Dolph Lundgren’s film Hard Night Falling is not very good I’m afraid, but if you just have to have a shot of theatrical excitement, it may do the trick. What does save the film however, is not Lundgren but actress Natalie Burn who takes the action thriller out of ho hum and into hard hitting combat with some exciting fight action.
After a botched takedown of international arms dealers, foreign operative Mike Anderson (Dolph Lundgren) decides to take a break from the constant stress of his job. He gets invited to a gala at the mansion of his wife’s boss Gluliano Rossini (Mario Opinato) who owns Rossini Industries. Along with his wife Mary (Sinne Mutsaers) and 29-year-old daughter Diana (Chiara Arrigoni) they arrive at the opulent event.
Sitting down to dinner, Mike notices a gun in a waiter’s waste and takes his wife and daughter out of the room. Moments later criminal mastermind Goro (Hal Yamanouchi) enters large dining room with his men and they round everyone up the attendees as hostages while they tend to the reasons they are there. Not very nice, Goro shows he means business and not all the hostages get to the holding rooms.
The film takes a few turns with Mike calling in his team lead by crack operative Emma (Natalie Burn) to come to his aid. With 20 armed men holding the 50 hostages including his wife hostage, Mike puts his plan into action. Horror film director Giorgio Bruno takes the reins of the movie keeping it in an hour and a half with very little wasted dialogue. While that’s a good thing as no one wants a lot of talk in an action film. While the cast chosen is notable, most the support characters shine. His fight coordinator fails to get a good performance out of Lundgren and the night time camera work doesn’t show up to par.
Lundgren may be a getting a bit off his game, whether it be age or maybe the flight to Italy where they filmed in Rome and Lazio. His performance is insipid and not the actor that has done a lot better in his younger years. While he does show some action prowess, his fight scenes are comical, knocking down adversaries without making contact and getting hit, but without any damage. It’s far and away from a good action hero and in this case actually not very commendable.
Stealing all the action scenes, thank goodness, is Natalie Burn as operative team leader Emma. She gets into the fight with abandon taking hits and giving back a lot more. She shows her agility and high energy that almost saves the film from certain death. She opens the film alongside Lundgren and later becomes the spear that tries to take down an army.
Hard Night Falling has been rated R by the MPAA for violence and language. The film is now available on DVD and Digital. You may also find the film on VOD depending on your home video service.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A nice try but no cigar. (2 out of 5 Stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Dolph Lundgren, Hal Yamanouchi, Natalie Burn, Mario Opinato
Brice Martinet, Andrea Scarduzio, Sinne Mutsaers,
Director: Giorgio Bruno
MPAA Rating: R for violence and language.
Genre: Action, Thriller
Running Time: 1 hr. 26 min
Video Release Date: December 10, 2019
Language: English
Reviewed Format: DVD
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Video: 16×9 (2.40:1) Presentation
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 disc
Distributed by: Lionsgate
Released on: DVD, Digital and VOD
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
