Dolph Lundgren is probably the least successful, or popular, of the major action stars. And he usually is stuck with the lowered budgets, lowered productions, and little to no worthy supporting cast. This usually makes any movie Dolph graces as a LUNDGREN film, since he's all that matters and frankly all you will remember. Dolph takes the helm on this one, starring and directing, and impressively displays a knowledge of what makes an action movie great. Simple, yet harrowing and tragic, revenge plot. Sidekicks for the disposal. And countless goons whose only purpose is to be a bullet recepticle or a catalyst to display Dolph's physical prowess as he lays waste to them effortlessly. But we already knew that, that's why we're here to enjoy it. "The Russian Specialist" is nothing we haven't seen before, but what Dolph does is display a knack for good filmmaking. His second venture in Directing and he's shown he's very capable of making a stylized, glory days action flick. There's beautiful use of Russian culture. A great shot of the Kremlin. Dolph rides a motorcycle past Red Square. It's really nice stuff that you don't see in the action genre anymore, there's no appreciation for set or where you are. Establishing shots once upon a time were standard, but it seems they've become useless as they challenge the viewer's attention span. I for one liked seeing the old style of editing. What's the plot? Dolph is avenging mobsters who killed his family 7 years back. He thought he finished them off that same day, but apparently the head honcho survived, and now he's back to seal the deal. Dolph cleverly uses the flashbacks in brief to explain his family was killed; he wastes no time getting right to the action. And there is a lot of action. The action is very professional and executed with talent. As a director, I liked Dolph's choice of when to display carnage and when to let the imagination of the viewer finish the picture for him. Example in point a baddie is crawling from Dolph into a small lake. Dolph follows him, points the shotgun point blank to his face and shoot. Instead of showing the impact, the exploding body parts and other carnage, he opts for a long shot of the water and blood splashing and a convulsing body. The point was made, and that kind of maturity for a director really shows potential. Any schmo can show a cheesy shot gun blast, to do it creatively is priceless. Dolph Lundgren wins in this one. "The Russian Specialist" is an accomplishment over much of his post-1998 work, and I'd love to see Dolph step up for more directorial duties as he clearly displays his understanding of the genre he's cursed to and creating what works. This one is gritty, harsh, brutal, violent, and total revenge motive that gets you rooting for the hero. I can easily recomend "The Russian Specialist".Read full review
I'm a Dolph Lundgren fan. I have most of his movies. This one was entertaining. The plot, action and characters were engaging.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
good action
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Good revenge film
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Ok for a night time show to relack to.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in DVDs & Blu-ray Discs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on DVDs & Blu-ray Discs