THE MARINE

WWE films strikes again with more cinematic cheese after the hugely entertaining, if extremely by-the-numbers, "See No Evil" with "The Marine." John Cena stars as a Marine, go figure, who is about to watch his fellow Marines get executed in Iraq. John Triton ( Cena) will have none of that and then proceeds to kick all kinds of ass in the violent, frantic, and extremely unbloody, desert.

Fast forward to not too long after that and low and behold Triton is dishonorably discharged for disobeying a direct order, even if it meant saving people's lives. Triton sucks it up, heads home to his gorgeous wife, and together they decide to take a little trip to the mountains. But by chance the unlucky couple run across a gang of violent jewel thieves led by the always cool Robert Patrick.

"The Marine" is a very simple film. It's essentially "Commando" minus a real budget, minus Arnold (although Cena is built much like a pro bodybuilder), and minus the firepower Arnold has at his disposal. Sometimes it is just fun to sit back and enjoy a film without having to follow twists or characterization. "The Marine" is one of those films. Often times these films seem to take themselves seriously, but "The Marine" offers a fairly light tone right up until the end. I would have enjoyed Cena killing off people in ultra-violent ways to get his wife back, but essentially it wouldn't make a difference. I am not sure how much the pg-13 rating had cut from the version I saw, but it couldn't be much. I can only think of one scene in particular involving blood, but other than that this is one dry film.

Cena looks too big and bulky to be a soldier in my opinion, but his look definitely fits right in with the 'unstoppable 80's action hero mold.' Robert Patrick hammed it up, but seemed to relish playing a wise-cracking psychotic murderer. No one else is worth mentioning, as it seems paychecks were just collected.

"The Marine" is Saturday afternoon entertainment. It has big budget explosions wrapped in a direct-to-video film. It entertains, if nothing else. Guys will like the explosions and fighting while their girlfriends get to look at a buff Cena. A decent rental, but try to catch it on cable TV instead.

** out of ****

Gordo Loving