Silent Trigger
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Movie Reviews of Silent Trigger
Movie Review: Lundgren's Silent Success
Summary: 4 Stars
"Silent Trigger" is a bit of an odd action vehicle for both Dolph Lundgren and director Russell Mulcahy (Highlander): the cast primarily consists of only four players - two protagonists, an antagonist, and a consistent bystander - three of whom remain unnamed throughout the movie, the majority of which takes place with the four characters alone in an empty high-rise building. If it weren't for the action scenes, this might very well have been a stage drama; but even though this is the artsy-est storytelling you're probably ever going to see in a Lundgren film, it remains one of his best and a fan necessity.
The plot follows a mysterious Special Forces sniper (Lundgren) and his rookie female spotter (Gina Bellman, Coupling - The Complete Seasons 1-4) - political assassins forced to go rogue when an overseas mission is compromised and reunited for one last job in a derelict skyscraper. Amidst reliving their initial failed encounter via a series of flashbacks, the pair must contend with the maniacal motives of an insane security guard (Christopher Heyerdahl, "Stargate: Atlantis") looking to get the better of them in a drug-induced rage...though this doesn't seem to bother his fellow guard (Conrad Dunn, Nero Wolfe - The Complete Classic Whodunit Series) at all for some reason...
Since this is a character-driven piece, acting ability is a must for the performers, and I'm glad to say that for the most part, they come through: Lundgren won't win any awards but he achieves the required balance between secrecy and sincerity needed to make his character likeable, Heyerdahl does well as a chauvinistic man slowly descending into madness, and Dunn remains a rightful enigma until the climax - you know that this guy's not at all what he seems, but his character-related twist at the end is well-received. Bellman has some weak spots that express themselves as unfounded overconfidence, but she eventually ends up acceptable when it counts. Even Lundgren's bolt-action sniper rifle has a certain thematic character to it...
The action is sparser than I tend to like it, but in this case, it doesn't hurt the movie. There are approximately three shootouts (all of which include the sniper rifle), one hand-to-hand confrontation between Lundgren and Heyerdahl, and one combination shoot-and-punch in which Lundgren takes on a roomful of special ops soldiers. While the sniping action is good, it's not quite as furious as I had been hoping for, and the hand-to-hand stuff is purely beat-`em-up material - no technical martial arts encounters. Surprisingly, what's there is done with such flair and built up so well that it's satisfying nonetheless; every shot counts, every roundhouse kick has a purpose, and this keeps the action fresh, even though there's not an overload of it.
"Silent Trigger" is a TV production made on the relatively meager budget of $15 million, so expect just a couple of insufficiencies when it comes to CGI. The extended storyline bugs me a bit: the nature of the entity that Lundgren and Bellman work for is never explained - all we know is that it does not tolerate failure to the point of instructing spotters to terminate their snipers should they not deliver, but saw fit to take them both back for one more mission even though I was sure that Lundgren's character had gone into hiding. That, including the unsolved significance of the high-rise building, was no doubt included to heighten the sense of mystery, but leads to a bit too much head-scratching as far as I'm concerned.
Rest assured, no flaw is not enough to drag the movie down, and they even even ends up contributing to the film's slightly far-out flavor. Lundgren fans may be a bit surprised at the road their hero went down in this feature, but it's nonetheless worth having on your shelf, even for non- Lundgren-exclusive action fans.
Movie Review: good action,some excitement
Summary: 4 Stars
The picture of the movie is up to today's standard, however, the 5.1 soundtrack isn't work. The effect of rear speakers is not apparent. The action scene is good. However, I have a question? Why Dolph always disobeys his order and unable to accomplsih his assignment. And why the Agency keeps on assigning him to complete sensitive mission. It is really very risky.
Movie Review: could be retitled "The Reluctant Triggerman"...
Summary: 3 Stars
Silent Trigger (1996) is a slick film that starts out with some promise, shrouds what it is really about for a while as it builds up some tension, and then erodes into complete silliness.
Many times, Dolph Lundgren has played characters with depth that is paper thin, and this role another, as Lundgren plays a sniper who is part of an organization that engages in assassination. Proper names are avoided, as Lundgren is the "Shooter", while Gina Beeman (Leverage) is similarly billed as "Spotter" for the task that her character performs. The film opens crisply, with the Shooter and Spotter high up in a tower, preparing to assassinate a politician. On her first mission, the Spotter provides information regarding range and the prevailing winds. The target arrives, and mission control orders the Shooter to fire, but he refuses. A chopper suddenly appears out of nowhere, opens fire on the tower, and drops soldiers down to the ground on ropes to attack. Utilizing a 50 caliber sniper rifle, the Shooter downs the chopper in a nicely executed action sequence, and escapes with the Spotter.
The film cuts away from this adventure, and proceeds to a new mission set at an unfinished building, in an unnamed city. The situation makes almost no sense, as most of the spaces in the Algonquin tower are unfinished with open exterior walls, yet there is electrical power in some areas, including building security, located on the ground floor. Two security guards are on duty, when the Spotter arrives in the rain, posing as a tech hired to work on computers located in the penthouse (really?). In the elevator, she has to pull a gun, to fend off the advances of O'Hara (Christopher Heyerdahl), a guard high on cocaine. Unknown to the Spotter, the Shooter has already entered the building, and is waiting for her in the penthouse.
The reunion is unexpected, but the two professionals take things in stride. What happened in the original mission is slowly revealed in a series of flashbacks. While preparing for the new assignment, their main concerns are the other guard (Conrad Dunn), and an agitated O'Hara, who returns with the intention of taking revenge on the Spotter.
Silent Trigger gets off to an exciting start, but begins to spiral down to a crash landing, once events begin to unfold in the Algonquin. When a screenplay features the likes of O'Hara as the primary threat, you have a major problem. The Shooter is supposed to be a pro, but sadly he proves to be quite inept, as the drug crazed nut gives him all he can handle. Then instead of putting him out of commission, the Shooter handcuffs him to a toilet fixture, which then becomes a gag.
The rest of the story is riddled with abject silliness, sure to disappoint anyone seeking some semblance of a credible plot. Much of the action centers around the building's elevator. Defying logic, the elevator shaft does not have a consistent look, as it actually changes its physical structure between various scenes. What a mess! This is another film with lighting in the elevator shaft, and the raised floor in the penthouse, also has lighting beneath it. Cinematic perhaps, but like much in the film, utter drivel.
Reflecting on the life they have chosen, the Spotter and Shooter find that they have feelings for each other, making love on the floor of the drafty penthouse. Leaking water leads to the discovery that O'Hara has escaped, but upon returning to the penthouse, the once flooded corridor is now miraculously dry. So much for continuity. With O'Hara a threat to jeopardize the top secret mission, the Shooter does very little but relax. With a sense of déjà vu, the pair prepare to make the hit, and once again things do not go as planned. As before, men suddenly drop down from above, setting the stage for a clumsily executed shootout.
Gina Bellman is a step up in class, from the leading ladies typically appearing in Lundgren's films. Her character could have had a more substantial role, but is mainly around for eye candy. Often with damp hair, she spends much of the time as a damsel in distress, taking some heavy duty abuse. She still manages to look damn good, and finally kicks some ass at the climax, but winds up soaking wet again, in a throwaway ending. Somehow, Dolph Lundgren usually manages to come off as likeable onscreen, even though at times, as in this film, it seems like he isn't making the greatest effort.
Unfortunately, even an inspired Lundgren performance, could not overcome the ridiculously bad screenplay. Director Russel Mulcahy (Highlander) delivers a few tight action scenes, but the less than cogent plot, dooms what could have been a solid action adventure told in an interesting way. The film does entertain, but loses touch with reality early on, and sadly drifts away into pure nonsense. This is an outing where the Shooter never completes his mission, and his massive gun (the one used for sniping), is not employed as intended.
Movie Review: Here he is again, the Guy With The Big Gun...
Summary: 3 Stars
When a Dolph Lundgren DVD review starts with the words "not a bad movie", you know you must RUSH and buy it, for it's as good as it's gonna get! The fact that I am still a fan of the actor is testament to his vast on-screen charisma rather then his ability (luck?) to pick winning projects.
Well, this is not a bad movie...Waxman is a battle-hardened sniper, working for a non-descript agency, when his moral consciousness comes a knocking, inconveniently, in the middle of an assignement, while he is being assisted by a rookie spotter (the lovely Gina Bellman; check her out in "Couplings"). We hope he's been told to kill whoever hired the girl, for she has no clue (though looks good in tight clothing). Things go from bad to worse and the couple end up running for their lives thru a war torn country. We see them again re-united a few years later, on another assignement (Waxman's moral conciousness must have taken another break during that time). The job takes them to the top floor of an eery apartment building, still under construction. All is not what it seems though. Neither one trusts the other. The girl makes it clear she is ready to "retire" Waxman, should he fail to complete his job this time. And so, obviously,... they have sex (well, research does seem to support the notion that people who have sex during work time are happier in their employment; so, who are we to judge?). High action events take place that derail both characters and lead to a climax that is unexpected to the viewer. Not bad...Really...
All the scenes for the second assignement are shot in the beautifully eery Algonquin Hotel in Montreal, Canada. The location heightens the feeling of isolation the two heroes experience; it sets the mood and works well to support the script, the story, and the character development. However, it is the manner in which the first assignement is shot that makes me knock down two stars off the rating. Naive set set-up, undisciplined and unenthused extras are just a couple of the issues. Unfortunately, we see these poorly produced scenes thruthout the entire movie, in form of flashbacks. With the $10-$15 mil budget these scenes have no right to be there...plain and simple. By contrast, Lundgren's "Retrograde" was shot for less then $2 mil, but with a more believable result! The end product is uneven, frustrating the viewer with its unrealized potential.
Still, there is enough good action and decent acting on part of Lundgren and Bellman, to make this one of my favourite Dolph movies. When I fast forward thru all the flashbacks, I can almost get the feeling of watching a major motion picture. Not a small feat for a Dolph movie to achieve...
Movie Review: Better than expected
Summary: 3 Stars
I tend to have a fairly poor opinion of movies of this sort, meaning inconsequential action movies. This category would include the films of Steven Segal, Jean-Claude van Damme, Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the like. With a few notable exceptions ("The Terminator," for example) these are forgettable time fillers. I was aware Dolph Lundgren made action movies, though I always associate him with his role as the Russian behemoth from "Rocky IV." Little did I realize he is Swedish, not Russian (the name should have been my first clue), is a martial artist and he is reputedly very intelligent; he holds a master's degree in chemical engineering and had a Fulbright Scholarship to go to MIT. Needless to say, I have newfound respect for Mr. Lundgren. Unfortunately, high intelligence does not necessarily always translate into great films. Such is the case with "Silent Trigger," a mostly forgettable tale about an assassin (Lundgren), who has an epiphany, decides he is the bad guy and refuses to shoot a high-profile target. This leads his spotter (played by the marvelous Gina Bellman) to be ordered to dispose of him. We jump forward to another opportunity for assassination, where Shooter and Spotter again encounter one another. I am impressed by some of the cinematography, and the understated, dark atmosphere sometimes resembles a horror or suspense film. The violence is quite bloody and strong in this, which is something to which I am not very accustomed. I primarily watched this to see Gina Bellman, who is so good as Jane on "Coupling." Her physically demanding role here as an assassin is much different, though she is just as likeable. Does Dolph choose roles that do not require him to emote, or is he typecast in these roles? Either way, there isn't much opportunity for him to show his chops here, though we don't go into this film expectin4g as much. The finale is rather satisfying, so I would recommend if you are in the mood for a half-way decent action flick. The DVD offers a good transfer and a few different audio and subtitle options. It is also full screen pan-and-scan, which seems fitting for the caliber of the film.