The Stranger (2010) Reviews

• solid story and acting, not so much for the directors ability

  olivermartin8092010-05-29

  The stranger is a good solid film with an enjoyable story however the cinematography and direction is poor to say the least, in fact the opening scene almost put me completely off, you need to allow 15 or so minuets to get into the film. this film doesn't really have that many big action set pieces and is more concerned with telling a mysterious tale than getting our adrenaline racing. Flashbacks abound as snippets of memory keep darting through Austins head, mostly centered on his wife and daughter apparently being killed while he's mixed up in some dangerous sting operation. We're teased with such scenes numerous times during the film as much of Austins struggle is more internal than external. But while it's not that hard to piece much of it together ourselves, it's interesting to watch the characters slowly unravel the secrets of Austins identity and discover a few other startling surprises as well. All actors put in a good performance most notably Austin in his third leading role its clear that if he takes the right career path and keeps giving these kind of performance he should soon be a star of the silver screen. this is not an action film. overall a good watch just a shame about the director.

• mostly boring

  disdressed122011-04-25

  i found this Steve Austin vehicle to be mostly boring,with a bit of mild action here and there.there was one twist i wasn't expecting.Austin was pretty decent here in the acting department,but for me,Adam Beach stole the show.too bad the show wasn't worth stealing.i had to fight tot keep my eyes open for this one.i wouldn't recommend it.there's a lot of talking going on and not much else.and the dialogue isn't that great either.i'd give this one a miss unless you're a die hard Steve Austin fan.i'm he's probably done better work than this,although this is the first film i've seen of his.anyway,for me,The Stranger is a low 4/10

• Not a Very Enjoyable Film, Flaws Just Keep Popping Up

  gavin69422010-05-27

  "Stone Cold" Steve Austin stars as a man with no memory who travels cross-country (and in Mexico), trying to find his home... but the Russian mob wants him, the FBI wants him, his psychologist wants him... and there's millions of dollars on the line. Let's just sum this one up: semi-poor writing, very poor directing, atrocious cinematography. Just a mess all around... sadly, the best part of this film was Steve Austin's acting. Austin effectively pulls off fight scenes, speaking in Russian and Spanish and English and just being an all-around decent lead. I can't explain the pointless motorcycle camera shots, or the opening scene, or many other filming gimmicks they tried and failed with. I also can't explain why they thought "Tom Thomachevsky" was a good name... it's just silly sounding. There's not much to say beyond that... the film is not worth your time or money. I hate to slam a film, but this one was just such a drag to watch I think it would be unjust to praise it even a little.

• What a dreadful director!!!

  benjones-112011-02-24

  My taste in films is wide and varied. I enjoy art-house and foreign dramas as much as I enjoy cheap shoot-em-ups and stoogey comedies. But in order to ENJOY them, the films have to be ENJOYABLE. This film did not fit that category. The story itself isn't too bad - a bit in the style of Momento or the Bourne trilogy: a special agent (Steve Austin) who is robbed of his life, loses his memory and is on the run. He is being helped by his faithful psychiatrist (Erica Cerra), who risks her own safety in order to try to help Austin to remember his life and to combat the bad guys. O.k. Nothing groundbreaking, but there was potential. Unfortunately the directing took all of this away. We have "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - one of the biggest action stars of our time, so surely this should lead to some great action and gutsy fight scenes. No, half of the time Austin is being made to look like a weakling as he winces and breaks down every time someone slaps him. When he occasionally decides to fight back he is slow, lumbering, and can pull nothing out of the bag more exciting than a punch on the nose. And how many flashbacks did we need? There are some scenes which are repeated almost constantly throughout the film, all in cheesy slow motion, showing smiling wife and giggling daughter, combined with the sound of an explosion. Yes, I think we got the point Mr Director. And don't even get me started on the motorbike scene. Someone obviously decided it would be a brilliant idea to have Steve racing through the country tracks on a big Harley. Perhaps someone should have checked whether Steve was willing to do this before they start filming. He's going so slow I'm surprised the bike doesn't topple over, and so the director "jazzes" it up with flickering shots of wheels, Austin's face doing its best to act the emotion: "perturbed", Cerra looking like she's taking a Sunday stroll, and some heavy music to get our adrenaline up. I nearly turned the film off there and then. I'm sorry to sound like a smart-arse, but also this film must hold the record for the number of shots fired at one individual (all from short distance) without any getting anywhere near him. It wouldn't be so bad if he were doing anything other than trundle in a straight line away from them as they fire for minutes on end directly at him. Let the set tea-boy handle the action scenes. I think we'd get more enjoyment. What could have been an enjoyable film, is ruined by some of the worst "action" directing I have seen for a very long time.

• Not the best for Steve Austin...

  gtz-282010-05-25

  Well the film was okay... I cant say it was the best action movie I've ever seen but it was okay. Its a shame that Steve gets put into a films with a good script but pretty bad directing. As always the action parts of the movie had Steve doing his wrestling against guys with guns and so on. I still think its a must see to all those action loving people out there, but there's not much to look forward to. Most action movies nowadays are always pretty much the same old stuff you've seen 1000 times before. I personally enjoyed Steve Austin in "The Condemned" because that film was very original and had a lot of parts that I will always remember.