Wrong Side of Town Starring RVD and Batista Movie Review
The official release date is February 23rd but check your local video store because your ticket to the Wrong Side of Town
I’ve been following the making of this film since last summer and imagined it would be worth the price of admission if only to see Bautista (In Hollywood we keep the U in) on screen. As it happens I was pleasantly surprised, Wrong Side of Town was much better than I thought it would be.
If you don’t want to be spoiled on the movie you should stop reading now.
The plot involves Bobby Kalinowski, a landscape architect in the suburbs….of some town. Geography is not this film’s strong suit. Bobby, his wife, Dawn and daughter, Brianna, enjoy the quiet life but a chance invitation from the new neighbors lands Bobby and Dawn downtown after dark in one of the town’s swank night clubs. The club owner, Ethan Bordas, is a crook and his younger brother, Ethan, is a cocaine addict who can’t keep his grabby hands off the club patrons. Unfortunately for Ethan, he goes after Mrs. Kalinowski and ends up dead. Thirsty for revenge, Seth puts a $100,000 bounty on Bobby’s head. That kind of money brings out all the town’s thugs and Bobby has to fight his way through them all in order to save his family.
The first twenty minutes or so of the film are a bit rough. RVD is not a natural actor but he gives the role his all and by the time we get to the action sequences seems to have eased into Bobby’s skin somewhat. My biggest knock on this whole film is Brooke Frost, cast as Brianna. The actress and her acting were more than adequate but the role seemed to be written for a much, much younger actress, like, a twelve year old actress instead of the mid-twenty something Frost. I found the mismatch very grating. Edrick Browne as the super nerdy wine broker neighbor, Clay, was also saddled with some bad scripting.
Moving on. If you can get through the first act, you’ll be set to enjoy the rest of the film.
So, Ethan’s dead and his big brother wants revenge, this is where the movie picks up. Word spreads quickly about the bounty and soon enough every gangsta’ in town is looking for Bobby. After a run in with a gang in a parking garage, Bobby leads Dawn, Clay and Clay’s wife to the nearest police station. The group gets set up by Seth’s dirty cop, Briggs (Louis Herthum). The four are packed off in a taxi which gets waylaid at a gas station by a second gang. Director, David DeFalco pulls a cameo as the gang leader and Bobby has to think on his feet to elude the roughs and their massive animal, Animal (Nelson Frazier Jr. aka former WWE Superstar, Viscera).
Tired, a bullet in his leg, Bobby sends the women home with Clay while he heads even deeper into the wrong side of town to call in a favor from an old military friend, Big Ronnie (David Bautista). The part about them being friends seems to be news to B.R. Since the two left the Navy SEALs Bobby hasn’t called, he hasn’t come down to visit Big Ronnie at his strip club and he’s never invited Ronnie out to the ‘burbs to meet the Kalinowski family. Big Ronnie has feelings too and Bobby has hurt them good. Hurt feelings aside, Big Ronnie tells Bobby that he can’t help him and send Bobby back into the cold night.
Ok, so Bautista pretty much steals the movie right here. He and Van Dam have good action flick buddy chemistry. (Click here for images from the film)
Limping away from B.R.’s seedy bar, Bobby is attacked by yet another gang looking to cash in on him. Led by Razor (rap star, Ja Rule), this new gang is already aware of how lethal Bobby can be with his hands and feet so they hold him down and beat him. Then the cavalry comes in the form of Big Ronnie who stops the beating, in his own style. In one of the laugh out loud funny scenes of the film, Razor has a hard time understanding what “Let him go!” means, so Ronnie has to make his point more clear.
As the night wears on Seth gets more restless, he presses the dirty cop for Bobby’s home address. Now Bobby, with the help of Big Ronnie, has to fight his way through the full wrath of Bordas’ army, including stealthy ninja body guard, Markus (Marrese Crump) to save his kidnapped daughter and end this beef with Seth.
If you’ve ever seen a Steven Seagal /Jean Claude Van Damme / Stallone /Schwarzenegger film then you already have a good idea how Wrong Side of Town ends, no need to give away all the surprise twists and turns here. All in all, Wrong Side of Town is an entertaining, low budget, cliché filled action film, don’t expect more than it is. The acting ranges from really bad to, pretty good, with veteran character actor Louis Herthum as Detective Briggs bringing the most to the table.
The production quality, from the James Bond-esque title sequence, to the DVD’s special features is good. Just as the film was cast to draw in a diverse crowd, the film’s soundtrack reflects that same diversity, rap, rock and vocals, something is bound to get your toe tapping.
And of course, the film features Bautista! His role is rather small but he handles it very well, turning in a few good dramatic sequences atop the action and the unexpected humour. This guy is really funny! The end of this movie has the sequel built in and hopefully Bautista as Big Ronnie has a Bigger Role.
I’m not sure if this film is even MPAA rated. If it is I’d guess it’s rated R. There are a few topless women, including adult entertainment star, Stormy Daniels. There is a lot of profanity, Big Ronnie curses like a sailor. There is gun play, hand to hand violence, and a prison shank~!
Is Wrong Side of Town worth renting or buying? At $17.99 from Amazon.com , or a few bucks at the video store, yes, I’d recommend it.
My opinion exactly! If you are a Bautista fan then this is a good one to add to your collection. As for a sequel, I do hope there will be much deeper character and plot development as well as a much more steady but moving pace. It wouldn’t bother me at all of there were more “twists and turns”. Bautista, my favorite, plays his part well, however I’m not sure how much time he devoted to research for his character because I wasn’t quite convinced that the club was “my place” as he said. Nevertheless, his natural ability to use his facial expressions to convey a thought will be a great asset in any future acting endeavors he should undertake – and I hope he does. A big nod and hat’s off to Marrese Crump (Markus, Seth’s “muscle”). He is quite believeable in the role, handling the man-of-few-words character like a seasoned pro. His fight scenes and use of weaponry is masterful. By the way, he is also David Bautista’s personal trainer which helped make the fight scene between the two of them seem realistic.
All and all a good first time effort for Van Dam, Bautista and Crump. With more training and seasoning, these guys will light up the screen for many years to come.
Awesome movie, I love it. Batista looks REALLY GOOD IN IT!!
I bought the movie, it wasnt as good as I thought or imagined it would be. Im not a big fan of RVD as an actor, a wrestler yes. Bautista is an excellant wrestler, Im glad hes getting into the movie scene. I didnt particulary like all the cursing coming from his mouth, it just made him seem “Punkish”, kinda lost a little respect for him after that movie..You know you can make movies without all the cursing, that doesnt make you tough. But whatever the Animal wants to do and say is his perogative. I think Dave could (and most likely will) make an excellant actor though, with his moves and his ability to draw a person into his Animalism Personality.
i thought the movie kicked ass to bad it didn’t go to the big screen first and the wwe shoulda talked about it. if it wasn’t for me checking out new movies at wal-mart i would have never have know that batista and robbie V aka RVD did a movie together