Usually, Hayden’s marks have it coming, maybe even the ones that trouble his conscience. Managold was one of the worst, until he first found Danique Kellar and then found God. Unfortunately, Hayden has now found them, but the notorious Managold’s skills are as good as advertised. Hayden is better prepared for his second attempt, until his colleagues Isaac Florentine and “Wicked” show up, guns blazing, in his general direction.
Despite still hoping to complete his contract, Hayden forges an uneasy alliance with Managold. It is probably because of the visions he sees of his late girlfriend, Nona Messenger. Her scenes are weirdly clumsy. At first, Taylor presents her as if she were of the flesh, but he soon reveals her “ghostly” status shortly thereafter. Perversely, almost every subsequent appearance tries to shock us with another revelation regarding her backstory, but it is all very silly and hopelessly telegraphed. Frankly, the only thing Messenger’s character manages to accomplish is reminding viewers of the vast superiority of The Sixth Sense.
Nevertheless, Dolph Lundgren and Michael Jai White continue to be two of the most reliable stars of VOD action. Frankly, Lundgren shows some acting chops as Managold, especially in his scene discussing his conversion. In the case of White (playing Florentine), his delivery manages to wring some dry humor out of screenwriter Chad Law’s pedestrian dialogue. He and Lundgren maintain their instant credibility administering beatdowns.
Genre fans will immediately assume Florentine’s name is a tribute to the Israeli martial arts filmmaker Isaac Florentine, especially since he directed White in Undisputed II: Last Man Standing. For his part, Taylor nicely handles the fight scenes. It is the stuff in between that gets iffy. It will be perfectly fine for Lundgren and White fans when it hits free streamers, being yet another one, but you wouldn’t want to pay for Exit Protocol when it opens Friday (11/7) in LA, at the Laemmle Monica Film Center.
