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The Condemned

WWE Entertainment drops an action bomb

By Eric Alt

April 27, 2007

Critic's Rating:

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For a while there, it looked as though the WWE was going to step up and fill the muscle-bound action hero void left when Arnold got into politics and Stallone started aging disgracefully. But the wrestling organization's movie division follows up John Cena's tepid "The Marine" with the utterly humorless "The Condemned," starring "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

Meanwhile, Arnold's talking "T4" and Sly's returning to "Rambo." What does that say?

In "The Condemned," Austin plays John Conrad, a death row inmate (with a heart of gold, natch) "purchased" by a reality Internet show and sent to a remote island to battle for survival against the world's best looking killers, rapists and terrorists.

Despite a capital "E"-vil turn by "X-Men: The Last Stand's" Vinnie Jones, what could have been a wonderfully over-the-top, mindlessly balls-to-the-wall action film turns out to be shockingly dull and lifeless. Austin's not entirely to blame—his slow Texas drawl and hulking presence certainly make him a suitable anti-hero—there simply isn't a single ounce of fun in anything that transpires.

The concept has already been done more creatively in a Japanese film called "Battle Royale"—a better rental than "Condemned" is a theatrical experience.

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