From my favorite movies..

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It's not easy to do, but a story that had potential simply sinks under very, very bad direction.In film one of the director's jobs is to tell the viewer where to look. True that. But it does not mean that he should be shouting "Look at me!" when he should be concentrating on story and characterization.A reported $7 million goes down the toilet in developing this story of greed, jealousy, and revenge. Actors who have done very fine work in the past are simply stranded on screen. That's bad enough.But for some reason a great chunk of the action is filmed using a blue filter over the lens. This is understandable for the exteriors at night. But it looks more than slightly stupid for scenes in, say, a living room.The action is sped up in some scenes for no reason whatsoever. And the fight scenes are edited so incoherently that it's impossible to tell who's who are what's going on.Watching movies directed by, say, Ed Wood can be a fun experience. Catatonic actors, cardboard sets, special effects that totally fail, it's sort of like watching the community theater group perform on the stage in the American Legion hall. You know that they're genuinely trying to do their best and it's easy to root for everyone involved.Here, the gimmicks just seem to try to cover up undeveloped story arcs.There is one very good thing about this, though. Director Laurence Malkin directed exactly one more movie after this, in 2006, and has not worked behind the camera since then although he has remained active in the film business. People seeking proof that God created an orderly universe need look no further.

This was absolutely the WORST movie ever made in Holland and I've seen them all! Being Dutch myself, I am ashamed that this "videoclip-type" movie was made with a lot of Dutch effort (actors, production and ofcourse locations).The story and the acting are so bad and corny that I first thought they made it as an experimental joke. But they MEANT it! Especially the way that this movie was advertised really annoyed me once I saw the finished product. This was supposed to be a movie that would blow us away and it was supposed to be a rollercoaster-ride of action... We were deceived: the plot is worse than a standard action-movie, the blue filter on the images and the weird experimental imaging gives you a headache, and the biggest stunt in Soul Assassin is when Skeet Ullrich rides his bicycle(!) into a canal...! Need I say more...? The director (Laurence Malkin) used to make MTV-videos for rapper Coolio and it SHOWS! My advice: DON'T bother renting this one, you'll kick yourself after if you DO!

I wasn't expecting that much from this movie but was pleasantly surprised. This was actually much better than a lot of the schlock that has been released in the theaters recently. The story was solid and kept my interest throughout. The ending was a little too tidy, but was definitely better than the standard Hollywood ending.Overall the acting was pretty good. Skeet Ulrich particularly did a good job in this movie and was fun to watch. I also enjoyed Kristy Swanson, although I am a fan so that might be biased.The one complaint I would have is the cinematography. I really could have done without the blue filter used for almost the entire movie. Sure it indicated the death of his soul, so to speak, but it was annoying, and the splashes of color were too jarring. Also some of the other effects just came across poorly.

Accomplishing what I had thought impossible, this film moves from intriguing/thriller-worthy premise to absolute schlock within 5 minutes of the opening credits. No story. No characters. No acting. Dubious cinematography (I guess it's just a Blue, Blue World). All this matched by an ending which establishes a new standard for 'lousy'. Given that it was a free rental....I want my money back.