Wrong Side of Town

Average Straight-To-Video Action Flick
Wrong Side of Town is your typical straight to DVD action flick, with a handful of people cast just to appeal to different audiences.

The plot is predictable, and almost identical to the 1985 Schwarzenegger film Commando. Ex-military toughguy leaves the service, gets into it with the wrong guys, and has to rescue his kidnapped daughter. The movie's dialogue is awkward and tries too hard to be funny, and too many aspects of the plot don't make any sense.

Rob Van Damn, cast as Navy Seal turned landscape architect Bobby Kalinowsky, does a sub-par acting job. Fellow wrestler Dave Batista easily steals the show as Big Ronnie, Kalinowsky's former war buddy. Batista's screen presence is simply much better, had he been cast in the lead role instead, I'd be giving this movie a much higher rating. Despite being front and center on the DVD cover, Batista really doesn't get much screen time, which is a shame since he's easily a more natural actor than most professional...

Wrong Van Damme is more like it
Out on the town with his wife and new neighbors, Bobby (Rob Van Damme) relies on his Navy Seal skills to sidestep a knife-wielding, coked-up wannabe named Ethan who falls on his knife. Ethan's brother just happens to be connected to organized crime. If only he were affiliated with a glee club or performance arts society. A $100K hit is placed on RVD's head, mostly for his poor acting...and not being JCVD.

Expecting great acting from a film that has a wrestler as the lead is unfair. And to be quite honest, he's not really that bad all things considered. Probably on par with Keanu Reeves. Either way, RVD and Batista still do a better job than Ja Rule and Omarion. Besides, it's the action that actually bugs me. The filming and lighting don't help; the combination accentuates the worst aspects of the poorly staged fights, making the moves look like fight scenes from The Warriors. But without the roller skates, makeup, and baseball bats. Choppy choreography, can you...

"Who's the meathead now?!"
I'm a pro wrestling mark, but I have to admit that films starring our favorite superstars are a dime a dozen these days. Films *directed* by wrestlers are another matter, but while I'm glad that David DeFalco seems to be distancing himself from the exploitation torture porn business, his contribution here means very little. Even with two of the business' biggest stars in tow, "Wrong Side of Town" is a forgettable little action-thriller much in the same vein as a lot of the other dreck I've recently reviewed. Absolutely nothing special.

The plot: when ex-Navy SEAL Bobby Kalinowsky (Rob Van Dam) kills the brother of a sadistic gangster (Jerry Katz, Knucklehead), he and his family must fear retaliation in the form of a $100,000 price placed on his head.

The film is the victim of false advertising. Get David Bautista and Ja...

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