Extreme Honor (2001)

User Rating:

2.7/10   

Director:

Steven Rush

Writer:

Steven Rush (writer)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

Abandoned By Justice. Embraced By Vengence.

Plot:

A highly decorated Navy Seal is forced out of retirement in order to save his son's life and bring justice to the man who destroyed his career. |

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Dan Andersen	...	John Kennedy Brascoe
Michael Ironside	...	Baker
Olivier Gruner	...	Cody
Michael Madsen	...	Sparks
Edward Albert	...	Senator Richards (as Edward Albert Jr.)
Odile Corso	...	Samantha
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Grand L. Bush	...	Brady
James T. Callahan	...	Randolph
Tracy Dali	...	Golddigger #1
Delious	...	Father
Antonio Fargas	...	Willy
Victoria Gallegos	...	Commanding Officer
Colton James	...	Jason Brascoe
Jack Kissell	...	Sidney
Martin Kove	...	Packard
Scott Mosenson	...	Sherman
Charles Napier	...	Commander
Tyler Ostrander	...	Kenny
Rick Overton	...	Dr. Lumber
Jerry Rector	...	Security Guard
Sy Richardson	...	Schultz
Sven-Ole Thorsen	...	Baker's Bodyguard

Also Known As:

Last Line of Defence 2 (Europe: English title) (video title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence, sexuality and language.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R | South Korea:18 | Australia:MA

Company:

Handheld Productions

Michael Ironside, Michael Madsen, Oliver Gruner, Charles Napier... Now, tell me: Who the hell is Dan Andersen???

Well, I already knew about the shameless advertising this movie is guilty of before going into it. The names of Michael Ironside, Michael Madsen and Oliver Gruner are displayed in big letters on the front-cover of the DVD, yet they only have supporting rolls in this flick. The leading character, John Kennedy Brascoe, a (soon to be former) Navy S.E.A.L. lieutenant, is portrayed by Dan Andersen. Now where the hell did they find this guy and who is he? Apparently he did this one and only movie in 2001 and then completely disappeared from the face of the earth. Because I am so intrigued by this, I guess I'm going to do a little internet research on this man. It's already very obvious that the film-makers were trying to introduce him as the next big action star, but sadly that plan failed miserably. Now I must say that he at least tried to put down a performance of some sort, but as an actor, his skills are extremely limited. And on top of that it seems that he somewhat feels uncomfortable in front of a camera. Other than that, no offense please, the guy's pretty ugly-looking too. But I won't hold that against him, 'cause he can't help that little fact. So, nice try Mr. Andersen and I'm sorry this whole movie-thing didn't seem to have worked out very well for you.

So what about the movie? Well, as an action-flick, this one fails big time. And that's not even because it's poorly executed or something. In the 5-minute-long opening scene, this movie promises to be an action-packed (because of several guns at display) B-movie with an international software-smuggling plot. But after that, to my utmost surprise, this turns into a soap-opera family drama and all this lasts for the next 40(!)minutes or so. Fortunately, during all this, Michael Ironside, Oliver Gruner and Charles Napier have already graced the screen with their limited screen-time. Charles Napier actually only has a little cameo, as he is in only one scene. But it was fun seeing this big-mouthed cult-icon again. Michael Ironside is once again very enjoyable as the filthy rich (and illustriously corrupt) Mr. Baker. And Oliver Gruner? Well, everyone knows the man isn't a great acting talent. But I always have so much fun when I see him delivering his lines with that almost incomprehensible accent of his. He even has trouble saying "I'm taking you out, a$$h@Le!", so you can imaging what fun it is seeing him trying to pronounce "dishonourable discharge". After those 40 minutes, Michael Madsen enters the ring, and well, he's just cool as ice, as always.

Probably the only sequence worth watching is the organized robbery of Mr. Parker's mansion. Another funny line comes from Michael Ironside: "Who in this little soap-opera of yours, would be best served by you dying?". Now, was writer/director Steven Rush trying to be witty here? By applying some self-mockery here and referring to the fact that this whole movie actually is more like a soap-opera than an action-movie anyway. Or maybe Michael Ironside came up with that line himself, after having read the script? I sure would love to give him some credit for that. And even more funny was the fact that Mr. Parker had to give no less than 3 hints to John Brascoe before he could guess who placed the hit-contract on his head. I mean, how dumb is this ex-Navy S.E.A.L character? And there are even some more enjoyable but extremely uninspired and predictable twists in the plot. And of course the obligatory love-interest (including love-scene) for Johnny Brascoe.

Now, I can somehow imagine that on paper this screenplay perhaps didn't even look that bad. It's just sad that this movie neither works as an action movie or a drama (with the latter aspect being portrait in a just too cheap type of fashion). And strangely I didn't even mind wasting 90 minutes of a lazy Sunday afternoon on EXTREME HONOR. Must have been because of Ironside, Madsen and Gruner's funny accent. So there you have the 3 solid points this movie deserves.