The Reunion

I went in thinking this was going to be a check your brain at the door and hopefully enjoy the movie in spite of bad acting. Turns out this movie was really good. I went in with super low expectation. I like bad movies. I know that they are bad or cheap it does not mean I can't enjoy. However, this was well done funny, great characters, well-acted. Stuff blows up, people get shot and there are warm fuzzies. Eye candy for men and women. John Cena you surprised me I was expecting a big dummy. This is not Oscar worthy stuff, but still done well. I would have paid to see this in theaters. Sit back enjoy the ride and be happily surprised.

Upon the death of their father, three brothers named "Sam Carey" (John Cena), "Leo Carey" (Ethan Embry) and "Douglas Carey" (Boyd Holbrook) join their sister "Nina Carey" (Amy Smart) for the reading of his will. To their surprise they all find out that each of them have inherited $3 million dollars. However, as the executor of the will Nina tells them that receiving it is contingent upon all three of them forming a business and working together in it for 2 years. Although none of them like the idea, it just so happens that Leo is a bail bondsman who is liable for $250,000 for a crook named "Edgar Rodriguez" (Rio Alexander) who apparently has fled to Mexico. Since he doesn't have that kind of money he appeals to Sam (who is a policeman and has recently been suspended indefinitely for assault) and Douglas (who has just gotten out of prison) to go with him to Mexico to help retrieve Edgar. Since neither of them have anything better to do they reluctantly agree. Along the way they find out that Edgar may have been involved in the recent kidnapping of a billionaire and that there is a reward or $5 million to anybody who has information that leads to his rescue. Naturally, this interests them as well. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this movie started off really good. Unfortunately, it got a bit cheesy and predictable towards the end which left me somewhat disappointed. Even so, I suppose it was an okay film for the time spent and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.

I'm a pure action fan, but i think John Cena only truly made one good film and it was Legendary, with stars such as Danny Glover who put this movie over very well... and it wasn't even an action film and he was intense, dramatic, and it was a short role. As a lead role, just like in wrestling when he's too much in main events, he bored many people. It's a true fact, many people chant ''Cena S/ck'' we never see this in the history for a non-heel character. A top pure face in fact. He always bring the same thing to the table, he's not bad, he's not good either ! He's above-average. With this film, i thought they can't do worse than Inside Out... with probably the worst non-actor (HHH) to ever do a film... well they do ! Forget this one ! Poor Amy Smart, she try to do something, but just like the terribly bad Dave Batista movie called ''House of the Rising Sun'', she can't do good with another wrestler either !! WWE Films should probably die just like the XFL Projects back in the day. The thing is that it continues to go bad to worse. It's an embarrassment to watch their movies.

I often watch literal pick & mix movies where I have no idea what is, not even the films name. Because of this I often watch some truly poor stuff, often stuff that isn't even on IMDB and I end up adding it myself.

All was going well, then suddenly John Cena pops up on screen. Let me be clear I'm a wrestling fan so maybe I'm bias but I truly cannot stand this human being so I immediatly expected bad things from The Reunion.

It did however have Amy Smart & Ethan Embry to counter balance the albino hulk so all hope was not lost.

It tells the story of four half siblings who are brought together through the death of their father and the adventure that it leads to.

The plot, not entirely original but it certainly has its moments and the writing is solid. Amy Smart alas is pretty wasted as she is a very bit part considering she's arguably the biggest name in the movie. No folks I'm not acknowledging Cena, he's a crappy wrestler who occasionally pops up in films, big wrestler....not so big actor.

This is another WWE films production and their films have been hit and miss since day one. They've done some really enjoyable ones and they've done some stinkers, this is somewhere inbetween.

If the "Doctor of Thuganomics" had been cast with you know.....someone who could act then maybe this would have been better. Regardless it's a decent enough effort.

The Good:

Some good cast choices

Couple of great moments

Solid writing

The Bad:

John Cena

Could have been a tad more original

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

One punch knocks out the average human being

I can't take Michael Rispoli seriously anymore, While You Were Sleeping (1995) and his shoe fetish has done irreparable damage

John Cena in a cowboy hat somehow looks even more ridiculous than usual, I'm surprised WWE aren't making garish colored ones and selling them as his merchandise.

Okay, so there are no major movie stars featured, there is no 200 million dollar budget, and no, Steven Spielberg nor Martin Scorsese directed it. What The Reunion DOES have though is a nice story, so just remember it is a story and not a biography, and as such there are liberties taken with how lawyers behave, and how Mexicans seem to always miss their target and then get shot themselves.

Even with the films low budget by Hollywood standards of only 6 million dollars, I really liked The Reunion. This is a story about three brothers and one sister all who apparently were sired by the same brutish father who was a drunkard, and each by a different mother. The father dies and in his will he instructs for each of his four (4) children to inherit $3 million dollars with the caveat being that they must work together for a period for no less than two (2) years in a business of their choosing.

Actress Amy Smart plays Nina Carey, the daughter of the deceased father and also the executor of his will. Two of the three brothers namely Leo Carey played by Ethan Embry and Sam Carey played by wrestling star John Cena are polar opposites both in career choices and their physical stature. The third brother and youngest of the Carey family is Douglas Carey played by Boyd Holbrook a relative newcomer to Hollywood, but he plays the abandoned sibling who just got out of prison where he receives a standing ovation by all the prisoners who apparently really liked Douglas Carey because of his charming personality and his ability to relate to people.

Not only are the four Carey family members enjoyable in their roles, there is also a strong supporting cast such as the two gangsters who kidnap a wealthy businessmen. The two gangsters are studio actor regulars Michael Rispoli who plays Canton, a technology guru responsible for the ransom wire transfer, and his partner in crime named Nealon played by Jack Conley who is a former FBI agent and he is familiar how to execute a kidnapping successfully. The kidnapped wealthy businessman named Wills is played by character actor Gregg Henry.

During the adventure the three Carey brothers decide to rescue the kidnapped businessman Wills for the reward money and they gain the trust of a local Mexican resident the beautiful Theresa Trujillo played by Lela Loren who currently stars as Angela Valdes in the television crime/drama series POWER.

I also liked the story line and I thought writer/director Michael Pavone did a great job in bringing his picture to life with the very limited budget he had to work with. The film ending also has a few twists and turns worth hanging in there to see. This film is above par for crime/action films and I would rate it much higher than most crime/action films that have budgets more than ten times greater than The Reunion had to work with.

I will most likely watch this film again in the coming years with fondness and admiration. It is well worth watching and I for one was most pleasantly surprised. I give the film a 7 out of 10 rating.