A Certain Justice (a.k.a. Puncture Wounds), 2014.
Directed by James Coyne and Giorgio Serafini.
Starring Dolph Lundgren, Cung Le, Vinnie Jones, James C. Burn, Gianni Capaldi and Briana Evigan.
SYNOPSIS:
After returning home from a traumatic tour of duty in Iraq, John finds himself struggling with PTSD. What little peace he had managed to build around him is shattered one fateful day when he rescues a local call girl from a group of violent Aryan Brotherhood pimps.
For UK fans eagerly awaiting the latest Dolph Lundgren special, A Certain Justice marks his first release of 2014, having had a fairly prolific 2013, including the releases of Hard Rush and Blood of Redemption only a week apart, as well as the late Christmas gift of Battle of the Damned last boxing day. His selection of films sandwiched between big screen outings with The Expendables 2, and the forthcoming third, have been an eclectic mix to say the least. There has also been his trilogy of Vinnie Jones team ups with the aforementioned Hard Rush and Blood of Redemption, finishing up with A Certain Justice. The previous two were a mixed bag and Hard Rush in particular had its moments. So how does A Certain Justice fare?
UFC fighter turned action man, Cung Le headlines something of a personal project. Attached to it for the last five years, Le had to wait around until someone finally picked the film up and put it into production. Le stars as John a former soldier who has been suffering from PTSD since returning from Iraq. One night he witnesses a hooker (Briana Evigan) getting roughed up by a group of guys, and intervenes, killing two of them. Little does he realise they work for a drug and prostitution kingpin named Hollis (Lundgren) and it sets forth a chain of events which sees Hollis retaliate by killing Johns family, before John sets about taking him down a getting his revenge. It’s kind of Death Wish meets First Blood.
The plot is very simple and this is very much set up to be a character piece, with even some minor characters having some development devoted to them. Occasionally it might affect the pace, and also take some focus of Le’s protagonist, but actually the most interesting characters here are secondary. Le is quite good in the lead, even if he lacks the magnetic presence of a Lundgren or Vinnie Jones. Jones doesn’t really do anything fresh, though he’s slightly less maniacal and aggressive than normal. This is a story loaded with some reprehensible characters it must be said. It’s dark viewing at times. I really hated Lundgren’s character in this. As a fan, this is the first time I can honestly say he’s played a complete douche. Someone irredeemable and totally un-likeable, but that is of course the point and to Dolph’s credit, he pulls that off. Gianni Capaldi, who produced and co-starred in all three of the Lundgren/Jones trilogy, has something of a complex role and does well.
The most interesting two characters in the picture, and best performances come from Briana Evigan as the downtrodden hooker, and James C. Burn as a burned out cop, tracking the trail of destruction that Le leaves behind him. The whole once naive girl next door who finds herself conned into prostitution isn’t a new arc, but Evigan handles it well. She gives a really strong performance. Though it doesn’t always help the pace of the film, plenty of time is devoted to Burn’s weary cop and his performance seems very genuine.
Where the film doesn’t quite nail things are in the aesthetics. It really at heart has a dark and gritty 70’s vibe. It should be Don Siegel meets Peckinpah, with a grimy dash of Michael Winner, but it succumbs to that disappointing tendency in too many modern films of intrusive film-making. When the film is shot and cut simply, it’s more effective. Often though there’s some shaky cam thrown in, an overuse of lens-flare as creative choice from cinematographer Marco Capetta, and a jarring film score.
In terms of editing and cinematography, these are tools, at their best that feel organic, and don’t intrude on the audience. They aren’t supposed to elbow their way on screen and shout at the audience that this film has been edited together. You don’t want an editor loudly announcing himself every few shots. If the editing is drawn too much to attention, the editor (in this case, John Quinn) has failed. It’s a modern tendency though, particularly in straight to video films where the notion seems to be that if something is edited to within an inch of its life or shot using every possible photographic trick in the book, that it will look like a bigger budget film than it really is. The opposite effect is normally the case. A more old school approach to shooting and cutting the film would probably have benefited the end result.
There is some decent action here. Le’s fully at home when it comes to throwing down with some wrong-doers. Again, the editing is a little too intrusive at times, which is totally needless when you have as adept an on-screen fighter as Le, and some good choreography. That said, a final mano-a-mano between Le and Lundgren is pretty good.
In all, A Certain Justice has enough decent moments and interesting characters to make it a good watch. Whilst the delivery might be erratic, the intent is there and as far as your standard straight to video action flick goes, its focus on characterisation is commendable.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Tom Jolliffe
Read our interview with Gianni Capaldi here.
