THE CONDEMNED

"I want to beat the Superbowl"

TV producer Ian Breckel (Mammone) wants to make the highest watched programme in the history of broadcasting. His idea is one that no TV network would touch however, as he plans to gather together ten of the worst criminals and murderers on death row from around the world and put them on a deserted island. There they will fight until only one is left standing and the winner will claim their freedom but what the maverick producer didn't reckon on is one of his contestants taking the fight to him.

When the WWE announced they were going into the movie business, fans might have been expecting a sports movie but 'The Condemned' is definitely not what you would have expected.

The WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) is known for producing some of the biggest stars of sport and creating their own stories and rivalries but when it comes to making movies they have gone in a totally different direction. While fans would have expected a wrestling sports movie, the WWE has gone for all out action and transported one of their most popular stars, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin to the big screen. While this sounds like a great idea, utilising the competitive and action skills of one of their superstars, they have executed it in a way that would alienate their biggest fans, the young.

This movie is an all out action flick but the violence in upped to such a level that you would think that you had been transported back to the 80s. Taking a big piece of the plot from Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'Running Man', this is a contest with deadly consequences for the loser. Much the same as Arnie's sci-fi classic, 'The Condemned' is a contest that sees the worst and most deadly criminals from 'death rows' around the world fight until one is left standing. With only thirty hours until an explosive device attached to their ankles explodes, the ten have to fight to the death to earn their freedom or die trying. This is all broadcast live over the Internet with millions of people around the world paying to see real people kill each other. This premise is definitely not family entertainment or a film that young WWE fans could watch holding their Stone Cold Steve Austin action figures.

Stone Cold Steve Austin himself makes the move from the wrestling ring to the silver screen with ease. While he might not have the charisma of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson or the family friendly appeal of Hulk Hogan, he does make one bad ass, fighting machine. He is definitely a huge screen presence and very powerful in the action scenes but he doesn't have those leading man good looks that could lead him to having the same impact as his fellow wrestlers-turned-actors have had. He would be more akin to playing the bad guy but a prisoner Jack Conrad he certainly takes the fight to his opponent. His opponent is exactly the man you would expect Stone Cold to come up against and that man is footballer turned thespian, Vinnie Jones. Playing an ex-SAS soldier turned mercenary who was imprisoned on death row in Africa, Jones continues to forge a career for himself playing the typical English bad guy and fair play to him. The rest of the cast is surplus to requirements with only ex-Neighbours star Madeleine West making any real impact and Robert Mammone being a little lacklustre as TV producer Breckel.

'The Condemned' is an action movie very much of the old school but while this may be a hit with action fans, the core audience of WWE fans shouldn't be watching this. If it was attached to the professional wresting company, Steve Austin's movie would have been a fine action piece but to totally alienate most of your fan base seems like a colossal mistake.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Audio Commentary with director Scott Wiper
The man at the helm of the movie provides a fine single person track for 'The Condemned'. He talks about how he became involved in the project, rewriting and developing the script, working with the cast and crew and being involved in a WWE movie. This is a decent track from an up and coming action filmmaker. Audio

Commentary with director Scott Wiper and actor Stone Cold Steve Austin
The man at the helm and his star have a chatty conversation about 'The Condemned'. Stone Cold revels how he became involved in the picture, his chance to act, getting in trim for the action sequences, working with Vinnie Jones and more behind the scenes stories. This is a better commentary, which would have been made all the more better if Vinnie Jones had been involved.

The Making of The Condemned
Split into sections entitled 'Game On', 'Pain Club', 'Inside the Control Room', 'Island Mischief' and 'Are we the condemned?', director Scott Wiper, writers Rob and Andy Hedden, executive producer Michael Lake, fight coordinator Richard Norton and stars Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vinnie Jones, Robert Mammone and Rick Hoffman take you behind the scenes of 'The Condemned'. Looking at the story, WWE involvement, the characters, the fights, the Australian shoot and Stone Cold and Vinnie Jones having fun on set, this is a behind the scenes collection of featurettes that cover most aspects of the film's production.

Capital Carnage Reunion (3.24 mins)
Vinnie Jones and Stone Cold Steve Austin remember Vinnie's appearance at the WWE event in London in 1998.

Stone Cold at Movie World (1.47 mins)
Go behind the scenes of visit to the Gold Coast theme park in Australia.

Storyboard Sequence (5.48 mins)
Watch a finished footage to storyboard comparison of the helicopter sequence that sees the prisoners dropped onto the island.

Theatrical Trailer (1.41 mins)
Watch the preview of the movie that failed the film on the Internet and in theatres.

Trailers
Previews of 'Saw IV', 'Like Minds' and 'The Hamilton's'

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'The Condemned' is one that fans will enjoy. The commentary tracks are good and the behind the scenes featurettes cover most aspects of the films production. With a few more added bonuses, this is a very good single disc DVD package that fans will enjoy.

DVD

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