Paul “Big Show” Wight as Victor and Dean Cain as Danvers are mortal enemies in “Vendetta.”
For those who like their action movies bloody and uncompromisingly brutal, “Vendetta” is worth every minute of their time.
In limited theatrical release but readily available on video on demand, “Vendetta” plays out superbly as a good guy vs. bad guy story, with a hero steadfast in determination and willing to take a beating to achieve his goals, against an imposing villain, often who has allies and all kinds of advantages.
Dean Cain, an actor with a wide array of roles but mostly known for playing Clark Kent/Superman in the TV series “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” (1993-97), is Mason Danvers, a tough police detective, who as “Vendetta” opens, arrests — with a lot of help — two brothers, Griffin Abbott (Aleks Paunovic) and Victor Abbott (Paul “Big Show” Wight), two hoods with an extensive record of crimes. Battered from a nasty fight with Victor, Danvers goes home to be nursed by his wife, Jocelyn (Kyra Zagorsky).
Three months later, Danvers is given the stunning news that because a key witness has “disappeared” in the Abbott case, both brothers have been set free.Victor, taking his arrest at the hands of Danvers personally, pays a visit to Jocelyn, and the result is an absolutely gut-wrenching attack. But in the process Victor is arrested again and sent to prison.
In the wake of this tragedy, Danvers is driven to a point he no longer will play it by the book. He commits a deadly crime, setting it up so that he is arrested and convicted. He is sent to Stonewall prison, where, of course, Victor is incarcerated.
The screenplay by Justin Shady presents prison life with all the dynamics seen in earlier movies about life in such institutions, complete with a warden, Snyder (Michael Eklund) with questionable and possibly corrupt ties, along with decent and hard-working prison guards and the crooked, sadistic prison personnel, and the ever-present prisoner hierarchy of one inmate at the top of the food chain, surrounded by loyal, nasty lieutenants (or hard-ass toadies).
Once in prison, Danvers learns quickly the top dog is Victor, who sends of couple of his goons to give Danvers a body-busting orientation on what life will be like in Stonewall.
The performances in “Vendetta” are marvelous. Cain’s Danvers can be a frustratingly impulsive character, throwing himself carelessly into the line of fire without thinking of the consequences yet can summon enough resourcefulness to do the things necessary to stay alive.
Wight is perfectly cast as Victor. A superstar in World Wrestling Entertainment, his is an imposing presence at seven feet tall and more than 400 pounds. Over the years he has performed in the wrestling ring mostly as a heel (bad guy) and has a sneer that can wilt any foe. Besides his physical intimidation, Wight also displays an adept ability to show exasperation as his lieutenants become antsy when Danvers starts gaining some ground.
Eklund is deliciously slimy and manipulative as Warden Snyder, putting a nice spin on the corrupt prison official. Also of note in the cast are Adrian Holmes (Drexel), Juan Riedinger (Booker), Lee Rano (R.B.) and Garfield Wilson (Dee) as Victor’s increasingly shrinking corps of enforcers; as well as Matthew MacCaull (Ben) as the sympathetic prison guard and Jonathan Walker as Lester and Dee Jay Jackson as Will, the guards with questionable work ethics.
The violence in “Vendetta” definitely deserves an R rating, and the cast really earned combat pay with all the vicious physical encounters.
All this spectacularly choreographed mayhem was directed under the firm leadership of Jen and Sylvia Soska. In this, only their fourth full-length movie as directors, the Soskas, also know as The Twisted Twins, expand their territory from horror to flat-out action. The twins, who recently directed another WWE star, Kane (Glenn Jacobs), in “See No Evil 2,” have a growing base of fans that appreciates the creativity and talent they have presented as directors and screenwriters in “Dead Hooker in a Trunk” and notably “American Mary,” the latter of which has seen enormous growth in popularity and recognition as a groundbreaking horror movie and likely could become a classic of the genre.
Being billed as “hell in a cell,” “Vendetta” actually takes its action all over Stonewall, from the dining hall to the laundry room, and of course to the exercise yard, where all hell really breaks loose. In the end, it meets all the demands of the discriminating hard core action movie aficionado.
