net get to see the gore up close. There are cold-blooded teckies in a control room under the supervision of a greedy producer, unconvincingly portrayed by Robert Mammone. The condemned range from the really really bad, to the not so bad at all, to the very good (Jack Conrad).

Steve Austin plays Jack Conrad. Austin has three expressions: tough with a grimace, tough with a grin, and just plain tough.

All in all, it's an exciting action film that does not seem to recognize the irony of moralizing about exactly the type of entertainment we see on the screen.

I got the DVD from the library so there was no great investment on my part and really expected to stop it after 20 minutes. But it surprised me. Robert Mammone, as the tycoon sponsoring this internet viewing only battle royal to the death, has solid acting chops along with the always interesting to watch Rick Hoffman. Of the group of combatants, Manu Bennet and Dasi Ruz show real chemistry and Vinnie Jones is always believable as a murderous bastard.

Okay, the premise is simple as any action movie tends to be whether it's escaping aliens ("Predator," "Alien") or stopping the thing that will end the world ("The Rock," "Armagedon"). A rich, pompous, self absorbed tycoon buys convicted criminals from jails around the world, brings them to a small island and offers them freedom if they're the last one alive after 30 hours while he broadcasts on the internet for $49.95. To their ankle is strapped an explosive device that will trigger if they try to remove it.

What makes a story interesting is it's execution from casting, directing, cinematography, dialogue, etc. Every romance story is the same boy meets, girl, boy loses girl, boy and girl reunite in the end. Director Scott Wiper knows he's not making a Merchant Ivory film and so focuses on the compelling fight sequences, the question of who will be left, and how they are eliminated.

Now, I've read critiques about Austin's acting and I don't think these viewers get it. As the director states in the commentary, Austin, like other action heroes before him, has the confidence to do nothing. His range is limited and it plays to his advantage. Looking back on the Schwarzenegger Stallone era, does anybody remember them acting other than cool under fire? Clint Eastwood made a career out of squinting and teeth gritting. Look at your rappers supposedly turned "actors" like Ice-T, DMX, LL Cool J. Their entire range consists of going from snotty to snottier and back again. So Austin playing it tight and close only works for him and the role. He's the hero and viewers expect certain behavior from them. Other characters are used to portray the emotions of danger, fear and sadness that help us read the severity of the situation.

Now as far as the commentary on reality shows and internet viewership, and the lust for violence I'll leave it to the sociologists and more scholarly journals. Suffice to say, this is a good solid action flick, worth the rental price. So sit back, turn off your brain and enjoy.