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But you have to stick to the formula for making what's at heart a C movie actually entertain the target audience, drunk dudes. That formula? Simple storyline, bare bones dialogue, and expertly choreographed fight scenes that come no more than five minutes apart. The script was terrible from beginning to end. Bruce Willis tells a bad guy "Don't you ever threaten my family", just before delivering the kill shot. Immediately I got a bad feeling, because the line should have been "Nobody threatens my family" in order to make sense as far continuity. That may seem like a small detail to someone who isn't a writer but trust me, words matter. The dialogue never gets better and though most of the fight scenes are okay, enough of them are badly staged that it detracts from the only thing that makes the film worth seeing. The acting was below average with the exception of Bruce Willis, who phoned it in but is still a veteran. Gina Carano was under utilized, which seems to keep happening to her. There are too many bad movies that are still a lot of fun for you to waste time on this one. 4 out of 10.

And then I was in. I'd turned the film off a few months back, but now that I had a better idea where all the random cut aways were leading up to I decided to give it my time. Unfortunately, the cheezy doc handled suspense better. I haven't researched the making of this film, but my distinct impression is that the actors had too much influence on the writing and direction. So much needed to be cut, and so much needed to be added. They lost track of the heart of the story and tried to focus on the mind game between Longo and Finkel. Nobody cares about Finkel, he's the least important element in the TRUE STORY. This was about a man who killed his wife and three toddlers because WHY?, and what they give us is a bunch of week flirting between two grown men who are entirely unlikable for obvious reasons. More importantly, nothing happens in the third act. Nothing! I can't find any reason to recommend this film save interest in the Christian Longo case or being a Franco fan. If the former, just look it up on wiki and read that while you watch something else.

...And it kind of works out. The acting, wooden. The writing, juvenile. The directing, well, he stuck to a detailed storyboard so it's not too terrible. But what is actually watch worthy is the action sequences. Fantastic fight scenes, creative shoot outs. Complex single shot stunt takes that wow. I was impressed from the beginning (except for one accidental camera angle where a bad guy clearly waits to jump into the fight-my peeve). This is not a thinking persons film at all. In fact I suggest you crack a twelve pack with your bros and sit back to cheer for some brutal MMA action. P.S. There really should have been some gratuitous nudity. It's just that kind of flick.