Haters gonna hate...., but, IMO Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever was simply ahead of it's time in delivering an "action movie" that sadly (according to it's critics) 100% delivered on the action from start to finish, but, was lacking in plot, nuance, or snappy and witty dialog. Complaints included, Antonio Banderas' "scruffy" unshaven appearance, (never mind that he is playing an undercover agent who believes he's witnessed his wife being blown to smithereens because of his work, and, has basically given up on himself and life) or, Lucy Liu's "stoic" demeanor and lack of dialog, (never-mind that she is playing a trained from childhood assassin, who, for the cardinal sin of wanting out and trying to have a family, was then betrayed by her employers, and was targeted for a drone strike, which missed her but killed her husband and child)
Yes, in 2002 they called this movie insipid and stupid, yet, fast forward 12 years later and we have hit a movie, now on it's THIRD SEQUEL, about a stoic former assassin, of very few words, who goes full ham on his former employers, because the son of one of them shot his puppy! Well, I guess these days, the life of a puppy trumps that of a HUMAN Father and child according to some folks politics.
They also complained about "improbable" action sequences, but, for some perspective, consider that this was released in 2002, and the multitude of car crashes, explosions, fireballs, gun play, roll overs, bus crashes, (with the bus splitting in two) and CQB sequences were PRACTICAL, NOT CGI. Lucy Liu (again IMO) was ahead of the curve in playing a believable female assassin, even if, or in spite of, some of the set-ups seem a bit fantastical. OK, nowadays, the bad guys wouldn't get up after walking into MASSIVE explosions, and Quentin Tarantino would have been sure to splatter most of the set, and everyone else with animal guts and Karo blood, but, remember, this was a VIDEO GAME movie that came out before the video game, and, again, IMO, it's not deserving of the scorn and derision IMDB and the critics have heaped upon it.
Gregg Henry provides his usual yeoman performance as the cartoon bureaucratic baddie, while Ray Park and Roger Cross (pre "Dark Matter") do their henchmen thing. And once again Miguel Sandoval is the Agency Director who puts up with / understands Agent Sever's "quirks". Along for the ride are a battalion of SWAT kitted storm-troopers, er, officers and agents, who like their futuristic counterparts, can't hit the broadside of a barn, but then, if they could, it would have made for a very short movie.
I liked this when it first came out, and, it still holds up well, so, like I said, that's my opinion, and, I'm sticking to it.
Very silly plot, weak acting and implausible story lines paired with some great action scenes and special effects!
Shout by Matthew Luke BradyBlockedParent2021-02-27T19:19:52Z
Dude, Antonio Banderas looked like he was about to fall asleep. Almost like he had 4 hours of sleep. I'll give this movie a star for his efforts of staying awake.