And no, I'm not talking about the Sheffer/Madsen flick from the 80s, though I enjoyed that one, too.
This one apparently went straight to video in August of last year, and it's got a really fantastic cast. I think I would have cast someone else in the female lead :Katee Sackhoff:, but Rosario Dawson did a fine job. Bruce Willis, Vincent D'Onofrio, Josh Duhamel (I finally know how to properly pronounce his name!), Rampage Jackson (I gather he's some kind of fighter), a football player whose name I can't spell, Rosario, Julian McMahon, and some good people in the background parts.
It's heavy on the action, set in Long Beach and New Orleans, and it's got heart at the core.
I'd never heard of it, so I wasn't sure about renting it, but I figured with a free Redbox code, I wouldn't be out anything if it sucked. Besides, I'll see just about anything if Bruce is in it.
It does have a racial component - Aryans/black gangs - so avoid if that sort of thing squicks you, or if you're not a fan of violence, but otherwise, I recommend it.
Of interest in the extras, there were cast/crew interviews, and one of the things the director had to say about Bruce Willis was that his scenes were shot during the first week, and Bruce was crucial in helping to pull a crew that hadn't worked together before into a team, that he did it more than the director did, and he really appreciated that Bruce was able to do it, and it helped him see how to do it for himself next time. Curtis Jackson, in talking about other projects, I think, said that Bruce has worked with him on several indie projects, and that Bruce is not afraid to work with new talent, particularly directors. He was saying that a lot of big name actors won't do a film if the director has no recognizable work behind them, because they need the security of knowing that person's work, but that Bruce is not like that. He'll work with anybody. I've long enjoyed Willis' work, and it's nice to hear that he's not a diva.
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