Why do European critics trash European movies more readily than anyone else? Could it be that they understand the language? Or did I miss the worst of this movie while trying to keep up with the subtitles? Nonetheless, I found this movie a very fun guilty pleasure trip. I was expecting a very shaky movie, having read that Hardy Martins originally planned to have Jackie Chan in his role, only had a shooting permit valid for a couple of hours to shoot the big car collision scene and clear out, and that the big black plane was rented from the Russian government, and had to go through six full repaintings--it wasn't originally black, because of the weather. Who wouldn't root for director, lead role, and producer Hardy Martins after reading all this? And he pulls off the movie with enough thread to take you from one stunt scene to the other. Interestingly, there's even a scene where the hero is RELUCTANT to go on his ass-whopping journey when his friend dies (he does not jump to the Godfatherly conclusion that it's green lights for retaliation--and the best part of the movie!!). How often does that happen in Hollywood?
