Back in 2006, WWE Superstar John Cena hit the big screen in The Marine. The first one was full of great action, cool explosions, and a high body count. True, Cena doesn’t have the acting abilities of a Schwarzenegger or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, but his ability to kick ass made him a great asset to the role.
Does the lead in an action flick need to have solid acting skills? Many would argue that Schwarzenegger had no problems when it came to this issue, but actors like Bruce Willis, Danny Glover, and Mel Gibson may disagree. After all, the Die Hard and Lethal Weapon franchises offered great characters, solid performances, and awesome action all in one cinematic package.
Enter The Marine 2, a “sequel” much like Behind Enemy Lines: Columbia is a sequel to it’s original starring Owen Wilson. The Marine 2 is pretty standard action fare, with WWE star Ted DiBiase in the lead as Marine sergeant Joe Linwood. Linwood and his lovely wife travel to a retreat where her jerk boss is holding a seminar. While there, the resort is taken over terrorists who hate the Western world and all that it stands for (yet, they still want our money, hm).
Now, it’s up to Linwood to save the day and rescue the hostages, including his wife, before it’s too late. If the whole plot of terrorists take over a building and one man must save the hostages and his wife before it’s too late sounds familiar, than you’re seen the original Die Hard! A far better film.
The Marine 2 contains lots of action sequences, but Linwood, as trained a military fighter as he’s supposed to be, gets his ass kicked way too much. Yes, I’m sure they were taking a more realistic approach and not going for a Walker, Texas Ranger-style action hero, but he gets beat down a few times where I said “Oh, come on!” out loud to the TV.
Was I expecting much? No. I’m sure this one had a smaller budget that The Marine, and with unknown actors cast (The Marine had Terminator 2’s Robert Patrick as the villain), it stands to reason that expectations would run low. While the fights are decent, I found myself getting bored a lot and kept checking to see how much longer the movie had to go.
The Marine 2 DVD includes a number of special features, which include:
Extended Scenes
Deleted Scenes
Making the Cut: Deleted Shots Montage
6 Behind the Scenes Featurettes
Muay Thai Fight Outtakes
So, can I recommend this movie? If you are a WWE fan or Ted DiBiase fan, yes. If you’re not, there are tons of other action films far superior to this one.
Own it on DVD today!
What are your favorite action movies? Leave a comment and let us know!