"The Marine": Avoid it!

[Texas Star]

Awhile back, I posted about a DVD called, 'The Marine 2". Frankly, I don't watch a lot of action movies with excessive fighting and a lot of explosions, etc. Not my thing.

I bought it mainly out of curiosity because the female lead (the hero's wife) was played by Aussie actress Lara Cox, who I like for both her acting and her private life, which is a lot more inspiring and admirable than that of most actresses. She seems a really nice person who sticks by her friends, even taking a year off from her career to nurse a close pal who had a really bad road accident. I like her combination of vulnerabiity and daring.

"The Marine 2" was a pleasant surprise. I really liked it. The cast was good, the locale beautiful, and the plot not totally ridiculous. I recommended it. I hope some of you bought it and liked it.

Well, tonight, I found the original, "The Marine" , starring John Cena on clearance and bought it for $3.00. I should have saved my money. I didn't even quite finish it; it was that bad.
It's a pity. Cena was a good actor, and Kelly Carlson was okay, too. They just had a bad plot with improbable events and too much raw action and pyrotechnics. BOOM for the sake of BOOM!

If you were thinking of getting this, re-think, unless that sort of thing winds your clock. It is wholly unlike, "The Marine 2" in plot and quality, except that in both cases, the marine featured has to save his wife from the bad guys. Both male stars are/were wrestlers wanting to be actors, too. And they deserved better plots, although Ted DiBasio got a better role and co-star.

I almost didn't post about this, but I'd hate for someone who liked, "The Marine 2" to buy the earlier film expecting something equally good. It isn't. Five thumbs down. Be warned.

 

[GatorFarmer]

Both films were produced by WWE films. Thus all their films tend to star current and former WWE wrestlers alongside whoever happens to need a paycheck (Ed Harris was in one recently, guess times are tough all over).

Robert Patrick played the badguy in the original "Marine". Some time later RP and his young son were at a WWE event and Cena stopped to give the boy his hat on the way out to the ring. RP and his son seemed legitimately happy and surprised.

Anyway... I actually enjoyed the original, I haven't seen the sequel. The trick to the original is that you have to think of it as a sort of life action Bugs Bunny cartoon that happened to use real people instead of animation.

Cena's acting, er... abilities... can be seen in a number of WWE productions, alongside those of Randy Orton, the Big Show, Edge and HHH (in recent productions). He can also be seen shortly performing by meeting Dwayne the Rock Johnson at Wrestlemania (only a few weeks from now) in arguably the biggest wrestling match of all time.

 

[FTG-05]

I totally disagree with your assessment of the first "The Marine" movie. Totally.

The bad girl getting thrown in front of the bus near the end completely redeemed the whole movie. Plus she was almost as hot as the blonde chickie-snack.

 

[Rule3]

I almost didn't post about this, but I'd hate for someone who liked, "The Marine 2" to buy the earlier film expecting something equally good. It isn't. Five thumbs down. Be warned.

OH sure, and you wrote that glowing review of GI Jane!

 

[Texas Star]

Both films were produced by WWE films. Thus all their films tend to star current and former WWE wrestlers alongside whoever happens to need a paycheck (Ed Harris was in one recently, guess times are tough all over).

Robert Patrick played the badguy in the original "Marine". Some time later RP and his young son were at a WWE event and Cena stopped to give the boy his hat on the way out to the ring. RP and his son seemed legitimately happy and surprised.

Anyway... I actually enjoyed the original, I haven't seen the sequel. The trick to the original is that you have to think of it as a sort of life action Bugs Bunny cartoon that happened to use real people instead of animation.

Cena's acting, er... abilities... can be seen in a number of WWE productions, alongside those of Randy Orton, the Big Show, Edge and HHH (in recent productions). He can also be seen shortly performing by meeting Dwayne the Rock Johnson at Wrestlemania (only a few weeks from now) in arguably the biggest wrestling match of all time.

Gator-

I like that! A sort of animate cartoon Yes, that fits.

I don't follow wrestling, so had to judge Cena and DiBaisie (Marine 2) as actors and I thought both were plausible, and not too much into chest-beating.

I prefer Lara Cox to Kelly Clarkson, who struck me as a little too much of a shallow blonde. The brunette babe in the first movie actually was hotter, in my view. Too bad she was so evil. In view of the endorsement of her demise in a post here, I may finish the DVD tonight. Not that I think that throwing hot babes in front of a bus is the best use for them. (I like to think of girls as baking good oatmeal raisin cookies, for one thing.) Anyway, Lara is simply a better actress, even though she has to fake a US accent. (She recently received rave reviews for her portrayal of a psychotic murderess in, "The Dinner Party." It hasn't been released in the USA, but you can see trailers on YouTube, as well as trailers for, "The Marine 2.") I like hearing Lara speak in her own accent. She stole my heart as Finn in the Third Season of, "The Lost World." I just thought it was dumb of the producers not to have her exchange her little crossbow for guns.

Overall, I just prefer the settings and cast in, "The Marine 2", and the characters were better developed, except for the oriental terrorists, who were just thugs to destroy. It still has plenty of explosions and gore. They were just not as gratuitous. And Lara looks sexier when tied up than Kelly Clarkson did. There's also a cute Oriental babe in the second movie. And I think Ted DiBasio was a little better actor than John Cena, alhough Cena was certainly better than expected.

Oh, well: each to his own. But until you've seen, "The Marine 2", don't make up your mind which is the better film. I think the second was just a classier movie, better plotted and delivered. The first was just a "blow 'em up." But tastes vary.

 

[Texas Star]

Oops! I said the babe in the first movie was Kelly Clarkson. She's a singer. I meant Kelly Carlson. Sorry.

 

[Texas Star]

The Marine 2 - Trailer - YouTube


The board is slow today, so I posted this trailer to the Marine 2, the one I prefer. That's Lara Cox in the black dress and in the bikini, necking on the beach.

THe trailer also shows some explosions. It's a good action movie. Actually, I liked it better than the stuff from Arnold S. and Stallone.

And I like the pic of the star on the DVD, wielding the M-9, a favorite pistol of mine.