Search - The Condemned (Full Screen Edition) on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 7/21/2023...

Solid Steve Austin action!

Macclendon V. (mac) from STROUDSBURG, PA
Reviewed on 5/31/2011...

very good movie

1 of 5 member(s) found this review helpful.

A BETTER WWE film to watch

D. N. Jordan | Kihei, HI, USA | 08/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just gotta say, of all the would-be films that were made by the WWE, this one delivered BIG time. I mean if you look at movies like "The Marine", and "Walking Tall". What do they both have in common-NO ACTING. I mean the stories were good, but Vince McManon, or how ever you pronounce his last name, just flat-out flopped them both. No emotion, no real expressions of loss, or pain, or just about anything. I think he needs to know what it really takes to make a good movie. However, "The Condemned" out-shined them with flaw-less proformance. I just pray that the next WWE film that comes out will just as, or better then this one. Steve Austin is the man."

Action/Sci-fi mix

Chrissy K. McVay | North Carolina | 04/13/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This movie is a different twist on an older movie I saw several years ago (can't recall the name), but is basically an action/sci-fiction bringing back the old Roman theme of 'watching prisoners kill each other in a pit', only the pit is an island set up with cameras. Parts of the movie can drag a tiny bit, but not bad at all for an action/blood & guts movie for the 'Rambo types'.

Chrissy K. McVay - Author"

Human violence: it's protagonists and it's voyeurs

R. M. Williams | tucson, arizona USA | 09/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"

The plot is pretty straight forward. This rich media mogul buys 10 death row prisoners from various countries and sets it up so that they have to fight to the death on a remote Pacific island.
The purpose is to film it all and broadcast it on the net, for a $49.99 subscription fee, of course.
The point of the movie is to say something about the human propensity towards not only violence, in everyone, but the voyeuristic enjoyment that we get out of just watching fighting. The point that watching and participating, sitting in a comfortable chair at a monitor and out in the real world dying and the bifurcation of our mental worlds into false-net-computer and RL and how our morality and instinctual settings just don't seem to function right in this brave new world of on line fighting/gambling/etc.

Technically the movie is great, well filmed, absolutely beautiful. The actors, despite (or maybe because of) being WWE players are pretty good. The dialog flows much above average for fight movies, the writing is well above average for movies with violence and ku-fu type martial arts and lots of bloody pieces. Now it is not a slasher movie, not a horror movie (like it could have been), but a more genuine fight movie than most movies you'd put into this genre. How would an add read: "adrenaline pumping, action packed, no holds barred vision of big mean nasty guys (and 2 ladies) whalloping on each other for your viewing pleasure".

And that is the big point. The movie is about filming a movie about violence. The on screen movie team(those supplying the net feed of the action) are on the island, they are voyeurs and eventually RL participants in the show. But the viewers of the movie, you and i on this side of the 4th wall are also voyeurs, watching not only the violence on the net feed, but the analogous violence of those who setup and participate in creating the show. A complex set of russian dolls, but the voyeur is in all of us, because we chose and watched this movie.

It is an interesting point, the brutality is a bit much, i'm glad they were not specific about the rape scene. It is well pulled off and worthwhile to watch. good all round job. The main character is one big man, that has to be many hours in the gym, driven by an ambition that ought to bring him to the screen again."