Have to hand it to The Asylum on Mercenaries! As much as everyone wants to beat on them for having the "Mockbuster" mentality, for Mercenaries, they have taken The Expendables series and actually given the lovely action ladies a chance! So here goes, a movie about women in action. They to can blow stuff up, fire guns and kick ass! Ok, so I have a soft spot for action ladies, but hell, they are way more fun to watch. Seriously, a 60 something Stallone or Zoë Bell, dammit this is a no brainer. No I do not work for this production, I enjoy low budget madness, if you want a 100mil dollar film, do not even bother to read this or watch, if you like indie, maniacal violence and filthy language, read on, read on!
Mercenaries has a rather simple premise, the president's daughter is captured and the ladies have to go undercover to infiltrate a women's prison and help rescue her. For the most part, action films in general keep the plot and story rather basic as to not get bogged down in to much fluff, and lord knows action fans hate fluff, they want big guns, big explosions and big fights. Mercenaries, I happily say delivers on all three! Zoë Bell exudes her action persona, and is getting more comfortable in delivering her dialogue now. Transitioning from stunts to acting is a daunting task, and actually I would like to see more stunt people take that route.
Vivica A. Fox has found her niche acting in indie films. She was amazing in Kill Bill, and other work, fun and energetic to watch. In Mercenaries she portrays a rather dynamic character, but I am not going to spoil it. Watch the film and see.
Kristanna Loken is a great actress, best known for her Terminator 3 role, she like Vivica, has found an indie niche. Actually indie films allow freedom, and since they have short shoot and release times, actors can do many per year. In Mercenaries she is rather aggressive and entertaining to watch. Loken is very tall and exudes a commanding presence in her films, and I sincerely hope to see more of her! Facebook official page @ https://www.facebook.com/OfficialKristannaLoken
Cynthia Rothrock has a small role in Mercenaries, I have enjoyed her work for the past 30 years and am looking forward to the next 30. Cynthia is always re-inventing her look, her actions and her ability. It is enjoyable to watch her in a supervisory role in Mercenaries. All business and no B.S. Cynthia delivers a bit of seriousness to her character, while dropping curse words like a sailor.
Bridgette Neilson is an enigma, I have always enjoyed her unique attitude towards film and life in general. She marches to her own beat, never letting anyone stop her. In Mercenaries she plays the villain and it is a joy to watch, in her over the top awesomeness!
Nicole Bilderback is the Asian bad ass demolitions expert, she is fun, while summing her inner Ming-Na type enforcer role, she has a cool attitude in Mercenaries, maniacal and calculated! Check out her official site @ http://www.nicolebilderback.com/
Casting aside, Mercenaries is a fun action film, never taking itself too seriously. The ladies run around, fight shoot guns, etc... and prove they can hang with the men. Although an official female Expendables has never been made, Mercenaries comes about as close as one can get to such a project. The stunts are great fun to watch. Especially the falls!
Credit to the folks at The Asylum for taking the time and effort to promote female action oriented stories. I hope more of them in the future will come! In addition, the scope of their films are increasing, and thus the quality of production, such as the sets, stunts, lighting, and effects are getting better. Amazingly they are able to do so much with tiny budgets, while every film might not be perfect, nor even great, there is some genre out there for everyone, and their business model is unique, and going by the beat of your own drum is almost unheard of except for Troma, and Roger Corman.
Overall I liked the film, wish it was a bit longer in running time, but again, no fluff. Mercenaries rates a 8 explosions out of 10, a must own for action fans! Z Bell rates a 10, she is adorable, full of life and action, follow her on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/TheRealZoeBell
For more info go to the official Asylum site @ www.theasylum.cc
So far only one of the ladies in Mercenaries have graced my site with an interview, I am shameless in saying I am requesting all of you to have a turn! Here is Cynthia Rothock and her two exclusive interviews, and looking forward to the rest of the cast to step up and have their say, not to worry, I am just a weak writer and am rather non threatening! : http://dansmoviereport.blogspot.com/2012/01/cynthia-rothrock-interview-she-is-back.html More to follow!?!
Any project Tim Abell is in is going to be excellent!
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