Search - The Specialist (Keepcase) on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 5/10/2023...

This 90s action, suspense and drama flick hit several hit notes with Sylvester Stallone, James Woods, Eric Roberts and Sharon Stone playing the role perfecto. A must watch!

Not as bad as some other big movies!!!!!!!

Michael Pettinato | U.S.A. | 01/17/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although this film has been trashed by the media, it is not as bad as some will say, it does have some interesting characters, In this Stallone is a former CIA explosives expert who is hired by Stone to secretly kill off the mobsters who killed her parents when she was a child, James Woods is at his usual best here as Stallone's former CIA partner who is in cahoots with these mobsters, you can tell Woods had fun here in this role, Eric Roberts is chilling here as one of the mobsters who Stone is wanting killed, this movie gives much depth to its stars, Stallone, Stone, & Woods are NOT one-dimentional as some would say, we feel Stone's anger & sorrow for her parents, & we understand Stallone's calm & collective demeanor as he follows Stone in an effort to understand her intensions as any former CIA agent might do, & we understand Woods' intent, although not action-packed to the extreme, it was never meant to be,but does have big explosions, the hotel room explosion has to be seen to be believed, set in Miami, the scenery is nice to look at, as is Stone who doesn't look as good now, but this film is good if you want character substance, but if you are looking for non-stop action, you will be disappointed!!"

There is Trash--and Then There is The Specialist

Martin Asiner | jersey city, nj United States | 09/20/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Most big budget big star films that come under heavy critical panning usually contain ludicrous acting on the parts of the big stars and a heavy reliance on special effects. I can see why THE SPECIALIST is now included in that group. Sylvester Stallone has rarely been as buff as he is in the role of Ray Quick, an ex-CIA bomb specialist who has been hired as a bomb hit man to kill some thugs headed by Rod Steiger and Eric Roberts. Stallone is as stone-faced as ever as he judiciously places small but powerful explosives to kill his victims. Stallone as Quick sleepwalks through his screen time, but as I watched this movie for the third time, I realized that the movie that I saw was exactly the one that director Luis LLosa wanted: a paen to the power and destructive force of matchbook sized bombs. Clearly, LLosa did not want anyone to take seriously the tale of a hired bomber who could kill in the hundreds and not arouse world wide attention. There are so many explosions that each one works metaphorically to eradicate any serious consideration of a plot that has as much weight as one of Quick's plastic explosives. The focus is less on Quick, but more on his supporting cast, Sharon Stone as the revenge-seeking woman who hires him and James Woods as the former CIA teacher spook who taught Quick all he knows about bombs. Miss Stone is the leggy female counterpart to a Stallone whose primary acting skill is to grimace as if he expects a hook from Apollo Creed at any moment. Stone walks around for most of her screen time in mini skirts while Stallone shows off his equally impressive pecs. Yet, despite their physical symmetry, their screen chemistry barely registers on the cinematic Richter scale. What keeps the film going is a balance between the incredible explosions (one of which allows a hotel floor to disengage itself from its structural base) and the superb acting of James Woods, who seems to be working as some kind of CIA spook with authority over the local police but is really on the pad of a crime boss, played shrilly by a balding Rod Steiger, who is guilty of badly overacting. Woods does what he can to keep the disparate elements of an off-balanced movie like this one on track. To his credit, he manages to give more than a note of authenticity even to the scenes that defy logic and analysis. The relationship between Woods and Stallone on a reverse-buddy level is far more of note that the hoped for sexual sizzle between Stallone and Stone. Essentially, THE SPECIALIST is predator prey film with Woods hunting Stallone, but the boundaries between the hunter and the hunted soon often blur. Watching a film like this is a perversely enjoyable experience. One does not expect any great statements about the Twisted Meaning of Life, but in the male bonding arena, nobody can top James Woods with his ability to make the audience feel the nervous agida as he closes in on his target. Stallone, however, has never learned how to react when he is outside of the squared circle, but in THE SPECIALIST, I did not really care about that."

The second worst film I have ever seen

John Brown | Belfast | 06/12/2001

(1 out of 5 stars)

"It was the worst until I saw Batman and Robin. I think this screenplay was submitted as some kind of sick joke. The dialogue is ridiculous, and the plot simply did not exist. Maybe it is supposed to be ironic?"