An intriguing film with a lot of action, Awaken takes their idea from the pages of the news media and adds a Hollywood makeover and storyline. The movie has a good cast and the cameras offer a treat with panoramic views and close-ups of all the action. Turning up the energy, performances from Vinnie Jones, Jason London and Natalie Burn change the ordinary into exciting. The award winning film is now on DVD for home viewing.
Searching for her sister Katrina (Christa Campbell) a young woman Billie Kope (Natalie Burn) runs into trouble in Mexico and gets kidnapped. Brought to an Island she wakes up on the beach where she meets Quinten (Robert Davi) leader of a group of survivors who have also been abducted. Special black Ops forces lead by Sarge (Vinnie Jones) are on the island and Billie finds out that they are snatching members of her group. When it’s evident that someone is using the stranded islanders for some kind of experiment, Billie makes a plan with Quentin, Berto (Edward Furlong) and Stitch (Daz Crawford) to get off the island.
The story goes on involving a lot of action scenes that include the black ops team getting in the mix. Director and writer Mark Atkins keeps his film moving along at a very fast pace using his actor’s physical abilities to create the excitement. He uses his camera’s wisely showing wide shots of the coastline, water scenes and later the island estate. Then he takes his camera in for some wicked close ups of mixed martial arts fighting to up the excitement.
Vinnie Jones does his thing as the tough and violent Sarge, leader of the black ops guards. He doesn’t hesitate to get in and out of conflicts as he controls the people on the island. Vinnie’s known for films like Swordfish, Gone in Sixty Seconds, X-Men: The Last Stand and many others where he can stir up the action. Vinnie always makes a scene memorable.
Taking the female lead spot in Awaken, Natalie Burn (see interview in ACED Magazine) works with her fighting skills in nearly every scene. She’s a dynamo when it comes to close combat and she knows how to take out her adversaries. A beauty with an edge, Burn should go far in the film business and in Awaken she shows way.
It’s good to see that Daryl Hannah still graces the screen and in Awaken she offers another side of her personality, wicked. Here she plays Mao a rich mob boss who needs a body part for her daughter Violet (Played by Mykayla Sohn) and will do anything, even kill, to get it. She puts on a very good show bossing around her henchmen and putting pressure on island boss Rich (played by Jason London). She may surprise a lot of people who remember her as the sweet innocent mermaid from Splash.
Awaken has been rated R by the MPAA for violence. There are also some gory and brutal scenes in the movie so be cautious when deciding to allow immature children see the film.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A cool movie with a lot of action. (B)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Jason London, Daryl Hannah, Vinnie Jones, Edward Furlong, Natalie Burn, Robert Davi, Michael Paré
Director and writer: Mark Atkins
MPAA Rating: R for violence
Genre: Action, Thriller
Running Time: 1 hr. 30 min
Video Release Date: July 7, 2015
Language: English
Reviewed Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen, 16×9 TVs, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
Subtitles: None
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: ARC Entertainment
