The Fifth Commandment

really good action
The Fifth Commandment was a fun, somewhat mesmerizing film. The cinemtography was awesome, giving a really immersive feeling, although there's a blue tint to it that occassionally threw me off, but it was still a beautiful film to watch. And that's something really special coming out a straight up action movie.

The story follows an assassin who is troubled with his choices in life who is contracted to kill a troubled young pop star. The problem is that his adoptive brother, who his adopted father told him was dead, turns out to be part of her bodyguard troupe. So he passes the assignment, and protects his brother and the target from the next duo of assassins who are given the job leading to the main conflict of the movie.

And the conflict was top notch. Every burst of gunfire felt powerful, the car chase sequence jarring, the fistfight sequences grueling and damaging. All of it was choreographed and filmed expertly, and there was plenty of it at just the right...

"God doesn't care about people like us"
Rick Yune has all the makings to be a good action hero: he's good-looking, legitimately athletic, and can act Van Damme under the table. "The Fifth Commandment" should have been the ultimate expo of what he can do in a starring role, opposed to the supporting parts he had in Ninja Assassin and Die Another Day, but I'm sorry to say that his first solo vehicle is lacking. At first glance, it's a promising DTV film that avoids several of the more obvious mistakes plaguing the genre, but at some point, you realize that it's only going to get so good and no better. I really hope that Rick gets a few more chances to refine his craft in starring situations; he really could be the next big thing, but for now, this one will have to stick with a limited audience.

The story: an orphaned boy is brought up by an aged master assassin (Keith...

WEEKEND IN PURGATORY
Chance (Rick Yune) is raised by Coolbreeze (Keith David) because his parents got shot my mobsters as a child. Coolbreeze, a cross between Shaft and Huggy Bear uses his Vietnam training to instruct Chance. Coolbreeze also has a son Miles (Bokeem Woodbine) who leaves the family and eventually starts his own security firm.

Miles' firm is hired to guard a singer (Dania Ramirez). Chance reunites with his long lost brother to let him know there is a contract out on the girl. After some testosterone exchanges, we discover the hit is now contracted to a cartoonish couple who look like they belong in "Kill Bill" or some other grindhouse.

The film suffers from substandard dialouge writing. They knew where they wanted to go, it was just awkward getting there, especially the reuniting scene of brothers, who were separated by only 4 minutes film time. The acting was second rate, as expected, but not Seagal funny.

Decent action flick rental. No gravity defying...

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