'Castle Falls' Review: Dolph Lundgren's flick is simple and all slambang action
A decade later, Dolph Lundgren, after swaggering as an Expendable, a DC character, and an aged Ivan Drago, has gone to being behind the lens with 'Castle Falls' and keeping things simple helps his case. The VoD flick has two main characters with relatable backstories. The plot is simple, and what he does is throw in some high-octane action that makes for a breezy watch. Castle Falls Hospital is about to be razed to the ground, but a gang leader's pulled quite the move by stashing millions of dollars before being sent behind bars.
What follows is a multi-pronged search with a finders keepers mantra and that sets the tone for the remainder of the movie. Lundgren's Richard Ericson is a prison warden in dire need of cash to pay for his ailing daughter Emila, played by Ida Lundgren. Scott Adkins, after being beaten to submission as an MMA sparring partner is trying to make ends meet. It's hard labor for the man who oozed potential and was touted to be the next big thing in the MMA circuit before eventually being a desperate-for-dollars survivor.
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The duo's chemistry bodes well for the movie. Those who expect some Drago vs Boyka moves get their bit of fix, but the movie also explores that message of the depths of depravity a man can sink to when he sees that much green. That said, the villains are deadly, but their persona is reduced to trigger-happy thugs who don't necessarily qualify as baddies. But they're a threat and they pretty much pose to be at times. The dialogues are clunky, but hey, it's got two stars, so that can be excused.
'Castle Falls' is a decent low-budget action affair. It's that sort of movie Lundgren's made to perhaps finetune his skills behind the camera. It's not a bad start although you can't really harp too much praise. It's not mindless with screenwriter Andrew Knauer putting in some thought into establishing the key characters. The tone is dark, almost dull grey, and that blends well with the action. Adkins delivers as Wade. His screen presence is equaled to what Lundgren receives. In all, this one's no-nonsense and is a straightforward and standard-issue guns-blazing action movie.
'Castle Falls' is available on VoD.