Thursday, October 18, 2007

The Condemned


Sadly, I've seen this Battle Royale/Running Man rip-off.

Also sadly enough, I quite enjoyed it.

Basic plot: Wrestler Steve Austin (aka Stone Cold) and a bunch of death-row crims end up on an internet reality TV show and have to pick each other off until there's only one survivor

It's hardly a great film, and is probably most suited for drinking games where we take a shot every time Steve delivers a line more braindead than a retarded gorilla, but it's enjoyable enough. Vinnie Jones is good fun as the bad guy, and there is a fair bit of good violence, even if you've seen it all in much better films. The romantic and political subplots could have been explored a bit more, but they’re not really what you’re there for – I just wanted to see some people get blown up.

The big drawback is the heavy handed and seriously contradictory anti-violence message. Come on, kids. Just because you fake-fight, it doesn't mean the viewers are watching you because they think TV violence is a bad thing. Yes, reality TV shows suck, but if you're going to blow up/stab/rape/torture/shoot nine people, please don't tell me you're doing it to prove how bad violence is. Because you're targeting the wrong audience.

That aside, it's good, clean, violent fun for the same kind of people who though DOA wasn't that bad.

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