Wow. I was prepared to lay into The Condemned and tear Steve Austin a new one for being foolish enough to believe that
he could make the transition from the "WWF" to the big screen, but the movie is shockingly entertaining, not at all too cheesy and not nearly as stupid as you''d expect.
The Condemned stars Austin as one of ten convicted felons who have been taken from prison, placed on an island full of cameras and forced to fight to the death for their own freedom. Conceived by a money-hungry millionaire who is looking to take advantage of the Internet by web-broadcasting his sudden death competition, the show immediately becomes a hit, despite its controversial nature. Back on the island, Austin becomes a reluctant killer to survive.
The concept is a pretty lame one, and not something that could be turned into a believable or respectable action film. Or is it? Director Scott Wiper has delivered a fun and relatively brutal action movie that has plenty of fighting, some explosions and a plot that while not particularly believable, still works. Even the movie''s attempt to question the world''s love of violence doesn''t fall flat, even though "WWF" fans looking for non-stop action may be a little violence.