I have not been this profoundly touched by a film since Schindler's list. Adkins' heartfelt performance left me speechless. Van Damme pulled out all the stops and showed us that he is not only the "muscles from Brussels, but a dramatic leviathan in his own right. And there were times when Lundgren's soulful delivery of expertly-placed one liner emotion-grenades like "Hello, soldier." brought tears to my eyes. So little, yet so much was said.
Unfortunately, I am aware that most movie goers wont share my sublime experience of this motion picture. Such deep insight comes with years of practice and hundreds of hours of footage. Such is life. We can't all be talented, attractive, and possess a remarkable cinematic palette as well as a keen sense of where to use italics in a text to underline key words. But that is by no means a reason to deprive yourself of this gem. Let's start off with the bad. This instalment in the series takes itself far too seriously. It is full of long dramatic travel sequences with no dialogue and ominous music, laboured metaphors and plot devices, and an overall sense of being more than a simple action gore-fest. Which it simply is. No matter how many ideas you "borrow" from "Apocalypse Now". In my humble opinion there is a time for "Gone with the wind", a time for "The Pianist", and a time for "Brutal Blades 7: re-return of the dis-disemboweler". That last one I made up, but imagine if it were real! Oh the possibilities... But I digress. The fact that at times the film tries to be something it's so clearly not makes the experience that little bit more frustrating and tedious.However, the fight sequences are brutal, well choreographed, inventive, enthralling, and at times hilarious. The token car chase leaves a lot to be desired, but, as always in this film, the ensuing fight scene makes you forgive all previous transgressions. If you are a fan of action, over the top brutality, and are willing to chuckle at the film's rather inflated opinion of itself rather than let it detract from your enjoyment of this epic. And if you don't see it for the violence, see it for the scene where a doctor decides that it would be an excellent idea to drill into the skull of a super-human soldier without anaesthetic. This understandably does not agree with the principal character, sending him into a slow motion Hulk-like rampage. But the detail that made the scene for me was a performance choice Adkins made when the drill bored into his character's skull. I will let you make your own mind up, but I myself found it hard to stop laughing.
