Countdown is your typical WWE production with shoddy acting, bad writing and pedestrian direction though on the plus side, at least Ziggler possesses some charisma which was often lacking in these other films. Still, as poorly made as the film was, it’s at least watchable and there’s at least one well done scene, so… there is that.
Countdown
(2016)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Action, Thriller
Lionsgate | R – 90 min. – $19.99 | April 5, 2016
Date Published: 04/23/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE – 2.75/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Review:
The acting, as one would expect, isn’t anything noteworthy and often times can be downright cringe-worthy. For what’s its worth, Dolph Ziggler has more charisma compared with WWE colleague Dean Ambrose but considering Ambrose had the personality of cardboard, that’s really not saying a whole lot. Not that Ziggler, or his co-star Katharine Isabelle, whom I’m a fan of even in the not-so-lauded 88, had much to work with from a screenplay. Kane also has a small role and a hilarious “fight” with Ziggler that was only thrown in there because it’s a WWE Studio production. Written by Richard Wenk, who was one of two of the writers of last year’s The Equalizer though that film’s success laid directly on Denzel Washington’s acting and Antoine Fuqua’s direction than anything with the screenplay. Here, it’s more-or-less a paint-by-numbers plot, with some OK deviations here and there, with no real surprises and half-baked stunts and fights (not to mention a quasi car chase where they merely sped up the film to make it look like they were going faster than they were).
Countdown was helmed by director John Stockwell who might not be a recognizable name yet has a relatively extensive career that includes Crazy/Beautiful, Into the Blue, Cat Run and Dark Tide plus Kickboxer: Vengeance set for release later this year. Although this film isn’t very good, it is at least passable entertainment and compared to other DTV films, is I suppose above average… |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.25/5 |
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This release comes with a semi-reflective and glossy slip cover. Dolph Ziggler: From Superstar to Action Star (4:57; HD) – This is a short featurette and profile on WWE star Ziggler and his transition to acting for Countdown. An Explosive Escape (5:14; HD) covers the car chase sequence toward the end. Previews – The Condemned 2, The Condemned, 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown, Chain of Command |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Lionsgate starts the Countdown on Blu-ray presented with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer. The movie pretty much looks like every other direct-to-video flick I’ve encountered where colors are generally bright but it does have a glossy-like tone to it. Detail is only OK and there was some minor banding, otherwise it is a clean transfer. |
AUDIO – 3.5/5 |
| The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track itself is fine but I suspect the production sound design on set was less than stellar. Dialogue in half the scenes came through OK but others you can distinctly get an echo vive so apparently some ADR work was probably necessary. Other than that, the action scenes make passable usage of each channel well enough though it’s nothing extraordinary but still pleasing enough all things considered. |
OVERALL – 2.5/5 |
| Overall, Countdown is your typical WWE production with shoddy acting, bad writing and pedestrian direction though on the plus side, at least Ziggler possesses some charisma which was often lacking in these other films. Still, as poorly made as the film was, it’s at least watchable and there’s at least one well done scene, so… there is that. As for the Blu-ray, the video good, audio so-so and the features are rather basic. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.