Release Date: September 20, 2002
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Lucy Liu, Gregg Henry, Ray Park
Directed by: Wych Kaosayananda
Written by: Alan B. McElroy
Distributed by: Warner Brothers
MPAA Rating: R (strong violence)
With Ecks vs. Sever in the title of this film, one would assume there'd be quite a bit of animosity between the two title characters, renegade agents of espionage out to save the world. On the contrary, after only cursory exposition, the two fight for about five minutes of screen time, then join forces to fight a common enemy. There's absolutely no history between them, which makes for a huge disappointment -- only the first of many in Ballistic, an actioner as chaotic and hastily directed as its title indicates.
By keeping the character and plot developments to a minimum, director Wych "Kaos" Kaosayananda redirects the audience's attention onto the action sequences. But when these Matrix-esque gunfights, highly choreographed combat, and vehicle explosions are over, the audience still has unresolved questions as to why the scene in question, and in fact the entire movie, just took place.
After seven years of retirement, former FBI manhunter Jeremiah Ecks (Antonio Banderas) is forced into tracking and catching ex-DIA operative, code-named Sever (Lucy Liu), under the impression that she has knowledge of his wife's whereabouts. Sever, meanwhile, has kidnapped the young son of the head of a secret committee of international security agencies, and expects, in return, Ecks's assistance in getting revenge against the very same man.
Of course, that's oversimplified for the reader's sake. The film's plot has many more twists than that, however predictable they may be, but they only create confusion for the viewer. And the filler space between action sequences becomes tedious when the viewer realizes that it is going nowhere.
Banderas's detachment from his character, evident through his reserved acting, combined with Liu's stereotypical kick-ass heroine popularized by the media's embracement of girl power (for example, TV's "Alias" and "Dark Angel," or the recent remake of Charlie's Angels) only creates more disinterest among audience members. The one diamond in the rough, is Ray Park (better known to Star Wars fans as Darth Maul). Along with his dark, menacing presence, the martial artist also provides the highlight of the film in his climactic fight scene with Liu.
Sever, played by Liu, is given a minimal back-story with very little character development, though that would be almost impossible, due to the fact that she doesn't even have any lines until a half-hour into the film, if that. Then there's Ecks, played by Banderas, who doesn't want to be in the movie about as much as the audience doesn't want to watch it -- the lack of emotion in his performance is understandable because he can see obviously see the futility of his part. Ray Park's involvement in the film makes sense because he's grateful for any work he can get -- unfortunately, he was probably trusted with the most interesting part of the movie.
Kaosayananda brings this all together with a style that can only be defined as eye candy. His action sequences are definitely visually stimulating, but by no means unique or original. He borrows too many elements from John Woo and a few things here and there from The Matrix's identifiable approach.
Otherwise, Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever is tediously slow plot-wise with action that's solid, but not enough to compensate for the shoddy acting and lazy filmmaking. Banderas's Desperado days are long since forgotten, especially with his performance in this subpar action film. Instead of losing the original title of this video game-based project, the filmmakers should have just scrapped the whole project.
all contents © 2002 Ed Malinowski