The sequel to I Am Vengeance, an action film that was released a couple of years ago, stays true to the storyline with a lot of mayhem that’s riddled with revenge. Now called Retaliation, it begins with the original protagonist getting back into the fray at the request of the Brits to take down a baddie that’s returned from the dead. The first one got the cold shoulder from the IMDb rating system receiving a low score. After watching the repetitious sequel, it unfortunately fails to rate any higher.
Soldier for hire John Gold (Stu Bennett), a vigilante of sorts, is back when the government discovers that one of their former most wanted, Sean Teague (Vinnie Jones), responsible for arms deals, smuggling state secrets, and assassinations worldwide, has turned up alive. Government official Frost (Mark Griffin) promises to clear the record for mercenary Gold if he will bring Teague in alive so they can get him to tell all he knows about other gun runners worldwide.
Being that Teague had turned on Gold and his team of mercenaries years back killing his best friend Quaid, he decides to take on the suicidal job. Director and writer Ross Boyask returns to take on the fast moving actioner. While he instills a lot of chaos and destruction, he fails again to add any energy to his actors. The lifeless clichéd dialogue drones on delivery making the film less exciting. And while the automatic weapons blaze with hundreds of shots being fired, the mercenaries hardly hit their targets.
On the bright side however, the girl fights between Katrina Durden as Jen and Phoebe Robins Calvin as Kate are awesome and nicely choreographed. Some nice acrobatics, mixed martial arts and well placed punches make the fight look real and exhilarating. Durden even gets a workout with some of the bad guys who can’t keep up with her swift movements as she lands blows that look very punishing.
BLU-RAY / DVD SPECIAL FEATURES
”Feature-length audio commentary with writer-director Ross Boyask and actor Stu Bennett”
“Propelling a Franchise — Making I Am Vengeance: Retaliation” a making of featurette.
“6 deleted and extended scenes”
I Am Vengeance: Retaliation has been rated R by the MPAA for violence and language throughout. It also has some scenes that are bloody and brutal.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Not high on the realistic action scale and acting as well. (2 out of 5 stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Bentley Kalu, Vinnie Jones, Jessica Jane Stafford, Katrina Durden, Phoebe Robins Calvin, Sam Benjamin, Stu Bennett, and James Weight
Directed and Written by: Ross Boyask
Genre: Action
MPAA Rating: R for violence and language throughout
Running Time: 1 hr. 30 min.
Video Release Date:
Original Theatrical Release Date:
Language: English
Reviewed Format: Blu-ray
Audio: Dolby Digital True HD 5.1
Video: 1080p HD 16×9, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 disc
Distributed by: Lionsgate
Released on: Blu-ray, DVD
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
