The Marine 3: Homefront (2013)
(On Cable TV, October 2013) As far a series premises go, The Marine’s “Wrestling star gets first movie role by playing Marine who rescues loved ones from terrorists/criminals” is almost more interesting than most, and the least one can say about Mike Mizanin is that he does just fine as a square-jawed action hero. Absent the budget of the first film or the direction that made the second one stand out despite a direct-to-video release, this third Marine film is a bit thin and lame: it’s all straight-up crazed-villain, hum-drum action sequences, big plot threads and expected dramatic arc. In other words: average direct-to-video fare, handled with the minimal amount of professionalism. There wouldn’t be much more to say if it wasn’t for the film’s blatant appeal to middle-American social values, including a villain who’s motivated by revenge against fat-cat businessmen. It’s draped in the American flag and almost dogmatic in its promotion of the small-town way of life. It’s interesting that the script chooses to give a motivation to Neal McDonough’s white-haired antagonist that audiences can relate to –it’s certainly a good reflection of the time to hate the 1%, but it’s also a risky choice when setting up an antagonist in a straightforward action film. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much the only somewhat-daring thing in the entire 86-minutes film. Otherwise, The Marine 3: Homefront is all we’ve-seen-this-before.