ICARUS / THE KILLING MACHINE (Dolph Lundgren, 2009)

[Jox]

Ranked #6 in Japanese rentals Feb 21-27
http://so-net-rental.sonima.co.jp/index.php?mode=rank

[Jox]

Moved up to #4 in Japanese rentals this week!
(TE and CP were just released yesterday over there)
http://so-net-rental.sonima.co.jp/index.php?mode=rank

[Jox]

First released as a Best Buy exclusive the US Blu-ray will now be available elsewhere on June 21
http://www.amazon.com/Killing-Machine-B ... 116&sr=1-1

[Jox]

[Jox]

Article/review for theatrical release in Jakarta, Indonesia (page 23)
http://issuu.com/koran_jakarta/docs/edisi-692-22mei2010

[Jox]

Anybody remembers when does this song plays in the movie. Supposedly they licensed it but I remember hearing it even in the background (maybe they didn't use it or it was in Dolph's cut?)

[Jox]

Blu-ray out tomorrow in the US.

[riotgirl77]

The movie had a tiny blurb in this week's Entertainment Weekly issue (the cover with Ryan Reynolds I think)

[bomaz2]

Icarus did quite well on french TV, being second most viewed program on numeric channels. Here

[Jox]

Cool, nice find! More than a little less than 1 million people to watch it on this small cable channel is pretty good!

[T100]

i loved this film! dolph knows how to deliver! fav kill wud be the head to the barbell aha. Bloody good gore, i really hope dolph can get bigger budgets, the possibilitys are endless with his talent. Also, good use of canadien locations

[Jox]

I wanted to talk a little bit about 'Icarus' or 'The Killing Machine' as it is known in America. Is there potential for a franchise?

Well, not really. To tell you the truth, I had some problems with the producers - it kind of ended up not being my cut that ended up being released. So I wasn't too happy about it.

That's too bad, I really enjoyed it - you were great in it.

Thanks, the original was better. You live and learn.

http://www.hitrockbottom.org/dolphlundgren.html

[Jox]

Premiering on Sky Movies July 2, here's a review:
http://movies.sky.com/the-killing-machine/review

In Dolph Lundgren's first crack behind the camera, The Defender, he played an enigmatic hard man whose aptitude for killing puts everyone around him in mortal danger. Many people wanted him dead. Many people ended up dead.

For his next directorial tricks (The Mechanik, Diamond Dogs [an uncredited stand-in gig], Missionary Man and Command Performance), he played various enigmatic hard men - usually haunted by their pasts - whose aptitude for killing put everyone around them in mortal danger. Many people wanted them dead. Many more people ended up dead.

So what of Dolph's fifth, The Killing Machine, in which he plays the enigmatic Edward Genn, by day an international property broker, by every other day a hitman for the Russian mob, haunted by his past as KGB agent 'Icarus'?

Well, let's allow Edward to sum up the situation: "The man who hired me is dead. The man who hired him is dead."

No change here then. That's the great thing about Dolph as both star and director - you know exactly what you're gonna get.

So here we are, following Eddie's bid to extricate himself from his double life, which means keeping his estranged wife Joey (Stefanie von Pfetten) and young daughter safe while the assorted bodies of acquaintances, bimbos and gun-toting goons pile up around them.

As with all Dolph's missions, this is done via twitchy camerawork, flashbacks, one or two ploddy bits, the odd double-cross, and numerous bursts of splattery violence.

A little more levity wouldn't go amiss, though the speed with which both Eddie and Joey get over their ill-fated new partners is hilarious.

But while Dolph invariably sticks to his formulaic guns, his direction improves with every job. The Killing Machine finds him more in control of pace and camera tricks than any of his previous efforts, and appointing himself as narrator adds a welcome touch of noir.

Of course, nobody's here to assess his technique, they're here to count bodies. A rough estimate? Many.

Elliott Noble

[Jox]

[Jox]