Missionary Man (2007/Sony DVD)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Feature: C

 

 

When I recently brought up Dolph Lundgren to several friends of mine, I was surprised by the unanimously positive and upbeat reaction they all gave.  People really like him and it reinforces my belief that he never got the chance to peak as a big action start like he should have.  It is not too late, but Lundgren has taken matters into his own hands directing his latest feature, Missionary Man.

 

Essentially a Western set in modern times, he plays a mysterious stranger on a big motorcycle (subbing for a horse) simply named Ryder who arrives in a modern town in modern times to see Native Americans still being beaten, discriminated against and ignored.  What the townspeople do not know is that he is back to settle a few scores and with things as bad as ever, is anxious to make them pay.

 

Lundgren also wrote the screenplay, which has some good basic premises and if he had collaborated with an expert on The Western, this could have been a huge surprise.  Instead, it is just average and viable at best, though fans (and this critic) were hoping for more.  To its advantage, it is ambitious and maybe a transitional work that could make Lundgren a hot property again.

 

The audience is certainly out there for it.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image would not be bad if the whole entire look was not a retro-sepia tone.  For some scenes, it might have been fun, but the whole thing?  Bing Rao’s cinematography is not half bad either.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix would not be bad either (including a decent score from Ronin’s Elia Cmiral) but the low budget gives away the limits of the on-set recording and that sabotages a soundfield that has its moments.  The only extra besides a bunch of Sony DVD and Blu-ray trailers are an alternate opening to the film and alternate ending.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo