It
is a terrible idea to leave a soldier-for-hire like Maxx for dead. His former
comrades-in-arms do it twice. They are fortunate the first time, because a
brave parish priest convinces the human weapon to renounce violence, but the
bad guys are perversely determined to keep poking the bear. Sooner or later,
Maxx is bound to start doing what he does best in Jesse V. Johnson’s The Mercenary, which is now available on DVD and VOD.
Eventually,
the Islamist outrage industry will start protesting this film, because the
opening action sequence features Maxx liquidating dozens of terrorists in a
Mosque, which doesn’t seem to trouble the film in the least. It certainly
shouldn’t trouble viewers either, but the world is insane. Things get a bit dicey
on the next gig their team-leader LeClerc accepts from a Latin American drug cartel.
When one of his colleagues tries to have his way with a village woman, Maxx
intervenes, but almost gets killed for his efforts.
Kindly
Father Elias nurses Maxx back to health and guides him back to the path of the
righteous. Unfortunately, LeClerc and his mercs have taken over the local drug
trade. Periodically, they abduct villagers to labor in their meth factories. At
first, Maxx merely trains the villagers in self-defense, but when LeClerc
learns he is still alive, all bets are off.
So,
any questions? Nobody is likely to confuse The Mercenary with art
cinema, but it is definitely a competent, self-aware direct-to-DVD action
movie. Johnson is one of the best in the business at staging action on-screen (see
for instance: Avengement, Debt Collector, and Accident Man).
Former French Foreign Legion paratrooper Dominiquie Vandenberg does not have
the star power of Johnson’s frequent protag, Scott Adkins, but as a former
competitor in Thailand’s “Iron Circles,” he clearly has the skills, the physicality,
and the street cred for a bad cat like Maxx. After watching The Mercenary,
we’re frankly keen to see more of him.
Louis
Mandylor also come to play, yelling, growling, and chewing the scenery with villainous
relish as LeClerc. The late, great character actor Carmen Argenziano (who
recurred on CSI: NY and Stargate SG-1) is terrific as Father
Elias, making him humane and virtuous, but also realistically human. Indeed,
Father Elias might be the most sympathetic, true-to-life depiction of a
Catholic priest seen in film over the last two or three years.
Action
and Catholic faith—what more could you ask from a film? Sure, maybe stronger characterization
and stuff like that. Still, you have to admit Johnson and Vandenberg know what
they are doing and get the job done. Recommended for fans of the old school
Cannon action aesthetic, The Mercenary is now available on DVD and VOD.
