The Marine (Unrated)
20th Century Fox
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John Triton is a heroic Marine who returns home after being discharged--against his will--from the Iraq War. Stateside, he finds himself back in action, when his wife is kidnapped by a murderous gang led by a merciless criminal named Rome. With everything on the line, the Marine will stop at nothing to carry out his toughest and most important mission.

Save for the John Carpenter classic They Live and a brief appearance by the late Andre the Giant in The Princess Bride, pro-wrestlers and Hollywood haven't fared very well together over the years. Although WWE Champion John Cena's turn in The Marine isn't nearly as embarrassing as Hulk Hogan in Mr. Nanny, Hulk Hogan in No Holds Barred or Hulk Hogan in Suburban Commando, his debut film is about as mindless as it gets. But that might not be a bad thing here.

From the opening scene, The Marine sets itself up as an ode to the corny action films of the 1980s. You know the kind -- thousands of bullets and bangs but the bad guys never seem to hit their mark. A one-man army takes out everyone and everything in his way to save the one he loves. Cena fits the Schwarzenegger mold almost to a tee, minus the Herculian physique and the accent. The Marine offers up plenty of throwaway action that defies every law of physic known (and unknown) to man. But it doesn't try to be anything but.

Basically, if you need some substance to your movie viewing, The Marine sucks. But if you're up for nothing but things blowing up and some big-time beat downs, this is certain to please in a guilty pleasure kind of way.

Video: How's it look?
The anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1 aspect ratio) picture is perfect from what my eyes can tell. Colours are sharp and the picture is very crisp.

Audio: How's it sound?
There's plenty of explosions in The Marine and the 5.1 Dolby Surround audio doesn't disappoint. There's also additional Dolby Surround tracks in French and Spanish.

Extras: What additional goodies are included?

• "Declassified: The Making of The Marine" looks at the making of the film from the initial concept of WWE trying to make movies with its wrestlers, through the filming and the post-production. The featurette runs 11 minutes.
• Highlights from the premiere at an American military base in San Diego. Plenty of pro wrestlers make appearances.
• A series of four featurettes highlight star John Cena from his early days in WWE through the filming of The Marine.
• Ten promotional featurettes on the film that originally aired during WWE programming during its theatrical release.
• Trailer.
• Bonus trailers for Commando, Man on Fire and a highlight reel of other Fox action franchises.
• Both the rated and unrated versions of the film.
• English and Spanish subtitles.

Closing Thoughts
For those in need of an action-filled escape, The Marine will fit the bill. The story is minimal and the action is preposterous, but it doesn't try to be much else. Toss in a solid amount of extra stuff and you've got a solid DVD for those who will want to seek it out.


Review brought to you by our friend Ryan @ Movie-Views.com