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12 out of 13 people found the following review useful: An Art house action film?, 12 July 2003 Author: HandsomeMax from United States
Slient Trigger is action/thriller that has a lot going for it.Here we have a 1st time pairing of Dolph Lundgren and Highlander director Russell Mulcahy working very well.Decent Music,action,budget,and acting.The Gun Dolph uses in this movie is a monster!This time Dolph(Shooter)is a tired hit-man along with the ultra-sexy Gina Bellman as his spotter.In the wake of botching a hit they find themselves on the run and Ending up in a half-built skyscraper to pull off another hit to atone for the failed one.A lot of the story is told in flashbacks,as things go badly leading up to to a high action ending.Mulcahy stages things nicely here,setting up some pretty good shots,giving the film a touch of style like an art flick,and creating a great deal of moodiness.Above average soundtrack contributes a lot.There is a lot of bang for the buck in ST. Most of the action is told in flashbacks.It is very brutal. No martial arts from Dolph,but he does get deliver a couple beatings that sets up the mano-a-mano in the Skyscraper with the deranged Guard.The movie bogs down in the 2nd half.The plot is rather vague,and there is not really a good villain for Dolph.However ST rebounds very well from this with its slick production values.enthusiasm,and acting.Dolph should get another shot in H-wood.He can act very well if given the right director and material.Gina Bellman is one of the few gorgeous actresses than can really act.Christopher Heyderall goes over top as the Psychotic Nightwatchman who causes trouble for our heroes.Fans(myself included)enjoy!7.5/10.
8 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Brilliant atmospheric B-movie, 8 February 2007 Author: matthewscott8 from United Kingdom
Heaven knows why I fall for this picture. But I do, hook, line, and sinker. The deadpan delivery from Lundgren and Bellman makes this a truly post ironic classic. Gina Bellman is difficult to watch, being from the UK I'm acquainted with her later (emetic) sitcom work, and seeing her try to hold down a serious role is very funny. She's clearly very sensual though, so she has to be let off.It's also pretty intriguing on an existential level to see the sniper Waxman (Lundgren) pondering what his duty is and whether he can ever be redeemed. But asides from all the post irony and existentialism it's downright atmospheric. Mulcahy found some pretty extraordinary landscapes to film. The title scene, is of a man running through some sort of estuary set to a nice bluesy piece of jazz. What it has to do with the plot is anybody's guess, but it was brilliant. Most of the film is set in the penthouse of a skyscraper (the Algonquin) at night time during heavy thunder and rain. It's a great looking piece of architecture, and very atmospheric. The rest of the film is shown in flashbacks of Waxman and his spotter's exfiltration following an abortive assassination attempt. The Algonquin is described in this movie as 'a piece of techno-crap', it's an unfurbished incomplete neo-Gothic skyscraper that no-one seems to be bothered to finish. It's an uninhabited shell that makes a great eagles nest for sniping. It's all quite amusing, quite why the powers that be want a VIP in an armoured limo travelling at high speed to be assassinated so publicly, so flagrantly, and so spectacularly by a sniper using armour-piercing explosive rounds from an incredibly difficult one-mile away shooting position, is anybody's guess. Just for your interest my friends I have looked into why Mulcahy has named the skyscraper 'The Algonquin'. It seems the literal translation of the root of this word (whose definition is an Indian tribe) comes from the Micmac meaning "at the place of spearing fish and eels". How pretentious is that? Good though.In true B-movie tradition we have a freak, Christopher Heyerdahl, as the night-shift security guard in the Algonquin. His body is tattooed with his 'buddies' a load of spiders who seem to urge him to commit wanton acts of sexual violence, especially after he's snorted a bit of white. He's really very creepy indeed.The few action scenes in the movie are quite effective, but action fans may find the longueurs in between to be unpalatable. This one is more for the B-movie mavens.Plot-whores don't really like this movie because it is a bit discontinuous, for example why on earth is Waxman given a second chance after his first failure to complete his assignment? But Silent Trigger is perhaps the most entertaining movie I have ever watched, and I could see it again and again. For the true connoisseurs of tripe from this period it is an interesting debate whether or not to prefer Van Damme or Lundgren, in my opinion this film marks Lundgren out as the top banana. Can you imagine how excited I was at the tender age of 12 to find out that they were appearing in the same movie (Universal Soldier). Food for thought my friends.
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Satisfying action, 13 July 2005 Author: tonopah-6 from Mansfield, Ohio
Dolph is an assassin who takes on his last assignment. He's experienced, mature, and filled with common sense - trying to teach the naive and deadly wannabe, Gina, to be discriminative and aware. This takes place in a metropolitan building,(not yet finished), overlooking the bridge leading from the US into Canada. It's also where Dolph and Gina go through a period of adjusting from their previous troubled time together. There were some flashbacks, which I liked; they fit in well at showing their past job together, and the reason for their problematic rejoining. But during that time is when a minor flaw occurs (concerning authenticity); it's about a security guard snorting cocaine - (his job must pay awful well) - and he snorts it several times during the night. But what the hell, it helps him become more of a sex-craved maniac looking to fill-in a boring night: a romp through the penthouse with the sexy Gina as the participant. He does a great job as a weirdo guard, and is an excellent filler for action during the assassins set up. But . . . Then after Gina fights off a sexual attack with the guard, she then gets a sexual feeling for Dolph, of course. This happens near the window that's been cutout in a circled manner for the upcoming assassination attempt - you'll see her fine shapely hips while laying on the floor. Although Gina doesn't have an ounce of toughness to her, she still does all right as the female assassin. The action scenes were good; some extreme, but not too outrageous like a lot of other flicks. And maybe I could include that the Canadians seem to have a higher percentage of good action movies than Hollywood.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: The ultimate Dolph Lundgren work since 1991, 20 June 2000 Author: dima-12 from Belgrade, Serbia
`Silent Trigger`is the best actioner Dolph Lundgren made in years and it looks absolutely fantastic for a B-movie.This feature owes a lot to dynamite direction of Aussie-shooter Russell Mulcahy who made a really significant contribution in this one. The whole movie relies entirely on Mulcahy`s direction that is still hip and vital.The script is average with lots of flaws in the middle of the movie but the writing overall does the trick.Plotting is trashy but the ending is twist-oriented and it really freshens up the whole concept.The script isn`t witty enough but those gaps could`ve been filled by bigger budget since the movie has only two capital A,action set-pieces.I wonder how Mulcahy got expelled from the Hollywood action mainstream since lots of hackers like Hyams or Dwight H.Little get to do mainstream movies even though they haven`t had a hit for years. This movie is the right way for Dolph to go because such action vehicles are hard to find in Hollywood these days.Lundgren`s martial art scenes are great since he is tall and bulky so his kicks really pack a punch.His face isn`t as pretty as Van Damme`s but he hits harder.Of course `Silent Trigger` ain`t no `Citizen Kane` but it sure does go way beyond anyone`s expectations from a movie that lays in the dust of the video-store back-shelf. Mulcahy`s visual work is great and he still has the zeal for the job. No Kevin Hooks or Peter Hyams can overthrow this wet of hip visual directing.Let me remind you that Mulcahy brought video clip aesthetics to the Hollywood mainstream at the time when David Fincher,Simon West and Domenic Sena used to dress in diapers.Sadly,he never had an idea of his own like Fincher but he still made groundbreaking videos for `Queen` and movies like `Highlander` or `Ricochet`.Let`s hope he finds his way back to the maistream.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Hard,harder, Lundgren, 19 June 2006 Author: Sven_baumi from Ruhrgebiet, , Germany
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
For me, one of Lundgrens better performances as soldier and assassin showing what it's not so easy to leave the firm. Kill or be killed. But he gives hinds of that goes deeper. So the flashbacks which switch time and place and shows how he became the lone, tired wolf which wants to leave this business. Just one another job to do. The target is the same. His last "job" failed because of the new spotter which was connected with more unnecessarily bodies . But he sees that his target is not the only target today. The new spotter is an old fiend. In Fact the plot is not the work of a real genius but this film thrills. Not least the work of Gina Bellman which gives the film a warm note in this cold location and her character will be stronger as the viewer thinks at the beginning of the movie.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Terrific Action Film, With A Great Performance From Lundgren!, 25 February 2005 Author: (callanvass@hotmail.com) from victoria b.c canada
This was a terrific action film with a great performance from Lundgren!. The 2 leads were fantastic, and it was actually quite a different film for Lundgren, and not your typical action film. The story was very interesting, and the main villain was pretty menacing, plus, the finale was very exciting. The opening, was absolutely fantastic, and Gina Bellman's character is very unpredictable, and that made her very interesting!. The Direction is excellent!. Russell Mulcahy, does an excellent job here, creating some creepy atmosphere, good use of colors, very cool camera angles,some excellent zoom in's and keeping the film at an excellent pace!, Great job!. There is LOTS of blood and violence. We get TONS of EXTREMELY bloody gunshot wounds, 2 bloody gunshot wounds to the had with blood and brains spurting, but that's about it. The Acting is awesome!. Dolph Lundgren is AMAZING as always, he kicked that ass, played a different character then usual, had awesome chemistry with Gina Bellman, and was awesome in the acting department! (Lundgren Rules!). Gina Bellman is awesome here, her character is very unpredictable, and that made her a lot more interesting, plus her chemistry, with Dolph was awesome!. Conrad Dunn and Christopher Heyerdahl, are both very creepy and excellent as the main villains!. Overall, a must see for everyone!. **** out of 5
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Very slick film, 26 January 2001 Author: karrie122 from USA
This movie was filmed in a half-built skyscraper and throughout the movie there is a thunderstorm. These 2 elements make an excellent backdrop for the movie. It looks very artistic. The movie is about an assassin (Dolph) who was the best in the business. Then on an assignment he finds that he can't take the shot. As time goes on he find more and more conflict between his sense of morals and his job. If you like Dolph, he looks really good in this film and his acting isn't bad. He does deliver one boring monologue that you should just skip, and the girl in the film (Gina Bellman) has an annoying voice. However, the action scenes are good and the film looks really slick. It is very well produced. It's my favourite Dolph movie.
4 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Great Film, 17 September 2000 Author: David Walker Stevens (dsteve15@earthlink.net) from Baton Rouge, USA
After reading the other reviews I can say what some may not like about this film makes it a hit for me. Great soundtrack and musical score. Awesome effects and stunts. This film swings back and forth from near stillness to total pandemonium. It is agreeably disconcerting. Predicting the next scene is impossible. A survival movie of 5 stars. I concur this film has a strange quality, even exotic. Everything about Silent Trigger is excellent, including the acting. I really liked the set design. You might like this movie less if you need a visible plot and an even pace (it's not here!). Silent Trigger would be good in a trio including, say, The Anderson Tapes (Sean Connery and Dyan Cannon) and The Peacemaker (George Clooney and Nicole Kidman), because of the contrast and similarities in all three films. At any rate it would seem to be a film that could use a balance, because it does have a slice factor. So my advice is to pair it with a few other films and round out your viewing.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: Kill Zone, 28 June 2009 Author: italian_angel_82 from Canada
Waxman ( Dolph Lundgren ) is a highly trained, expert assassin working for a secretive undercover organization known as The Agency. After failing to pull the trigger at his target in a previous mission in a unnamed war-torn East European country, Waxman ( Dolph Lundgren )and Clegg ( Gina Bellman ) his beautiful accomplice who is his "spotter" are given one last chance to make things right.When i saw this movie i was very surprised how creative and stylish this movie turned out to be, the lighting, the soundtrack, locations and characters made this movie my favourite Dolph lundgren movie. I must say that most of the credit must go to the director of this movie Russell Mulcahy, not only he made this movie a very entertaining action film for action fans, he also creates a good style of suspense.
3 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Just one click… and you are dead!, 29 June 2006 Author: Dusan Leon-Citic from Yugoslavia
He is calm, silent and deadly. His bullet can hit you from distance of 2 kilometers. This time Dolph holds in his hands a new tool of destruction – a sniper. He works as political assassin, but he doesn't want to kill any more. They sent him to his last mission into the great designed building with a girl who is his assistant (Bellman). While they make preparations, we watch many flash-backs related to their common past and targets from many years ago. They don't know that whole this job is just a trap to eliminate them both. Director of "Highlander" and "Shadow", Russell Mulcahy, brought you another hit. Claustophobic, strong and dramatic, this film really makes you think. Dolph also provided you with fantastic action scenes that will take your breath away. Gina Bellman – always pleasant to look at. The film that is going to become an important part of your personal collection.
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