The Wonderful World of DTV - The films of director William Kaufmanhttp://screenanarchy.com/2017/08/the-wo ... ntrib.htmlChad Law has continued to work with Kaufman throughout the director’s career, writing some of his best films. Evan Law still continues to write, but has only worked with Kaufman one other time since, with him doing an un-credited rewrite on One in the Chamber (2012).
Hit List marked the third Kaufman film in a row that Ron Balicki contributed towards, with him doing stunt work on the film as well as having a bit part. Fans of The Prodigy should also keep an eye out for that films star Holt Boggs, who has a small role here.
Both Kaufman and Gooding Jr would reteam the next year on One in the Chamber, with them bringing action legend Dolph Lundgren along for the ride.
Those who were disappointed by the Hit List being more of a thriller than an action film should have no complaints this time round, with there being some well thought out fight scenes and shootouts.
Cuba Gooding Jr is again on lead duties, doing his usual good work. His character, like the Hit List, is another hit man. but one with a stronger moral code. He works in Eastern Europe, being employed by rival gangs to carry out various hits. It isn’t long until a gang war erupts, with another assassin (Dolph Lundgren) being brought in to take care of the situation.
The addition of Dolph Lundgren stands One in the Chamber out from the crowd, with the big Swede giving a fun scene stealing performance as Russian assassin Alexey. With a wardrobe to go with his personality, Dolph makes the most of his memorable character, and it is just a shame that he isn’t given more screen time.
The rest of the supporting cast is made up of the usual reliable faces like Louis Mandylor, Billy Murray and Leo Gregory.
Claudia Bassols plays the only real female role in the film. She is mainly here to make Gooding Jr’s character feel guilty for a past deed until she is used as the usual damsel in distress. Sadly Bassols is the only real sour note, with her acting not up to par with her more experienced co-stars.
A change from previous Kaufman pictures, One in the Chamber wasn’t shot in America, with the majority of the films being filmed in and around Romania. Kaufman works well with cinematographer Mark Rutledge to make the locations look good and have them be a good setting for the films action scenes.
Rutledge had already been cinematographer on Kaufman’s last two films, but One in the Chamber is the standout, possibly due to being shot in Eastern Europe. He would continue to work with the director on his future films such as The Marine 4: Moving Target (2015), Jarhead 3: The Siege (2016) and his upcoming Lazarat (2017).
The script does offer up some interesting characters, especially Dolph Lundgren’s Alexey, even if it isn’t the best script Kaufman has worked from. It may be credited to Benjamin Shahrabani, but the film went through some un-credited rewrites with brothers Chad and Evan Law working on the script as well as Derek Kolstad.
Kolstad would go on to write another Dolph Lundgren feature, Jesse V Johnson’s The Package (2013), but is probably better known now as the writer of the classic John Wick (2014) and its sequel.
After the release of One in the Chamber, it would be another three years until Kaufman would step behind the camera. He would return with The Marine 4: Moving Target which would be the first time the director had made a sequel to another director’s work.