User reviews

"Ruthless" is an adrenaline-fueled action film that will keep you entertained from start to finish. The movie delivers some jaw-dropping fight scenes and intense violence that action enthusiasts will love. The choreography of the fights is top-notch, and the visual effects add an extra layer of excitement. However, while the action is impressive, the plot can be a bit predictable at times. Some twists and turns could have elevated the story and made it more engaging. Nevertheless, the strong performances from the cast, especially the lead actor, bring depth to their characters and make the film enjoyable to watch. The cinematography is also worth mentioning, as it captures the gritty atmosphere of the movie perfectly. Overall, "Ruthless" is a solid action flick with great action sequences, although it could have benefited from a more original storyline. I'd give it a solid 6 stars out of 10! 🌟🎥

...Sometimes you lose. Movies like this are not Oscar winners. Or really winners at all. However, they serve an important purpose of a palate cleanser. As of late, many movies are met with harsh criticism as "the worst ever" or "so awful I couldn't finish." Those reviewers have not had the pleasure of seeing this film.

Ruthless was just that. Ruthless on my sense of coherency, Ruthless on my eyes. The films saving grace was in that it can stand as an example and a learning moment.

Dermot Mulroney carries this film on his back. In a flurry of poorly delivered, poorly expressed and flatly read lines, he adds some depth where depth is needed. Beyond his laconic grieving father figure, the movie cannot decide if it is a thriller, a drama, an action comedy, or a revenge flick. This lack of direction forces the audience to look at every glaring plot hole and inconsistency with even more confusion. I can forgive the lack of logic in a for fun movie, but not in a serious movie.

If you are looking for something to fill time, you can see 60% of this movie and still understand it. If you are looking to be inspired, turn back. If you are a filmmaker or student, watch this and take extensive notes. Then do the opposite.

Ruthless is directed by Art Camacho and stars Dermot Mulroney and Jeff Fahey.

What should've been a competent Taken/ Death Sentence ripoff instead becomes one of the most poorly made and laughably incompetent movies I've seen this year. Dermot Mulroney stars as Harry a high school wrestling coach whose teenager daughter was murdered. He takes matters into his own hands when one of his female students is kidnapped and sold into a child trafficking ring in Las Vegas by her mother's abusive boyfriend.

Aside from numerous plot holes this movie has (like Mulroney's character not getting CPS involved from the start.) and the horrible dialogue and artificial supporting cast of actors (excluding Jeff Fahey) where it feels like this is their first ever acting gig. Director Art Camacho has been working in the industry for years as a stunt coordinator so for him to deliver a movie on this level is just sad. He ain't no David Leitch or Chad Stahelski unfortunately. Also I have to mention for a movie called Ruthless Mulroney's character isn't ruthless at all here and doesn't kill anyone he just breaks a lot of arms and fingers. Granted I should've known what I was getting into because most films that are distributed by Saban Films are on this level or worse but I was at least expecting something more competent than this.

If there's any reason to watch this movie it's for Dermot Mulroney who has always been one of those actors who consistently delivers good performances in everything they do but never really had a breakout role. He elevates the bad material he's given here the best he can but there's only so much he can do. He deserved a better action vehicle for himself. I can only hope he had a better time making this movie than I and probably anyone else will have watching it.

Why did I watch this? That is what I kept asking myself as this very predictable revenge "thriller" rolled on. I know why, I paid my 4 dollars to Amazon Prime and if I paid for it I'm going to watch it. Well, truth be told, didn't watch the whole thing, my finger was on the fast forward button.

It was loaded with bad writing, bad acting and waayy too predictable.

All Dermot had was breaking bones?! I mean, come on, everybody gets at least one bone broken. The title of this terrible flick should have been the Bone Breaker.

Now, I am going to have to watch something really good to wash the taste out of mouth, like Poor Things.

The acting was pure garbage to begin with. Catia, the girl that needs to be rescued, is just really annoying. I think what's even more annoying is her horrible attempts at acting. I've seen better acting in a high school play.

I think a major issue here is that the movie doesn't know what it wants to be. It's kinda all over the place. If they just cut ONE aspect and put more focus into the other stories you would have something more cohesive. Nothing really has time to develop. And hey: Why is coach even training? Why is he paying a high school student money to train when he's a coach? You think oh maybe he's training to get revenge on his daughter's killers... but wait it's not that, Catia is kidnapped and it's her captors he wants. I dunno man the whole thing doesn't make sense.

This has no reason to be listed as an action thriller because Dermot only goes around breaking arms. There's no cool shootouts or real fights. Just "I don't like you so imma break your arm". Skip this. It's just a weird hodgepodge of every suspense movie you know but with truly terrible acting and no real payoff for having to endure it all.

A basic revenge action flick. I've always liked Dermot... he's embraced the straight to DVD/B-movie flicks in his later years. Fahey went the B-movie route years ago (I was always surprised he didn't make it bigger than he has). There are plenty of holes in the pretty much non-existent/basic plot, but it was't terrible. The more brutal action sequences were reminiscent of the early Seagal stuff... before he gained 200lbs and slapped that ridiculous rug on his head!

The only really bad part was the executive producer inserting himself into the movie as the detective... he's absolutely terrible. No screen prescence at all. He looks like he's just reading lines. That was a bad call... enough so that I looked it up to see who he was. When I saw how bad he was compared to EVERYONE else, I figured he was involved behind the scenes... and I was right. I don't mean to be harsh (I'm sure he's a great guy), but he needs to stop trying to get in front of the cameras.

It was no "Death Wish", but it wasn't a total waste of time. I made it through the entire film and the action scenes were decent.

Dermot Mulroney is excellent in the lead role. Enjoyable throwback (with modern theme) to some of the classic action/revenge type movies enjoyed in the 90's.

At times the dialogue feels a little clunky but that comes with the territory, still ok. A little dry humor mixed in between the serious moments worked.

I didn't expect to enjoy this but i absolutely did and the ending was satisfying (very different to what i usually watch with grim, unresolved or unspecified endings). Would i recommend to others? Probably depending on people's taste.

Recently watched Dermot in another role as a support (bad guy) did not do him justice as this film has.

I watched a full 15 minutes, and that's a solid no. He plays a wrestling coach but he's still a 145 pound guy and is overpowering guys that are much bigger than he is. This is nearly as bad as if he was replaced buy J. Lopez and they show her boxing a few rounds.

Please leave these action roles to retired football players or people who possess some sort of combat fighting experience. This movie might as well have had PeeWee Herman as the lead.

The story isn't much better and it gets old fast, nothing new and hollywood continues to pump out these cookie cutter type movies with nothing new added.

Unsurprising and predictable. 1/10.

This film reminds me the olden days action movies . Simple story , just a guy don't give a fxxx .... Goes about taking care of business , breaking limbs like it's nobody's business . Cliche on cliche.... Glazed with some more cliche ... costume design is outrageous ... made me giggle a lot especially the detective guy . When I saw those sunglasses I was done ... had to pause the film cos I was rolling on the floor laughing hysterically. No jokes .

Not sure if it' was intentional but acting appears to be Improvised . Production doesn't look super low budget but it probably was shoestring .

I could really list tons of negatives , because the list is long but I don't want The film to suffer . After all I enjoyed this flick quite a bit .

Director:** Art Camacho **Cast:** Dermot Mulroney, Melissa Diaz, Jeff Fahey, Mauricio Mendoza **Genre:** Action/Thriller

**Synopsis:** "Ruthless" tells the story of Harry, a high school wrestling coach played by Dermot Mulroney, who is grieving the brutal murder of his teenage daughter. When one of his students, Catia, is kidnapped by a human trafficking ring, Harry takes justice into his own hands, determined to rescue her and dismantle the trafficking operation. The plot of "Ruthless" is built on a foundation of personal loss and vengeance, reminiscent of films like "Taken." Despite its promising premise, the film suffers from weak and clichéd writing. The dialogue often feels forced and unnatural, detracting from the overall impact of the story. The narrative struggles to find its footing, leading to a somewhat predictable and derivative storyline.

Art Camacho, known for his work in low-budget action films, directs "Ruthless" with a focus on gritty realism. However, the film's production quality leaves much to be desired. The budget constraints are evident in the lack of polished action sequences and overall production design. The movie's tone and pacing are inconsistent, with significant lulls between the action scenes that fail to build adequate suspense

**Performances:** Dermot Mulroney delivers a committed performance as Harry, bringing a palpable sense of grief and determination to his character. However, his efforts are not enough to elevate the film above its shortcomings. Melissa Diaz, as Catia, also provides a noteworthy performance, though her character is not fully developed, often falling into stereotypical victim tropes. Jeff Fahey's portrayal of the villainous Dale Remington is serviceable but lacks depth.

**Action and Cinematography:** The action sequences, while present, are sparse and lack the intensity typically expected in a revenge thriller. When action does occur, it is often clunky and poorly choreographed, diminishing the film's potential impact. The cinematography fails to create the necessary atmosphere, often appearing flat and uninspired.

**Themes and Messages:** "Ruthless" attempts to tackle serious issues such as human trafficking and the quest for justice. While the film's intentions are commendable, its execution leaves much to be desired. The thematic exploration feels superficial, and the film does not engage deeply enough with its subject matter to leave a lasting impression.

**Overall:** "Ruthless" is a film with a compelling premise that ultimately falls short due to weak writing, inconsistent direction, and subpar production values. While Dermot Mulroney's performance is a highlight, it is not enough to overcome the film's numerous flaws. Fans of the action-thriller genre might find some moments of interest, but overall, "Ruthless" struggles to stand out in a crowded field.

This film has NO CLUE what story it wants to tell...

Runs through oh.. 3 or 4 plot lines... and he's a high school wrestling coach.. making it all seems just so ludicrous.

Just silly.. overall.. comes across as a tax shelter or way to possibly launder some money...

Most of the cast can't act.. Fehey and Dermot do their standard effort, passable, not great...

Overall a waste of time with little redeeming qualities. In the old days this would be a "Straight to video" film.. now I guess it's "straight to streaming" cause no one deserves this in a theater.

Just find something else to watch...

This is so comically bad, it's not even funny.

I went to change it multiple times but kept watching... Like it was the worst car wreck I've ever seen. And it just kept getting worse. I mean, it actually made me laugh out loud multiple times. Watch if you'd like, but it isn't good.

It starts bad, had a bad middle, and even had a bad ending.

The acting is awful, except for maybe the dad, he's a great actor... But everyone around him is B list at best!

Just imagine Taken/Law Abiding Citizen/bad porn.

At this point I'm just trying to fill spade, cause this movie is so bad, it didn't take this many characters.

Sure, it's "Taken" all over again, and with that far from original, but if you can look past that and judge this thriller on its own merits, it's actually not bad at all. And to be honest, I personally like Dermot Mulroney better than Liam Neeson, Mulroney at least has a pleasantly stoical, no-nonsense style of acting.

The pace is good, there's a fair amount of tension and violence (Mulroney's character apparently being specialized in breaking fingers and arms, which he abundantly does!), and 60 yo Mulroney looks impressively fit and dynamic. Maybe the whole section in the casino-hotel, where Mulroney singlehandedly eliminates more or less a whole criminal organization, was a bit farfetched, but it suits a story like this fine. In short: a "Taken"-light, if you will, but even so entertaining enough.

Actually the movie is so bad and predictable that you need a strong will to watch it until the end. Strong will I have not, so at some point I started to wonder whether a story about a guy who misses a certain Ruth wouldn't have been much better. Ruth could be his ex-lover, or his old car (a VW Beetle for instance), or his pet grey african parrot (very intelligent, can talk a lot).

What about a high-school English teacher named Ruth who introduced him to poetry? Or to sex? (Too banal, I know.) Searching for Ruth, dreaming of Ruth, cursing Ruth. Discovering she's a serial killer. Replacing her with Helen.

Unfortunately "Ruthless" is not about Ruth. It's about breaking arms repeatedly, and fingers too. The end.

This was a standard action flick where one guy takes on a bunch of thugs to save a young girl. It's like Taken but not as good. I was entertained. The detective guy was so cheesy that I liked him. The only person that could have acted better was the young girl.

I will now repeat what I just said to reach the character count.

This was a standard action flick where one guy takes on a bunch of thugs to save a young girl. It's like Taken but not as good. I was entertained. The detective guy was so cheesy that I liked him. The only person that could have acted better was the young girl... . . . . . .

RUTHLESS is a disappointingly cheap revenge thriller that tries to be like an old-school Seagal movie but fails miserably. The problem with it is that the story is thin on the ground and there's a heck of a lot of padding to stretch it out to feature length, leading to long sections where very little happens. Dermot Mulroney plays a white-collar worker whose daughter dies, sending him off the rails and on a spiral of revenge when one of his wrestling students is kidnapped. There are a few satisfying bone-breaking moments and Jeff Fahey in a stock villain role, but the action is thin on the ground and it all feels more than a little stilted.

Ruthless is a captivating thriller that delves into the ever relevant tragedy that is human trafficking. Dermot Mulroney's performance in this story of vengeance is absolutely captivating. His portrayal adds depth and intensity to an already gripping storyline.

The film masterfully weaves together elements of suspense, drama, and psychological intrigue, showcasing Mulroney's versatility as an actor. His performance is nothing short of mesmerizing, effectively drawing viewers into the character's tumultuous world. The supporting cast also delivers strong performances, complementing Mulroney's on-screen presence. The cinematography and direction contribute to the overall atmospheric tension, creating a palpable sense of unease throughout the film.

While the pacing occasionally falters, Mulroney's commanding performance and the film's enthralling plot make it a compelling watch.

Dermot Mulroney, known for his "old man action film" roles, has released nine films this year. His latest film, Ruthless, follows his character, Harry, who is stoic and demonstrates alternative ideals about moral justice by protecting a young woman connected to his life. Director and co-writer Art Camacho's take on the character comes off as more laughable than watchable. Mulroney plays a disgruntled wrestling coach named Harry, who admonishes a young man for groping his date without consent. He breaks the kid's arm and offers him a ride to the hospital. After his daughter is killed by her abuser, Harry returns to a high school gym and reluctantly connects with student Catia (Melissa Diaz), who is abused by her step-father and neglected by her mother. When Catia is trafficked by her father to a criminal organization run by Dale Remington (Jeffy Fahey), Harry does whatever he can to bring her home from Las Vegas. The dialogue in Ruthless is stale and unnatural, with comfortable pauses after statements and sincerity. The plot feels like the low-budget version of Nobody without a stable story structure. While Mulroney's commitment to the part is worth watching, the future of Mulroney remains unknown. Ruthless is a muscular action thriller directed by Art Camacho, featuring the character of Harry (Dermot Mulroney), a mild-mannered wrestling coach. The film follows Harry's journey as he faces brutal assault and death, with his daughter being brutally assaulted and dying. Harry reconnects with Catia, a student he learns is being physically abused by Tom (Mauricio Mendoza), her mother's boyfriend. Tom assists Sergio in trafficking Catia to Dale Remington (Jeff Fahey), where she and other young girls will be auctioned off to the highest online bidder in Las Vegas. Harry sets out to rescue Catia, but is being tracked by Det. Chuck Monaghan (Niko Foster), who helped put away Harry's daughter's killer. There may be a connection between these two crimes. Mulroney's performance as Harry is charming and gritty, while his boxing trainer Martin (Texas Battle) is a standout. The aging Mulroney enjoys being a B-movie action star and acquits himself well in fight scenes. Ruthless picks up steam as Harry heads to Vegas to infiltrate Remington's human trafficking ring. While scenes of the auction are not very suspenseful, the action that transpires as Harry dispatches a series of guys as he tries to save Catia is equally compelling and cheesy. Despite Mulroney's flinty performance, no one else involved in the film seems to take things seriously. Mendoza is a hoot as Tom, and Jeff Fahey delivers a strong performance as Remington.

This movie is poorly made, the story and characters are predictable and childish and the direction never rises above the level of a high school play. The script appears to have been written by a very enthusiastic but immature and inexperienced teenager. While there are a few good ideas hidden in the very straightforward story the whole story is utterly predictable and the action is amateurish and unimaginative. The dialogs are stunted and unnatural and the characters sound nothing like the mature tough guys that they' re supposed to be. It's like some teenage rich kid somehow got their parents to get their teenage action fantasy turned into reality. How dreamt Mulroney got involved is a mystery. Perhaps he was offered a lot of money for very little work. In a nutshell this would have made an okay high school project for a film class but it has no place in the real world.

Ruthless (2023), directed by Art Camacho, is a revenge thriller that follows a high school coach (Dermot Mulroney) whose life is shattered after his teenage daughter is murdered. The film explores his descent into vigilante justice as he takes matters into his own hands to track down the men responsible for her death and their involvement in a human trafficking operation. While the film's premise holds promise, it ultimately feels formulaic and lacks the emotional weight necessary to elevate it beyond typical genre fare.

Dermot Mulroney delivers a serviceable performance as the grieving father-turned-avenger, but his character is not given enough depth to fully engage with the audience. The emotional core of the film, which centers around his relationship with his daughter and his motivations for revenge, is undermined by the lack of meaningful development. The supporting cast, including Jeff Fahey and Mauricio Mendoza, add little to the film's emotional depth, and their performances are often overshadowed by the film's action-oriented focus.

The direction and pacing follow a predictable trajectory, with the film leaning heavily on action scenes and confrontation rather than delving into the psychological complexities of the characters. While the film does deliver some intense moments, these scenes feel mechanical and lack the emotional resonance that could have made the narrative more compelling. The central themes of justice, vengeance, and the cost of personal loss are not explored with enough nuance to make the film feel truly impactful.

Visually, Ruthless is unremarkable, with standard cinematography that doesn't do much to distinguish the film from other revenge thrillers. The script is also lacking in originality, relying too heavily on well-worn tropes of the genre, which results in a predictable and somewhat tiresome experience.

While Ruthless may appeal to fans of vigilante justice films, it ultimately falls short in terms of emotional depth and narrative innovation. It's a competent thriller but one that doesn't offer much beyond the basics of its genre.

Rating: 4/10. A predictable revenge thriller with limited emotional depth and a lack of fresh ideas to make it stand out.