Condemned (Blu-ray) 7.1 Surround!!!
10 People Will Fight...9 Will Die.
Features: Widescreen, English, Subtitled, Spanish
Jack Conrad is a death row prisoner in a corrupt Central American prison who is "purchased" by a wealthy television producer to take part in an illegal reality game show. Brought to a desolate island, Conrad finds himself trapped in a fight to the death against nine other condemned killers from all corners of the world. With no possible escape - and millions of viewers watching the uncensored violence online - Conrad must use all his strength to remain the last man standing...and earn his only chance at freedom.
"...the most entertaining WWE release to date." Luke Y. Thompson, L.A. Weekly
"...fantastically sadistic and unapologetically brutal..." Marc Bernardin, Entertainment Weekly
Editor's Note
With the stage set by a contemporary spate of films starring WWE wrestlers, including SEE NO EVIL (Glen "Kane" Jacobs) and THE MARINE (John Cena), THE CONDEMNED follows suit by building a story around the massive physique and impassive demeanor of pro wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Austin plays former military agent Jack Conrad, whose top-secret mission to El Salvador went awry; the mountainous man wound up on death row in a local prison while his associates back home conveniently forgot about him. Conrad is offered a final chance at clemency by the evil entertainment tycoon Ian Breckel (Robert Mammone, THE MATRIX RELOADED), who buys up Conrad and nine other condemned men and forces them to participate in his diabolical new reality-TV show. The game is simple: the contestants are dropped on a remote island fitted with cameras, and instructed to kill or be killed over the next 30 hours. At the end of that time, the sole survivor will be awarded his freedom and a large cash prize, and the event can be viewed online for $49.95. Conrad, not a murderer by nature, is forced to defend himself against fellow contestants Saiga (Masa Yamaguchi), who is a Japanese martial artist; badass Brit McStarley (former soccer star Vinnie Jones); and the deadly Ghanaian woman Yasantwa (Emelia Jones). Meanwhile, Conrad's girlfriend back home (Madeline West) worries about his safety, and Mammone's own girlfriend (Victoria Mussett) develops some doubts as to the morality of their online venture. The film attempts to critique the culture of violence that informs our media, but also works as a straightforward B-movie thriller, well-equipped with tough guys, one-liners, and nonstop violence.
Features Audio: English DTS HD 7.1 Surround Sound
Interactive Menus
Scene Selection
Subtitles: English, Spanish
This Is A Blu-Ray DVD Made For Blue-Laser Format Players Which Produce Higher Quality
Features: Widescreen, English, Subtitled, Spanish
Jack Conrad is a death row prisoner in a corrupt Central American prison who is "purchased" by a wealthy television producer to take part in an illegal reality game show. Brought to a desolate island, Conrad finds himself trapped in a fight to the death against nine other condemned killers from all corners of the world. With no possible escape - and millions of viewers watching the uncensored violence online - Conrad must use all his strength to remain the last man standing...and earn his only chance at freedom.
"...the most entertaining WWE release to date." Luke Y. Thompson, L.A. Weekly
"...fantastically sadistic and unapologetically brutal..." Marc Bernardin, Entertainment Weekly
Editor's Note
With the stage set by a contemporary spate of films starring WWE wrestlers, including SEE NO EVIL (Glen "Kane" Jacobs) and THE MARINE (John Cena), THE CONDEMNED follows suit by building a story around the massive physique and impassive demeanor of pro wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Austin plays former military agent Jack Conrad, whose top-secret mission to El Salvador went awry; the mountainous man wound up on death row in a local prison while his associates back home conveniently forgot about him. Conrad is offered a final chance at clemency by the evil entertainment tycoon Ian Breckel (Robert Mammone, THE MATRIX RELOADED), who buys up Conrad and nine other condemned men and forces them to participate in his diabolical new reality-TV show. The game is simple: the contestants are dropped on a remote island fitted with cameras, and instructed to kill or be killed over the next 30 hours. At the end of that time, the sole survivor will be awarded his freedom and a large cash prize, and the event can be viewed online for $49.95. Conrad, not a murderer by nature, is forced to defend himself against fellow contestants Saiga (Masa Yamaguchi), who is a Japanese martial artist; badass Brit McStarley (former soccer star Vinnie Jones); and the deadly Ghanaian woman Yasantwa (Emelia Jones). Meanwhile, Conrad's girlfriend back home (Madeline West) worries about his safety, and Mammone's own girlfriend (Victoria Mussett) develops some doubts as to the morality of their online venture. The film attempts to critique the culture of violence that informs our media, but also works as a straightforward B-movie thriller, well-equipped with tough guys, one-liners, and nonstop violence.
Features Audio: English DTS HD 7.1 Surround Sound
Interactive Menus
Scene Selection
Subtitles: English, Spanish
This Is A Blu-Ray DVD Made For Blue-Laser Format Players Which Produce Higher Quality
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Review
The Condemned - DVD Review
The Condemned stars "Stone Cold" Steve Austin as Jack Conrad, a death row prisoner in a corrupt Central America prison. He is serving time for reasons unbeknown to everyone, and the prison guards are trying everything to get information from him. That is before he is discovered and "purchased" by television producer Ian Breckel (Robert Mammone) for an illegal reality game show taking place on a deserted island, and being broadcast around the world via the Internet.
Conrad, who we find out is a retired military veteran and special forces killer, is pitted against nine other condemned killers from around the world, including The Russian (Nathan Jones), Paco (Manu Bennett) and his wife, Rosa (Dasi Ruz), K.C. Mack (Marcus Johnson), and Ewan McStarley (Vinnie Jones), a former member of British special forces and serial rapist. All 10 convicts have bombs strapped around their ankles, and the only way they can be removed is to have someone pull a red strip, which detonates the bomb 10 seconds later, or be the last man standing after 30 hours. If they're the last death row inmate standing at the very end, not only do they get prize money, but they get their freedom and a new life.
Austin is not a bad leading man for an action film. In fact, he deserves a better vehicle than this unoriginal movie that resembles The Running Man. He's a big, strong bad ass from Texas, with punches as lethal as his stare. He has the look, the humor, and the rough and tough voice and attitude, but he needs to be supported by a better cast and a better script. He is an intimidating force, yet the most menacing person the filmmakers could find to square off against him is Jones, a former soccer player who seems to be somewhat psychotic, but not necessarily intimidating. The rest of the cast is pretty insignificant by Austin's presence, even though some of the characters are twice his size and ten times as mean.
Director Scott Wiper actually shows some style and finesse behind the camera, but he overuses certain types of shots, and his fights scenes are choppy and not all that fun to watch. Heck, it isn't even fun to watch people explode into big gray clouds of smoke. Even though Wiper and Austin have some talent, that does not make up for the terrible, predictable script filled with hypocrisy and cheesy lines. Trying to find a coherent story in The Condemned is like trying to find meaning in a Mentos commercial. Why did that clown come out of that bus filled with nuns holding six bowling pins and a lawn dart' I don't know, but I'm going to have Mentos. What'
The biggest hypocrisy about The Condemned is that it condemns exactly what it's selling, and it makes that point over and over again, until you're nauseas. For instance, the cameraman, Eddie (Rick Hoffman), miraculously rigs every single nook and cranny of the island with cameras to film every bit of action for the web show and is insanely happy about doing so. However, Eddie leaves the production area at least three times while filming the reality show, each time voicing his disgust to Breckel, because the violence is too much for him. He is not the only character to do this. In fact, the entire movie turns out to be about the negative effects of violence and entertainment. But, when these characters get disgusted and reach this moral dilemma, do they leave the island' No, they sit back down and watch more of the illegal snuff film with an incredible soundtrack. I don't get it. Either shoot a violent action film with no regard for morals or ethics and believe in what you're selling to the public, or don't make a movie at all. It's that simple.
In order to try and enjoy The Condemned, you must go into the movie without any expectations - and I mean none. Do not expect an award-winning script, or anything resembling a plot. Do not expect anything more than choreographed violence, hypocritical viewpoints, and a terrible love story - yes, love story. In other words, go in expecting exactly what you'd see in a WWE telecast: mindless violence performed by several alleged steroid-ridden monsters in tights, the degradation of women, laughable story lines and mediocre acting. If you watch this movie expecting anything other than what is listed above, you should be the one with the bomb strapped around your ankle, for you are stupid
Conrad, who we find out is a retired military veteran and special forces killer, is pitted against nine other condemned killers from around the world, including The Russian (Nathan Jones), Paco (Manu Bennett) and his wife, Rosa (Dasi Ruz), K.C. Mack (Marcus Johnson), and Ewan McStarley (Vinnie Jones), a former member of British special forces and serial rapist. All 10 convicts have bombs strapped around their ankles, and the only way they can be removed is to have someone pull a red strip, which detonates the bomb 10 seconds later, or be the last man standing after 30 hours. If they're the last death row inmate standing at the very end, not only do they get prize money, but they get their freedom and a new life.
Austin is not a bad leading man for an action film. In fact, he deserves a better vehicle than this unoriginal movie that resembles The Running Man. He's a big, strong bad ass from Texas, with punches as lethal as his stare. He has the look, the humor, and the rough and tough voice and attitude, but he needs to be supported by a better cast and a better script. He is an intimidating force, yet the most menacing person the filmmakers could find to square off against him is Jones, a former soccer player who seems to be somewhat psychotic, but not necessarily intimidating. The rest of the cast is pretty insignificant by Austin's presence, even though some of the characters are twice his size and ten times as mean.
Director Scott Wiper actually shows some style and finesse behind the camera, but he overuses certain types of shots, and his fights scenes are choppy and not all that fun to watch. Heck, it isn't even fun to watch people explode into big gray clouds of smoke. Even though Wiper and Austin have some talent, that does not make up for the terrible, predictable script filled with hypocrisy and cheesy lines. Trying to find a coherent story in The Condemned is like trying to find meaning in a Mentos commercial. Why did that clown come out of that bus filled with nuns holding six bowling pins and a lawn dart' I don't know, but I'm going to have Mentos. What'
The biggest hypocrisy about The Condemned is that it condemns exactly what it's selling, and it makes that point over and over again, until you're nauseas. For instance, the cameraman, Eddie (Rick Hoffman), miraculously rigs every single nook and cranny of the island with cameras to film every bit of action for the web show and is insanely happy about doing so. However, Eddie leaves the production area at least three times while filming the reality show, each time voicing his disgust to Breckel, because the violence is too much for him. He is not the only character to do this. In fact, the entire movie turns out to be about the negative effects of violence and entertainment. But, when these characters get disgusted and reach this moral dilemma, do they leave the island' No, they sit back down and watch more of the illegal snuff film with an incredible soundtrack. I don't get it. Either shoot a violent action film with no regard for morals or ethics and believe in what you're selling to the public, or don't make a movie at all. It's that simple.
In order to try and enjoy The Condemned, you must go into the movie without any expectations - and I mean none. Do not expect an award-winning script, or anything resembling a plot. Do not expect anything more than choreographed violence, hypocritical viewpoints, and a terrible love story - yes, love story. In other words, go in expecting exactly what you'd see in a WWE telecast: mindless violence performed by several alleged steroid-ridden monsters in tights, the degradation of women, laughable story lines and mediocre acting. If you watch this movie expecting anything other than what is listed above, you should be the one with the bomb strapped around your ankle, for you are stupid
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