Director: Jesse V. Johnson
Starring: Steve Austin, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Keenleyside
Running Time: 91 minutes
Certificate: 15
Extras: Trailer
Love it or hate it, generic action-fodder is here to stay, and they don’t come anymore generic or fodder-like than THE PACKAGE.
Starring former WWE superstar ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and mumbling nutcase Dolph Lundgren, THE PACKAGE focuses on Tommy (Austin), a debt-collector for ‘Big’ Doug (Keenleyside), who is asked to deliver the titular package to ‘The German’ (Lundgren). In exchange Tommy’s currently incarcerated brother will have his debt to Doug paid in full. Tommy being a family man, he takes the job with gusto.
Anybody with an ounce of action-movie knowledge will be able to predict the ending from this short synopsis. But that isn’t the point of films like this. THE PACKAGE embraces what it is – a by-the-numbers man-fest – and is much better for it. Austin is a likeable if mildly bionic screen presence (nod to any Wrestling fans out there), the villains – of which there are plenty – chew the scenery wonderfully before being killed, and Lundgren does what he does best, act like a loon, shoot a gun or two and mumble. Be fair to the man, he knows his limits.
Jesse V. Johnson directs with assurance, never getting too excited as the action heats up – his camera used merely to shoot, not steal the show. The abundance of villains, afore mentioned, can make THE PACKAGE surprisingly difficult to keep up with, but each have their own style and are well defined by Derek Kolstad’s script.
THE PACKAGE is really difficult to dislike, all of the positives far outweigh the negatives. It harks back to 1980s action-flicks made famous by Schwarzenegger and Stallone, and who is going to complain about that?
THE PACKAGE is available on DVD now
