Release date: April 27, 2007 

Ten people will fight. Nine people will die. You get to watch. Watch it in boxers.

The Condemned. Currently streaming on Netflix! One of the later films in WWE’s first foray in the movie makin’ business.  It is also the first film with late 90’s blue collar, working man’s idol “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Austin was known for ass kicking, and short lines. Something this film took to heart.

Written and Directed by but actor-writer-director Scott Wiper, (The Marine: Homefront & The Cold Light of Day) The Condemned stars Austin as Jack Conrad a former Delta Force operator with Robert Mammone, Tory Mussett and Vinnie “probably is kind of crazy, but a damn good time out in a bar” Jones.

This flick is balls to the wall full of action. What I find funny is that it is a film with a non-violence moral, yet has as much brutality as some of the more hardcore film out there like Grindhouse. The Condemned follows a group of convicts from around the world that have been sentenced to death as they are thrown together on a jungle island to fight to the death with the sole survivor “winning” their freedom. What makes the idea more sadistic the fact that they are being filmed by hundreds of cameras on the island for a new idea. The idea is the world is filled with millions of disturbed people who will pay 50$ to see this event making the creators rich as f**k. Conrad (Austin) wants nothing more than to go home. Without killing people for the show. The plot is always in movement with little time wasted pushing emotion other than anger or remorse for some of the technical team behind the production of the web-show/site.

Another point you can bring up is this sounds a poop-ton like the plot of The Hunger Games. Fair warning: they are similar like cats, to a dog person. That being said, this one isn’t for pre-teens and Katniss Everdeen lovers. This one gets a little sicker.

WHAT WORKED:

– Austin. This film was written around his strength as an actor. They kept his lines short and sweet and let him kick ass. 3:16 style.

– Vinnie Jones. I’ll give some credit to Scott Wiper for writing such a despicable character; but it was put over the top with Jones’ delivery of such a heartless, money hungry son-of-a-b!tch type of persona. They look he had in his eyes during a seen with the spaniard’s wife had me sitting uncomfortably.

– The pacing. This flick sits at 113 minutes, but never stops chugging along like the little engine equipped with explosives and submachine guns that could. The action scenes are well spaced out with proper downtime between to push the plot forward without rushing the audience of putting them to sleep.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK:

– The actual hand to hand fight scenes. Man, Scott Wiper either has a tremble or grew up on a fault-line. The camera shakes. A lot. Almost to the point that you aren’t sure who is throwing the punches.

– The moral. I feel Austin’s character did a good job pushing the moral of nonviolence. However, he could have done so without being directly related in the deaths of so many of the other characters.

THE LOWDOWN:

This is a B-Movie no doubt. Is it a good time? Yeah. It’s action and pace will satisfy most action-film fans. The premis has now been over used, but back in 2007 was something that hadn’t been over done yet. Let’s not forget The Running Man. (Read my review here) It won’t hurt your brain if you’ve already had a couple Stevewisers. (Wrestling fans will get that one) It’s worth watching when you just wanna kick some ass because The Condemned is 80% Prime Awesome.