For a guy that has been hyped quite a bit online, I see little of distinction in Florentine’s direction in either show. His direction here is equally indifferent – the film, shot in Bulgaria, doesn’t really pass for the U.S., or for Bulgaria for that matter, and rather sloppily makes no convincing effort to be located anywhere. All I remember about that one at this point is that Donald Sutherland showed up for a scene or two and there was lots of footage of belly dancing. I’ve seen none of Florentine’s most fabled work, having seen only this and a really bad Florentine Christian Slater “thriller” Assassin’s Bullet. This guy is beloved by respected action fans like Outlaw Vern for his work on Scott Adkins films like Ninjaand Ninja 2, as well as some Undisputed sequels (you know, sequels to that Walter Hill prison fight film nobody saw). However, this means there’s a lot of steady cam and undistinguished staging, with little time for thoughtful composition or nuanced emoting (despite Donowho’s professed interest to create a “drama with action” as opposed to an action flick). His direction is straight-to-video strong, bringing in a professional looking production on a fifteen day shoot. Relatively obscure, Donowho seems like an affable, earnest guy on Violence’s DVD commentary track (saying “Hi Mom!” at the beginning, assuming that she might be the only one listening). “Acts of Vengeance,” in this case, simply involve violence anyway. Acts of Vengeance sounds a bit less cynical, but maybe it’s really just coy. It’s as if they couldn’t think of a title, and asked themselves “what does anyone really want from a movie like this, anyway?” The title is the answer. Title: Acts of Violence is so prosaic I have to smile. Acts of Violence, just out on Blu ray and DVD from Lionsgate, is the latest Bruce Willis grab-the-cash-and-run release, while Acts of Vengeance is the latest Antonio Banderas grab-the-cash-and-run release, also out from Lionsgate on Blu Ray and DVD! So before you invest 180 minutes of your life watching both of our aging movie stars beat up some bad guys in the name of vengeance and violence, I, with serious resolve, will make them compete for your entertainment dollar! Both deal with miscarriages of justice that must be dealt with in vigilante fashion, which is pretty cool, if kind of hard to make new as a subject.
Neither is a delicate fable of first love and unicorns, or a Roberto Rosellini documentary-style exploration of the frailty of the human condition. Two recent “Stealth Cinema” entries leave little recourse for someone who takes this stuff seriously but to pit them against each other in a cage fight.
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