When you go to see a movie like The Marine, you should know what you’re in for. There’s going to be a lot of bad guys, and there’s going to be a damsel in distress. There’s going to be a surprise bad guy. And the good guy is probably going to be good and tough beyond belief.
John Triton (played by John Cena) is a heroic Marine who returns home after being discharged-against his will, from the war in Iraq. Stateside, he finds himself back in action, when his wife Kate (played by Kelly Clarkson) is kidnapped by a murderous gang led by the merciless Rome (Robert Patrick). With everything on the line, the Marine will stop at nothing to carry out his toughest and most important mission.
Written by Michelle Gallagher and Alan McElroy, and directed by John Bonito, the movie has good humor and pace. The acting is uniformly good, including Cena. There are some absurdly unbelievable stunts and special effects thrown in for good measure. John Triton literally goes through the bad guys, in every over-the-top way imaginable. There is nothing subtle in this movie; in fact, the genius of the film is in its unapologetically obvious crowd-pleasing moments.
Overall, the movie is a series of well-executed chase scenes, meaningless arguments between the jewel thieves and pointless action sequences. It’s not bad entertainment, though; for the most part, the action sequences in this film are cut together quite nicely. Since it has a running time of 93 minutes, you won’t waste too much time. |
