Customer Reviews

Missionary Man

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I caught this on TV and had nothing better to do. I've seen some of Dolph's movies, and had always liked him since Rocky IV. I was even excited to see him in Masters of the Universe, and had entered a contest to be in the movie. I didn't win (and it would have been just a walk-on, non-speaking part anyway), but was pretty disappointed with the movie. Maybe I'll give it another shot. Dolph was great in Universal Soldier, but has made many flops since.

This movie, though nothing spectacular about the plot, has just the basic action theme that is all too familiar: mysterious man comes into town for a funeral, hangs around for a while and gets into trouble with the local mob who control the town, mysterious man falls for a local (though it IS a family and not the town hussie), mob calls for back-up, mysterious man kills back-up and leaves town.

I think what made this stand out from so many other movies is the acting. With exception to the main boss character, everyone in the film is so believable in their role that I almost cried when people started dying. That or I've just got an attachment to Dolph and he reminded me of the unstoppable Russian Ivan Drago he played 25 years ago. Dolph is as bad as they come in this movie. A real savage with heart! It was like how we felt with Steven Segal movies when they first came out, or Charles Bronson in Death Wish, craving for more brutal violence.

This movie is NOT over-the-top by any means (and I don't mean that arm-wrestling movie with Sylvester Stallone), but it gives viewers just the right formula to keep us wanting more. I might check out some of Dolph's other movies after seeing this. I left the room feeling tough, brave, like I could stomp on some bullies and not worry about them suing me afterward.

Dolph's on both sides of the camera this time(not to mention he cowrote the script too) in this nifty little revenge flick. Dolph's a bible reading biker who comes rolling into town one day and immediately starts trouble with the redneck drug dealer who runs the town. He has numerous run ins with the same band of goons and slaps them silly each and every time. In fact it becomes unintentionally comical how often this happens, and the fact that they still try to start up fights with him. It makes the villains look pretty silly. Dolph teams up with the Native American population of the town, who the drug dealer(named Reno) is trying to force into building a casino that he can take advantage of. After one too many knuckel sandwiches from Dolph, Reno sends for help in the form of a badazz biker gang who Dolph also makes look like putzes. Naturally it all leads to an explosive showdown. The film seemed like a modernized western, and I believe that was the intention. Maybe it tried too hard to be like a western. The reason I say that is coz most westerns leave a bit of mystery to their gunslinging hero, and this film leaves ALOT of mystery to just about everything. Practically nothing is explained in this movie. We can assume Dolph is really after the leader of the evil biker gang, not Reno. It's mentioned that he was once shot and left for dead by this man. The reasons why are never explained, his association with the gang is never explained. In one scene Dolph retrives a shotgun from a man who says, "this is the gun they shot you with", and when Dolph leaves, the man starts crying. We never see him again. Dolph sleeps with a woman who tells him that he reminds her of her husband who was killed by a biker gang. The woman's daughter looks to Dolph as a father figure. None of that is explained any further than what I mentioned. Why does Dolph constantly read a bible and start reading aloud at a funeral? Is he a minister? The bible thing just seems like a gimmick more than anything, it really adds nothing to the story. Dolph claims to have known the man who's funeral is at the start of the film, but never says where from. A character mentions that Dolph fights like he's had military training, but hell, we never find out. There are more such unexplained things, but that's all I can think of at the moment. I guess you can add all that together and see what you can come up with. I love movies where every plot point isn't spoonfed to you, and where some things remain hidden in mystery. That's one of the reasons I love westerns so much. I must say that I have never seen so many open ended plot points in a typical action film before, especially a Dolph Lundgren one. It doesn't help that he barely speaks, so we don't get much of a clue as to what's going on in his head. He pretty much just shows up, slaps some guys around, befriends a family, gets a room at a hotel, reads a bible, slaps some guys around again, drinks tequila(no lime, no salt), jumps in the sack with a chick, attempts a bible talk with some kids, slaps the snot out of some guys, retrieves his old shotgun, sends family away for their safety, gets invited to Reno's bar and shoots it to pieces after drinking tequila(no lime, no salt), gets into big shootout with evil bikers, rides away on motorcycle leaving crying kid(daughter??)running down the street after him. That's Missionary Man. Regardless of how head scratching it can be, it is enjoyable. I suppose the confusion makes a run of the mill action movie a tad less run of the mill. We do know that he's there to kick someone's butt and apparently it's all we need to know. It is fun watching him do it. I didn't exactly want to give it 4 stars, but I do think it's a bit above the three I gave it. Dolph!

"Missionary Man" reminds me of a mix between Seagal's "On Dangerous Ground" and Stallone's "Cobra". Dolph did an excellent job once again. I have all of the Dolph directed films ("The Defender", "The Russian Specialist", "Missionary Man", "Command Performance", and "Icarus").

The action in Missionary Man is strategically placed. The best part is at the end when Ryder (Dolph) fights the motor cycle gang. The part when he hangs the bad guy from the noose was a flash back to the 1989 Punisher film starring Dolph! I'm going to watch Lundgren's Punisher film again because it is the BEST one! The rest of the action in M.M. is decent.

The main villain John Reno controls the local town and he is trying to force the Native Americans to open up a casino (that he will control). Reno is currupt and his henchmen routinely threaten and kill people. Dolph rides through the town and notices a funeral procession. He speaks at the funeral and later Reno's goons visit the Native American family that Ryder made friends with. He notices that something is wrong in the town and he decides to stay around for a while. Action ensues and Ryder repeatedly beats up Reno's various goons. Reno calls the motor cycle gang to take care of Ryder. Ryder elimates the gang members one-by-one by K.O. or Kill. Ryder gets revenge at the end (won't spoil it, but it is a cool twist at the end).

Dolph is back! He has had some recent hits such as: Universal Soldier Regeneration, Command Performance, and Icarus. Dolph is going to kick a.s.s. in The Expendables.

"Missionary Man" has Dolph playing a spiritual character named Ryder. He is mysterious. Ryder - obviously because he rides a cool motorcycle. Ryder reads the bible, rides his motorcycle, drinks tequila, and kicks @ss!!!

Kateri Walker who played Nancy is incredibly beautiful. I <3 K.W. and I'm going to check out her other films.

The villains in Missionary Man are so rotten and low down dirty. You are glad to see Ryder whoop their candy A$$E$!

This video is about a bible preaching man who drinks tequila straight up, no salt or lime. He went to town for a funeral and winds up cleaning up the town's bad guys who actually were the cause of the mans death. Not your usual biker flick, but very entertaining!

After watching this movie, I realized that I had just watched Dolph Lundgren's remake of Clint Eastwood's "High Plains Drifter," but in a modern setting and with motorcycles instead of horses! All the elements are there: lone, unamed drifter rides into town held hostage by ruthless bad guy; drifter takes on bad guys and befriends a young girl and her family; bad guys call in more bad guys who ride into town to kill mysterious drifter; drifter picks off bad guys one by one until they are all dead; viewer learns that the bad guys had "killed" the drifter before and is apparently the spirit of the husband/father of the family that the drifter befriends; mysterious drifter rides out of town alone and vanishes before our eyses, as if he were never there, just like Clint Eastwood does at the end of "High Plains Drifter." Intentional or not, it does pay a nice homage to a western classic. It's so cheesy it's actually kind of good! The only thing I didn't like about it was that it was filmed in muted colors, which gave everything a washed-out, grainy look. However, I guess this was the intention of the director (Dolph himself!) as he must've wanted a gritty look to this modern western. Worth a look!

It's finally fun to be a Dolph Lundgren fan again: after a time of proverbial stinkers like Storm Catcher and Agent Red, "Missionary Man" comes off the heels of the better-than-average The Defender and The Russian Specialist to continue the trend of upward mobility for the towering Swedish black belt...but, like any film that our hero has done, it's not perfect.

The plot revolves around an Indian reservation under the oppressive control of a powerful businessman (Matthew Tompkins, Killing Down). Upon the suspicious death of a young activist, a soft-spoken biker with an affinity for the Bible (Lundgren) rides into town to investigate his friend's demise, and ends up going head-to-head with the tyrannical forces that have enslaved the reservation.

Immediately, I am reminded of Steven Seagal's On Deadly Ground - another action movie that dealt with Native American plight. In comparison, Lundgren's film is superior and more realistic in expressing problems facing Indian communities in the modern world: though dramatized, the oppression of the reservation isn't sensationalized or melodramatic, and the Indians are portrayed as intrinsically modern and aware of the politics surrounding their situations.

Lundgren, however, is less notable: though his character is cloistered and soft-spoken to begin with, this plays down Dolph's acting ability and makes him appear less likeable as a hero of the downtrodden. Also, the premise of him being a man of God is moot: he reads passages from the Bible a couple of times, but in none of his actions does he mention a biblical influence or elaborate on his faith, which makes me wonder why the movie is called what it is.

"Missionary Man" is film driven by story rather than action, so the latter is presented in spare amounts: the final 12-againt-1 stalk is the best scene when it comes to shooting and kicking butt, but generally all of the encounters are quick and one-sided. The fact that the acting is of decent quality helps shoulder this lack of explosions, but it's still disappointing.

In the end, you can chalk up one for Lundgren: though not typical action fare, "Missionary Man" is distinguishable from other DTV releases, and gives hope to the thought that Dolph will be ready if a big-budget offer comes calling.

In short, this movie contains native american images and philosophies.
Lungren manages to evoke deep thought by using mystery to allow tension and anticipation to build. I rate this movie with 5 stars

It is a pleasure to see Dolph Lundgren evolve into such a fine filmmaker. Having recently screened the film 'Gran Torino' with my wife, I was pleased that Clint Eastwood is not the only action movie icon that is writing, directing and acting in a different type of heroic picture. Like 'Gran Torino', 'Missionary Man' takes the violence that young boys have come to expect from these larger than life figures, and shows the flip side of it--the ugly reality of violence, killing, and revenge seeking. Wonderful action movie with heart and a message(touches on the plight of the modern Native Americans).
*Check out Dolph's nod at 'Billy Jack'--if you have seen it, you will know what i mean!

80s action icon turned direct to video junk peddler Dolph Lundgren continues in the vein of 'if you can't get it done right, then do it yourself' by directing his recent slate of output. Beginning with 'THE DEFENDER' and following up with the excellent 'THE RUSSIAN SPECIALIST' (aka 'THE MECHANIK'), Dolph has displayed a wider range behind the camera than he ever did infront of movies like 'SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO'. With a genuine directorial style that reminds me of the days when movies were actually paced well and took time to tell a story, Mr Lundgren is old skool all the way.

His latest picture, 'MISSIONARY MAN' is another step in the right direction. The story (a modern riff on PALE RIDER) has Dolph playing a lone rider blazing into town to avenge the death of his former army friend against a greedy local businessman. He is hellbent on building a super casino in the local area at the behest of the mostly native american townspeople. This mix of native american mysticism with contemporary action movie violence is a difficult brew to pull off - but Dolph does very well. His style is mean, moody and brooding with dark visuals and scenes of brutal violence that are exceptionally effective. Adding to that, he is looking better as he gets older - his face more interesting as if he has seen a lot in his life and this accentuates his characters inner turmoil. Granted, its not the most original or well acted movie out there, but in the realm of direct to video 'premieres' - it's standing head and shoulders above many of the competition (Cough * Steven Seagal *Cough).

The picture and audio are fine for this kind of film. The movie was obviously shot on digital and it looks like it! However, they have attempted to saturate the colours and bleach out the imagery - in some sequences it works very well, but on the whole it looks quite awkward. However, that is a minor quibble.

Again, Dolph's movies are just getting better and better. Gone are the days of strange direct to video efforts made by people just using him for his marquee name value - now, his films seem to have feeling and genuinely entertain. His slow build ups culminating in strong bursts of extreme violence are reminiscent of movies made in the 70s and not the trash that is generally being pushed out today with stupid avid farts and attention diverting editing - it's good to see Dolph is doing things his way. Well worth seeking out.

There is a long tradition of the dead guy who ( should/ could/ would)
come back and reap revenge on the bad guys. In this case
a gang of drug running bikers who support the local villain and his
gang. On tall blond and middle aged biker cleans the streets
of the murdering bikers and leaves down the road.
It is western hero on a hog time again...