Review: The Mercenary: Absolution

This weekend, I ended up seeing two movies that revolved around a central, mostly-silent protagonist taking on a cruel tyrant who felt he could ‘own’ women. One of them will go down as one of the best films of the year. I will be surprised if I remember the other by the end of the year.

Steven Seagal’s latest collaboration with Keoni Waxman, The Mercenary: Absolution, is the latter unfortunately.

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When you sit down to watch a direct-to-video movie, you generally infer a few things going in. Firstly, the budget will probably be small – otherwise a cinema release would have happened. Secondly, the talent on show might not match up to those of the tentpole films of the year due to the budget limits. Finally, the project will probably rely on at least one big, popular name to get people to buy it.

Absolution appears to tick all three boxes, however the quality of the film is not reliant on any of these factors. A good script and some good acting can turn even direct-to-video movies into classic genre films. Unfortunately, the highest rating either aspect of the film elevate themselves to is ‘workman-like’.

Steven Seagal plays the mercenary seeking absolution, John Alexander. The movie opens with his character giving a voice-over basically setting out the plot, where John’s dark past has caused him to re-assess his life and he hopes to absolve himself through one good act (this monologue loses its impact when it is used again, almost word for word, in a conversation). John’s partner, Chi (Byron Mann) joins him on his latest mission to take out a terrorist. However, when they rescue a distressed woman who happens to be fleeing the man who hired them, John sees his opportunity for one good act.

Despite the terrible script, Byron Mann does manage to show some charisma and charm in his role as John’s partner. He is also the primary source of the best action moments – Seagal is past his best at this stage so run-of-the-mill punches are the order of the day. Mann has the athleticism to make up for some of that, but all in all, the action is weak – with horrible editing and even worse framing.

The dialogue is cringe-inducing. Vinnie Jones plays the villain of the piece and when he and Seagal get together… not much happens. They trade poorly written insults and pose as magnificently as they can but the movie is too earnest for it to be funny. I was hoping as time went on that someone would starting winking at the camera, just to give some indication that they knew what they were making was poor and it was meant to be.

The Mercenary: Absolution is not an enjoyable movie to watch. The acting is poor, the plot is thin and the script is boring. If you are a fan of Seagal’s work and want to give it a chance, my only advice is to have a bottle of brandy nearby and play an action movie cliche drinking game – though, if you do follow my advice, have an ambulance on speed-dial.

Tags: Byron Mann, Keoni Waxman, Steven Seagal, The Mercenary: Absolution, Vinnie Jones