DIRECT CONTACT (Danny Lerner, 2008)

[Craigie-Boy]

87 minutes?! Is that all?

[Jack Caine]

87 minutes?! Is that all?

That's about the same time as Cyborg, I'd say. Enough for a film of just action!

[Jox]

Interesting to see the Blu-Ray is $5 cheaper than the DVD on Amazon. The BD is now ranked #19 among DL films, DVD is #22.

[Jox]

mock-ups I did last year:

[MikeR]

I like the first one a lot - it would certainly stand out on the shelf - there are far too many covers with the hero pointing a gun. The first one is completely different.

Well done!

M.

[Mosquito]

I like the first one a lot - it would certainly stand out on the shelf - there are far too many covers with the hero pointing a gun. The first one is completely different.

Well done!

M.

Yeah, absolutely. Very impressive! But of course this is the total "Broken Hero" setting... I guess Dolph and the publishers prefer the "Hero rulez and is in total control" type of photo (play it safe).

[Jox]

But of course this is the total "Broken Hero" setting...

I love this type of imagery, and even though Dolph is the indestructible "He-man", he also always played of his vulnerable/wounded side whether it's in RED SCORPION, JOSHUA TREE or even COVER-UP etc...

[Nathan]

I REALLY agree wholeheartedly with that Jox. Here comes a long rant...

I always love it when heroes show some sort of vunerability and the message that "no one is invincible" is put across. That's why Steven Seagal movies seem rather repetitive because he usually has everyone floored within the first ten seconds of the fight...and naturally the movies where he is slightly more vunerable such as Above the Law, Under Siege and Exit Wounds are regarded as being his finest work. It's always good to see the hero get a beatdown and finally triumph over the bad guy. It makes it all the more exciting and challenging and usually makes for a great final fight. I love when the good guy and bad guy will have a short fight, usually in amongst chaos about half way through the movie where the good guy will get taken down pretty easily. It builds the suspense and makes the climax all the more heart-stopping. For example look at Rocky IV, where we had Dolph take out Apollo Creed, to show how mean he was to the audience and to Rocky..by hurting the hero's friends and family and even the hero himself you show that he is really in a dangerous situation and I feel that Dolph, Van Damme and even Chuck Norris have been able to display that vunerability really well. In saying that..I love one-man army movies but even in them there hero usually gets bloodied up. I think that any movie where the hero is entirely invincible is not as exciting as when he takes a bit of damage. So to summarise...haha, just kidding..

[leigh1975]

I REALLY agree wholeheartedly with that Jox. Here comes a long rant...

I always love it when heroes show some sort of vunerability and the message that "no one is invincible" is put across. That's why Steven Seagal movies seem rather repetitive because he usually has everyone floored within the first ten seconds of the fight...and naturally the movies where he is slightly more vunerable such as Above the Law, Under Siege and Exit Wounds are regarded as being his finest work. It's always good to see the hero get a beatdown and finally triumph over the bad guy. It makes it all the more exciting and challenging and usually makes for a great final fight. I love when the good guy and bad guy will have a short fight, usually in amongst chaos about half way through the movie where the good guy will get taken down pretty easily. It builds the suspense and makes the climax all the more heart-stopping. For example look at Rocky IV, where we had Dolph take out Apollo Creed, to show how mean he was to the audience and to Rocky..by hurting the hero's friends and family and even the hero himself you show that he is really in a dangerous situation and I feel that Dolph, Van Damme and even Chuck Norris have been able to display that vunerability really well. In saying that..I love one-man army movies but even in them there hero usually gets bloodied up. I think that any movie where the hero is entirely invincible is not as exciting as when he takes a bit of damage. So to summarise...haha, just kidding..

The way I've always seen it, Drago was never evil and mean in Rocky IV. He's just blindly and passionately loyal to 'Mother Russia'. The real key to the character (and the reason why it's disappointing Dolph never reprised his role in Rocky 6; I'd like to see where Drago's head is at today) is that he doesn't say "I WILL break you", the line is " I MUST break you". I really read into that over the years. Probably too much!

[dolphage]

I´m not adverse to the classic "second act low point" of a movie (the hero is outnumbered/captured/broken down etc) and must rise and defeat the odds. But I thought it was incredibly refreshing when Seagal came along and played a completly untouchable hero. I´d never seen that before. Just mowing down hords of enemies all attacking in waves. (Even though he´s a douche). Granted, for a real emotional ride you need to have the hero, just barely, overcoming the great obstacles put in front of him and Seagals movies could be seen as superficial and flashy for lacking in that department. But I like that! The "will our hero succeed" question is not relevant in action movies anyway! He will! The fun part is always finding just HOW he saves the day. So be it "by the skin of his teeth" like Bruce Willis (in, the fantastic, Die Hard) or "without breaking a sweat" like Seagal (in pretty much all his movies) I don´t care. As long as it´s fun to watch.

And I agree that Drago was not an evil character. He was "programmed".

BTW, How about that Direct Contact?

[MikeR]

I don't know if the 'early fight ends up with the hero losing' has become so common now that it's in danger of becoming almost as much a cliche as 'the monster's not really dead', or 'you really shouldn't split up in the dark forest'. The problem with it is that we all know if there's another hour of the movie yet to run, they're going to have another chance to fight and this time - thanks to magic / slow motion training / the love of a beautiful woman they will beat the big bad.

I'd like to see more ambiguous movies where if the hero does win, it doesn't end with them grinning as they drive off into the sunset with the girl - perhaps have endings that show the sort of hell the hero must go through. I'm racking my mind for an example and the only one that comes to mind is strangely enough 'Cover Up' which has that very ambiguous ending - is he dead? - the released version never makes it clear if Big D has averted disaster but at the price of his own life.

Or if the movie must have a happy ending, make the hero go through hell time and time again so the audience really isn't sure if they can make it - best example I can come up with late on a Sunday evening - 'Strange Days' where Ralph Fiennes gets knocked around like a piñata at a childrens' party.

M.

[The_Canadian]

Okay, I've been a bad boy... I went ahead and downloaded DC.

But it's okay! I buy all DL movies I download! I did it for both the Russian Specialist and I Come in Peace! And I quickly bought both once they were available! I swear!

Anyways, quick comments:

Holy shit. Awesome stuff. This is a Dolph Lundgren movie for fans like Dolphage and myself.

The story isn't really anything original, but the script throws in a couple quick twists on old cliches (most notably a scene with an eye-patch wearing gun salesman), and a mildly engaging political thriller plot.

And while the action never really tries anything bold or bizarre like, say, the car chase in "The Peacekeeper", it is constant and with lots of variety (gunfights, car chases, and even a little martial arts thrown in for good measure). As soon as one action scene ends, another begins. Also, a good deal of blood flies.

Dolph is great, Micahel Pare is an enjoyable villain (his death is spectacular), and the cinematography is incredible. Hell, aside from the editing (some awkward moments in that department), and some questionable CGI, the entire movie is like an A-budget production... especially for a DTV movie!

This is definitely a high end Nu Image production with literally non-stop action, an interesting (if not original) plot, and a great dose of humour.

[dolphage]

You´re fckng kidding! That´s amazing! I was prepared for a bit of a let down. I NEED this movie in front of me right now! Dolphage needs some dolphage! Pronto!

[Jox]

I don't know if it's for better or worse but the leaking of DC made Dolph jump up 124% on the IMDB starmeter this week

[Jack Caine]

I don't know if it's for better or worse but the leaking of DC made Dolph jump up 124% on the IMDB starmeter this week

Sounds like good news to me, cochise! Still, I'm going to wait until this movie goes on dvd in America until I become very anxious and impatient.