Bounty Killer (2013) User Reviews

Is it hot in here or what?

[zuhairvazir · 6/10 · 15 April 2014]

'Mad Max (1979)' meets 'Kill Bill (2004)' meets 'Sin City (2005)' in this graphic novel adaptation of 'KICKSTART' by Jason Dodson (story) and Henry Saine (artist), also the director.

The film is fun to watch with its boobs, blood, beer and bounty plot. Some scenes are hilarious, especially when 'Bounty Killer' makes fun of itself. It doesn't want to be 'Blade Runner (1982)' or 'The Tournament (2009)', it simply wants to party with lots and I mean the 'Judgement Day (1991)' bunker kinda ammunition.

Maria Death is played by a gift of God to man & Kristanna Lolen is a sin to watch.

Marsden's 'Drifter' reminded me of Michael Biehn with that sanchez he sported in 'The Abyss (1989)' - for some odd reason. The 'Gun Caddy' is a riot. And one last thing: the action sequences are pretty decent and close to intense, quite similar to 'Ms. Death's' close up of the cleavage, however the tongue-in-cheek never loses sight of it.

And it's R rated.

This was actually entertaining...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 28 September 2013]

I must admit that I hadn't initially expected much from "Bounty Killers", so I was pleasantly surprised when I sat down to watch this movie.

This movie is sort of a strange hybrid mix of "Mad Max", "Bitchslap" spiced up with elements from the "Borderlands" games. And it actually worked out quite nicely. The end result is entertaining and fast paced, although the storyline is just so-so, but it is more than weighed up for by action and fighting.

The story is about the world being controlled and run by corporations, and a few men and women stand up against the mega corporations, literally fighting the corporate machine.

And that is basically it, the storyline is rather weak and thin, but you look past that as you become emerged in the violence and action of this movie.

The acting in the movie was alright, nothing spectacular or outstanding, but alright. So don't get your hopes up for any award winning performances here in "Bounty Killer". Much can be said for Matthew Marsden (playing Drifter), but he was actually doing a great job here. And he was well equaled by the performance of Christian Pitre (playing Mary Death). And as a bonus, then it was really cool to see Beverly D'Angelo (playing Lucille) in this movie, and although I am not really fond of Gary Busey (playing Van Sterling), then he was here, and I am sure someone out there will get a kick out of that.

The camera-work was nice, lots of interesting angles and shots, no pun intended. And there is a very dynamic and vibrant feel to the movie. "Bounty Killer" is indeed a testosterone-filled movie; one that will sink right in with the male audience.

One of the most insane and Violence movies I ever saw

[Terryfan · 6/10 · 22 November 2015]

One night while looking for something to watch on Netflix I happen to come across Bounty Killer. While I was reading the intro the film begin to play without me even hitting the Play button.

So I figure I would stick with it turns out to be one of the most violence and insane movies I ever saw it was like they mix Kill Bill, The Road Warriors, Mad Max all into one film it goes to show why it is so much gore and violence that would make even the most instant Action movie fans go crazy.

With the story being inspired by a graphic novel and as the plot advances we learn more and more about the characters in this film. The story in this film is one you have to watch to fully understand it.

However the gore factor really could hurt those who can't handle this intense there is plenty of blood and gore to match with the violence of this film that might hurt your interest in the film.

The acting in the film does well to match the story with Christian Pitre and Matthew Marsden giving very good performances as the main protagonists.

The action in this film is driven by over the top stunts and gun fights that will have you go that it insane. The camera work helps makes the story believable

Overall Bounty Killer was a interesting and insane movie that I'm sure many would enjoy however some of the violence could hurt the film but nevertheless it is a good movie just have to look past that

I give Bounty Killer a 6 out of 10

More akin to Barb Wire, Tank Girl and Bitch Slap than Mad Max.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 28 August 2015]

In the not too distant future, greedy corporate types have caused the collapse of civilisation; as retribution for their crimes against humanity, they are hunted by bounty killers, the most famous of which are Drifter (Matthew Marsden) and his sexy sidekick Mary Death (Christian Pitre). But when Mary discovers that Drifter is a wanted criminal, he and his eager gun caddie Jack (Barak Hardley) find themselves pursued into the badlands, where a cannibalistic tribe of gypsies is just one of the dangers awaiting them.

Bounty Killer is a calculated attempt at achieving cult status—every element designed to appeal to fans of exploitation and B-movie madness—which is one of the reasons why I found it so irritating: I believe that cult-dom should come naturally to a film. What makes matters even worse than its thoroughly contrived nature is that, despite all of the film-makers' best efforts, it frequently misses the mark: the comic-book style story is weak, the characters are inane, the humour uneven, the action poorly executed (the lame Road Warrior-inspired chase scene drives home just how brilliant George Miller's film is even after 30+ years), and the satire uninspired (corporate types are the villains—how droll).

About the only thing that the film gets right is the graphic violence, which is frequent and very gory (and achieved mostly using practical effects), with splattery bullet hits, heads cleaved in half, guts spilt, and limbs hacked off.

Pretty fun really !!

[destroyerwod · 7/10 · 14 January 2015]

I manage to find this movie after seeing Mercenaries, a movie starring Zoe Bell and Kristanna Loken. I tough for a low budget from the Asylum it was pretty fun so i looked at Kristanna's latest movies and found this one.

Well when it comes to Kristanna, lets just say she is wasted... Any random good looking passable actress would had do, and don't expect her to do any action scenes in this. Very disappointing. Its like they somewhat casted her because of her name, but still is she that "known" really? I mean, its the kind of role you would expect a well known B-actress with a huge fan base to fill in. Pretty much like Cynthia Rothrock did in Mercenaries.

In any case, pass the initial disappointment for Kristanna, the movie was actually quite enjoyable. The lead actress is not only very hot, but had a pretty bad ass style and with a name like Mary Death, how can you go wrong? :) The other main actor was pretty likable, and his sidekick too. The action is very decent, there is a couple hot who looks a bit CGI too much but considering how gory and bloody they go, i was pretty satisfied with the overall style.

Some people said the acting was not too good, well i saw the movie dubbed in french, can't really comment but I'm usually not too hard on this, as anything passable suits me when it comes to B action movies.

Overall, saw it was based on a graphic novel, never heard of it, but it was pretty fun, a good fun pop corn action movie with likable leads and a story your interested in. That how those should be done !!

The worst movie of the year, and one of the worst EVER!!!

[rickvess78 · 1/10 · 12 September 2013]

I'd love to know why and how ANYONE can think this POS is good? I would give it a 0 If that was possible. The acting is dreadful, the plot it worse, the technical aspects are bad, and the characters are not even interesting. Okay, maybe parts are campy fun... but I'm not sure it's supposed to be? The only think good about the movie is the T&A displayed by Mary Death. SAVE YOUR MONEY and watch again Kill Bill instead. Why is it bad, let me count the ways: 1) It is listed as an action/adventure movie? Where?? It seems to have been written by a 12 year old c-student. 2) While Matthew MArsden is not terrible, everyone else ESPECIALLY Christian Pitre is bad. 3) Gary Busey? What was he thinking? Obviously just going therough the motions for a paycheck... and sad to see. 4) The Director... did it have one? 5) The Plot.... NEXT! AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

Great example of graphic novel-to-film

[Philipe14 · 7/10 · 2 November 2013]

Many critics miss the point of movies like this and complain about the "bad acting." It takes professionals to translate the freeze-frame action of a graphic novel to the action sequences in a movie, and this is one of those flicks. "Machete Kills" is currently in theaters, and you'll see the same techniques and "blocky" action. Think back to the spaghetti westerns which are now considered classics. "Bounty Killer" is a fun way to vicariously vent your rage at the corporations that are systemically destroying our way of life. If you can't believe in Mary Death, who is there left to believe in????? If this movie were made today as I'm writing this, it would be about the politicians responsible for the health care insurance fiasco we are currently experiencing in the USA, except that people aren't really mad enough to rebel and most of them will calm down by election time and re-elect most of these morons to Congress and they will continue to dump this crap on us. What will they ruin next? Films like this give us hope. There will always be Truth. There will always be Justice. There will always be Freedoms worth fighting for and, if need be, dying for. There will also always, somehow, be a steady supply of gasoline for the rebels to rampage around in their stripped-down SUV's and customized hot rods. And there will always, always, ALWAYS, be gorgeous hero babes like Mary Death! ! !

Queen Beeyotch

[macgyver-5 · 4/10 · 10 November 2013]

This could have a been a good movie, but the Mary Death character was extraordinarily bitchy! Not to mention that she was a textbook example of the action-chick cliché. I was actually cheering for the bad guys to smack her around.

But, the animated graphics were done pretty well, and overall the movie was competently made -- it was reminiscent of the Mad Max series, with copious amounts of blood, gore, and gun-play.

The character of the gun caddy was a hoot, though, and he actually served a useful function (it's the sort of character many an action hero could use). However, I can't recommend it because of the aforementioned Mary Death bitchiness.

Good clean fun (OK, leave out the clean part)

[mtbrenneman · 7/10 · 1 October 2013]

Good mindless action flick.

Plot is pretty good (about how corporations end up running everything and produce an apocalypse), lots of action (if you don't like the sight of blood this film is not for you), fight scenes are well done, plot twists are predictable, but not too contrived within the confines of the film, and in the end, there's a little more to the plot than expected. All the actors are pretty good (esp lead male and female, along with the gun caddy). Only down note was that Gary Busey was in it. But even he couldn't ruin this film!

All in all, an enjoyable 90 minute action flick with a good story, actors, and action!

Dumb...

[deloudelouvain · 5/10 · 21 February 2015]

The way of filming this whole movie was not bad but that's about it to me. I will not compare it to Mad Max like others just because Mad Max is thousand times better and because not every post apocalyptic movie should be compared to Mad Max. This movie is just a bit boring, with a weak story and actors that won't give you an unforgettable performance. Of course there had to be a super hot chick in a movie like that. That is all expected, and I guess Christian Pitre was ideal for that role. But a hot-blasting-and-killing-everything-babe is not a guarantee for a successful movie. I almost fell asleep in the middle of the movie. Good that there are a lot of shootings and explosions otherwise I would never saw the end. Might be good to some people, but it didn't do it for me.

Exploitation trash at it's best.

[nexus62010 · 8/10 · 25 September 2013]

I got to see this without knowing anything about it and wow, was I surprised. Any fans of trash/sleaze/exploitation films will love it as it really knows just what it is. the story is a very simple one. Bounty killer's in the future hunt white collar criminals and give their bodies in for cash. Everything is fine until "drifter" has a bounty put out on him and he has to make it across " the badlands " and gangs of crazed killers out for his blood to clear his name.

What follows is a frenetic, comic book style, sci fi, action flick with ass kicking women, dressed in next to nothing, some toting guns. Exploding heads, lashings of violence and a load of humor.

Bounty Killer clearly knows what it is and loves it. It has the kind of energy that's missing from most films these days but reminded me of the original Death Race 2000 and even Faster Pussycat Kill, Kill. It's a mans night in film. Sit back, get drunk and enjoy.

I get the feeling it will get it's own cult following.

Surprisingly fun

[iamwhitewica · 7/10 · 25 October 2013]

I gave a 7 because to me this movie was very funny and I really enjoyed the story behind it.

The acting was not too bad, at least most of it was believable and the unknown actors were great. Barak Hardley was really funny and brings a left-brains' side to the story.

The mix of personalities is really well made and inter-mingling is great. I am really surprised by this film, it has a lot of potential. Of course the old geezers from the Mel Gibson generation (should be in old houses by now!) will complain that it has a Mad Max feeling in the movie, OF COURSE, it is post-apocalyptic! What do you expect? Hollywood hoes with their bling-bling-raper-boyfriends? Nope, it is the right feel for the right situation.

To me the best part of this film is the story: bounty killers hunting the white collars bastards that (still as we speak) ruled this world. It is such a liberation of the mind to see evil people getting eliminated by the dozens, too bad there was not enough of them to my taste but still it was bliss!

Christian Pitre looks so hot in the Mary Death costume it's nice for the eyes :-) Matthew Marsden is quite good too in this flick, he is the cool guy that keeps things straight...well almost.

This is a movie to see if you like action, comedy and violence this is for you, it will totally entertain you. If you are on the soft side, avoid this movie, it is not for you at all, stick to the smurfs!

Meh

[gregsrants · 4/10 · 20 October 2013]

Twenty years after corporations took over the world's governments, the Corporate Wars began. In an attempt to bring to justice (justice aka death) the yellow-tie-wearing corporate badasses that thrust the world into a post-apocalyptic Mad Max: The Road Warrior type of dark age, a group of bounty killers have arisen to become the idols of the common man that has suffered due to rampant greed and corruption.

At the forefront of the commoner's admiration is bounty killer, Mary Death (Christian Pitre). Clad in an outfit that would be runway approved by Tarantino's The Bride, Mary Death travels the land accepting death warrant rewards for white collar bodies. Her competition comes in the form of a bounty killer known only as Drifter (Mathew Marsden). Drifter and Mary Death have a work-first attitude towards each other as they compete for the various bounty. Even their history as a former couple isn't enough for them to put their differences aside to work conjointly on reaping rewards. Things get even murkier when a secret of Drifter's past becomes a focus of Mary Death's hunt which non-coincidentally occurs while a Corporate official (Terminator 3's Kristanna Loken) attempts to lure Drifter to the side of yellow-ties.

With a film poster that reminded us of Bitch Slap and a setting that was very reminiscent of The Road Warrior, Bounty Killer attempts all too hard to become the kind of 80's film that has now been delegated a cult-classic (Megaforce, Ice Pirates). Jack LeMans (Barak Hardley) joins Drifter as his gun caddie and offers the films comic relief to a movie that felt like individual scenes and pieces were cut and paste together with the hopes of materializing into a cohesive feature film.

A supporting cast that includes more familiar faces such as Beverley D'Angelo (National Lampoon's Vacation) and Gary Busey (The Apprentice) do little to elevate the film from being little more than a time waster with some half decent chase scenes that are punctuated by CGI rendered violence.

Animated segments scattered throughout the 90-minute runtime contain the film's best moments and Kristanna Loken shows that she is at her best when she is a non-speaking cyborg out to change the future.

Director Harry Saine, who last directed The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu (2010) again falls short of putting together a full 90-minutes of entertainment (although we would look more towards the scripts he has assigned himself to work with). The Last Lovecraft fared better than his recent effort. Bounty Killer is nothing more than a wild idea hopelessly misguided with only brief moments of valued amusement.

www.killerreviews.com

Third Rate Mad Max.

[pauljillpaula · 1/10 · 18 February 2019]

Did I say third rate? Fifth rate rate would still be charitable. A no expense spent indulgent piece of poorly acted nonsense that might think it's so bad it will gain cult status. Nope its just bad.

Up for grabs

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 23 February 2014]

If you like your low budget action movies, spiced with Science Fiction, Western and one super hot leading lady, you could do worse than this. This dystopia of a future this is set in, might drag Mad Max comparisons with it, but this is a different beast. But a very enjoyable one, if you are in the mood for it.

It's also not for the faint of hearted. Very graphic scenes (of violence, just one scene that involves nudity) will either appeal to you or be appalling, depending on your taste. This being independent they had some freedom (apparently) and they used it. Republicans might feel this movie does demonize capitalism and people with money, but reading too much into the movie would be a bad thing ... Just enjoy it for what it is

You call it a movie???

[wahn06 · 1/10 · 1 November 2013]

This is not a movie. This is the result of mental indigestion (in other words, this is sh*t). Watching it infuriated me so much that I decided to make this account, and rate it as lowest as I could. It wasted my precious one and a half hours. Tell me how, and most importantly, why, do these directors and producers waste money and resources to come up with such crap? What is the incentive? To bore people to death? or to tell them they are not alone in a world full of idiots, and that the competition is high? So the bottom line is: Don't waste your time watching this b*llsh*t. A seminar on accounting principles of the modern economy might be more interesting.

Very Not Bad

[mxintx · 6/10 · 25 September 2013]

This movie is great campy fun.

The idea of corporations at war isn't new but the last movie I remember was set during the war. This one is after...and the people want revenge!

The director has a lot of credits as a graphic artist on some great TV shows and it appears he co-wrote the movie with his cousin. This was probably very low budget but it doesn't show as badly as some other movies. Fight scenes were decently choreographed and cut. Gary Busey has a small part and it's nice to see him working. Beverly D'Angelo also makes an appearance.

Sure the film borrows heavily from other films, I could count at least 10. But for pure entertainment it delivers.

For a director to have only have two directorial credits and have them both rated 5.0 or better on IMDb is no small feat.

I look forward to more of this directors work. Hopefully as he progresses we will see a style more his own.

If you like Tarantino and you should like this.

A campy pastiche of Mad Max ripoffs

[krachtm · 5/10 · 5 April 2015]

The plot: A post-apocalyptic bounty hunter goes on the defensive when a bounty is issued for his head and his ex-lover comes to collect.

I didn't realize that this was directed by the same person who did The Last Lovecraft. If I had, I probably would have skipped it. Still, it was better than that horrid film, even if only marginally. I'm a sucker for exploitation films, post-apocalyptic films, and especially exploitative post-apocalyptic films, so I figured this would probably appeal to me. The concept does, but the film... not so much. If you're like me, nothing that I say about this film will discourage you from watching it. However, it's not really worth your time if you're looking for something more than a campy pastiche of Mad Max ripoffs.

The first big problem is the humor. I guess if you liked The Last Lovecraft, you'll probably find this hilarious. It's immature, shallow, and not very witty at all. There a few entertaining moments, but they seem to arrive almost accidentally amid the assault of failed jokes. Like the warmed over Sarah Palin jokes from Iron Sky, this film does attempt to pander somewhat to left-leaning audiences, but there's absolutely no substance it. You could probably find wittier humor on Cracked.com. The splatter is somewhat amusing, and there are quite a few scenes of decapitation. If you are endlessly amused by gratuitous violence, there's always that saving grace. The hero's sidekick was just plain horrible, though. It reminded me of forced quirkiness of Six String Samurai.

The second major problem is that the camera is constantly trying to have sex with the female star. It's downright distracting, and if you're more interested in watching a film than you are in ogling a moderately attractive B actress, this is going to be a slog to get through for you. Acting, characterization, plot -- pretty much everything comes in a distant second, if that. This isn't a deal-breaker, and it's kind of what one would expect from an exploitation film, but normally there is at least some pretense toward telling a story. This film seems mostly to be an excuse to shoot fanservice from a comic book. It's not terribly surprising to find that the director and writer previously collaborated on making exactly that.

The third and possibly biggest problem is that everything in this film comes from another film. If you've sat through more than a few post-apocalyptic films, then it's likely you'll feel a constant sense of deja vu. Sure, I guess you could call it homage if you're feeling kind, but how badly do we need another low budget ripoff of The Road Warrior? I mean, sure, I'll keep watching them as fast as Phase 4 Films, Lionsgate, and other direct-to-video distributors can keep pumping them out, but maybe a bit of originality would be nice in a while. I can't help but think that Roger Corman could have done more with this high concept premise, and it essentially gets discarded in favor of Mad Max homages until the climax.

If all you want is to ogle a B actress in a post-apocalyptic film with some good if derivative action sequences, then this is a good choice. In fact, it's probably a great choice. If you're looking for anything else, skip it.

Very entertaining and funny

[SciFighter · 7/10 · 23 October 2013]

Take this movie for what it is an action comedy in a post apocalyptic setting. It's not earth shattering or a movie you have to think hard about while watching just some good old fun and a great way to spend a couple of hours.

I found the acting to be pretty well done for this type of flick, something I did not expect so it was a nice surprise. Had great action and quite a few laughs we had a great time watching this flick it was an unexpected little gem.

Matthew Marsden did quite well in the main role but the surprise for me was Christian Pitre as Mary Death she was just great I had never seen her in anything before this and after watching this movie I will look forward to seeing what she does next.

Not the best knock-off of other dystopian movies.

[suite92 · 1/10 · 20 December 2013]

Dystopian future: multi-national corporations have displaced nation-states, then fought wars against one another. When they were sufficiently weak, and hatred against them was sufficiently high, an oligarchy named the Counsel of Nine asserted itself. It offers monetary rewards for the dead bodies of (mostly former) corporate executives. This gives rise to a class of murderers called 'Bounty Killers' who collect rewards and compete with each other for the most rewarding executions.

Mary Death is such a bounty killer in this period of abject poverty and excessive wealth. She has celebrity status since she has scored some very rich murders. She is also a target of corporate groups trying to regain strength in this largely lawless time. She and Drifter do jobs together now and then. Until she finds that Drifter is a former high corporate executive; that is, now a criminal with a huge bounty on his head.

Mary and Drifter have a history together, as Drifter recounts to Jack as the gypsies hold them prisoner. They escape and head to Jimbo's place; Jimbo knows who Drifter is, and is willing to help him across the Badlands for a vintage six pack of Pabst Blue RIbbon beer. Mary heads across the Badlands, and finds that the gypsies are looking for her.

Drifter and Mary both make it across the Badlands. Mary tries to kill him. Jack talks her out of it. They head to the Council of Nine, so that Drifter can submit himself to the judges.

Will the corporations re-assert themselves at the last moment? Will the gypsies catch up with them? Will the judges resolve Drifter's issues? If Drifter survives this political snakes nest, will he and Mary get together? -------Scores--------

Cinematography: 10/10 Looks fine.

Sound: 10/10 No problems.

Acting: 0/10 Gary Busey was terrible, Christian Pitre was worthless, Barak Hardley was indescribably bad.

Screenplay: 0/10 Short on ideas, poorly executed, badly acted. The model for story is not well thought out. There is no infrastructure for the top-heavy corporation depicted toward the end of the movie.

Apocolyptic Action in it's Purest Form!! Cult Classic!!

[marquettemcneal · 9/10 · 30 September 2014]

Awesome movie. B-Rated Cult movie in it's finest. This is probably an unintentional stroke of genius. No matter what it is "Bounty Killer" has it. So much, in fact I had to write my first movie review. I did it based on the fact that I think everyone should try this movie out just once.

Everything was done to max effect, despite the apparent budget. Matthew Marsden did real good as the brooding "Drifter" & Christian Pitre as "Mary Death" stole the show with her spicy combination of ruthlessness & sexy. Supporting actor Barak Hardley did a good job as the comic relief gun caddy "Jack". Supporting roles by Gary Busey, Eve, and Beverly D'Angelo also were not a wasted.

All I can say from my personal experience, is that I came in looking for a time filler movie and found a very entertaining cult raunch movie in the same vein as Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez films. The only thing that separate this movie from the other ones is marketing & a bigger budget. If it'd had those things, it probably would've took Hollywood by storm. *(Hollywood Execs--hint, hint)* Wondering if you'd like it: If you like the movie poster, then chances are you're REALLY gonna like this film. It's exactly what you thought It was lol

Aggressively funny gorefest

[Mikelikesnotlikes · 6/10 · 27 April 2017]

I enjoyed cartoon violence, with a large helping of black comedy on the side. And that's just what you'll get with BOUNTY KILLER. There's no plot to ruin so I don't need to be careful with what I say here, it won't spoil it for you.

If you do some research and go in with your eyes open and your mind switched to fun mode, you'll probably enjoy it. It definitely isn't for everyone though.

There's a fair bit of over-the-top gore and it beats the crappy CGI every time. Takes me back to the old way of making films and makes me think of EVIL DEAD, BAD TASTE etc.

Mix in some V8's, motorbikes, MAD MAX style high speed chases across the desert and huge killing sprees that were all well directed/choreographed and acted.

Chuck it in your guilty pleasure pile.

Not Bad

[albrechtcm · 4/10 · 7 December 2013]

In this wild comic-book-romp, Kill Bill meets the Road Warrior. This is yet another devastated future. In this attempt, bounty killers are like rock stars and one of the best is the hottie who calls herself Mary Death. Actually, Mary Death was her third choice, but she found out Bloody Mary and Proud Mary had already been taken. With more blood and guts than WWI and WW2 combined, this is not for kiddies, but all done with a bit of a comic flair and such fast action and colorful characters you just go along for the crazy ride. All in all, although this is normally not my kind of flick, I couldn't help but enjoy this, not for the worn out premise which has been greatly overdone in the past twenty years of so, and certainly not because it made any real sort of sense, but simply because it was a fun ride and at least it didn't get any blood on the audience. The only person I recognized was Gary Busey. Actually, I recognized his teeth before I got a good look at him, but man, those teeth! However, everyone did a good job which consisted mainly of being vicious killers. If you're not too squeamish, go ahead and rent this. Don't buy it because once will be enough.

Flawed But Still Fun Progressivesploitation Film

[patpowers1995 · 16 April 2014]

Just caught the film Bounty Killer on Netflix last night. It's WONDERFUL. It's a violent exploitation flick set in the near future where corporate power has so far outstripped government power that the corporations have actually started warring with each other and turned much of America into a wasteland. This leads to an nascent government called the Council of 9 to arise. The Council of 9 starts issuing Death Warrants with considerable rewards on various corporate heads, and a class of bounty hunters arise to collect those rewards, becoming folk heroes in the process as they drive the mangled corpses of One Percenters to their ragtag villages to collect their rewards.

The basic appeal of this film is seeing One percenter corporate honchos and their minions getting shotgun-blasted, stabbed, and machine-gunned by regular guys. It delivers a fair amount of that. Of course, the corporate types fight back, there's your conflict, and it's all great fun if you don't think about it seriously for more than a nanosecond.

The film has two major flaws. One, the filmmaker is obvious deeply enamored of Mad Max and set much of his film in the California desert with various oddly-dressed sorts riding around at high speed on motorcycles, cars and Winnebagos and stabbing and shooting each other. There's also a bunch of degenerate, cannibalistic wasteland dwellers called "gypsies" who do violent things a lot because they're just violent people, who are in my opinion a complete waste, as they contribute nothing to the main theme of regular guys vs. evil corporate scumbags.

The other major flaw is that the Mad Max imitation just makes the film look cheap. So many bad Roger Corman flicks have been set in run down shacks in the California deserts cause it's cheap that any film that imitates Mad Max just looks like another Roger Corman cheapie.

If the film had focused more sharply on its central theme of corporate scumbags vs. heavily armed regular folks, it would have been much, much better, but the Mad Max imitation stuff just kinda kidnaps the movie and waters down its central theme.

Still, there are several extended scenes of regular guys in stylish desert leathers invading corporate cubicle farms and shooting and stabbing and beating up on One Percenters in three piece suits ... something so SATISFYING about seeing a Wall Street type get a shotgun to the face ... mmmmm. I know it's revenge porn, but it's the only kind of revenge we seem to be able to get nowadays. Enjoy!

Amusing mixed bag

[voyou-703-655350 · 5/10 · 21 November 2013]

It's immediately obvious that some comics adaptation is afoot. And that some Roberto Rodriguez' recent works, such as Grindhouse or Machete, have given Henry Saine ideas.

From the start is described the most gormless universe ever, a society that cannot physically function, where people idolise heroes worse than the criminals they hunt, and where anyone who works in a corporate cubicle also doubles as a gun-totting martial artist.

Luckily, I was in the mood to forgive the stupidity of the introduction, to relax, to give it a chance. And I had fun.

There is plenty of bad in there, but plenty of good as well. For all the blandness of the lead actor, we get the very pleasant and accurately over-the-top performance of C. Pitre as Mary Death. We have a comic relief who isn't funny, yet isn't full time in that position, becoming quite interesting when threatened.

On the worst side, we have a desert chase scene straight out of Road Warrior, with z-grade gypsies as the least original post-apocalyptic tribe ever. I like homages, but this one should have been more inventive. Other classics include heroes very hard to kill yet very easy to capture, a fair amount of predictability, and a severe case of underused Gary Busey (any good action flick kills Mr Busey in an undignified way at some point).

On the best side are the supporting cast, including the smallest talking parts, very colourful pictures and characters, and a script that surprisingly follows some logic in the aforementioned absurd settings. Plus some unexpected non-combat resolutions. Plus a great final battle, fun and creative, perfect for the genre.

On the neutral side, there's a good amount of gore, almost too much for my taste (I like it only when it serves a good bloody joke.) It doesn't affect my rating. I mention it merely as a warning, in case someone reads it, didn't know, and cares.