The Queue: The Tournament

The Tournament should be a better movie. It's ripping from a premise established in a number of my favorite flicks: Battle Royale, The Condemned, The Running Man. It's hard to go wrong with that. Essentially The Tournament involves a global contest that occurs every seven years. The best mercs and hitmen from around the world are recruited into a kill or be killed tournament to find out who's the best. The action takes place on the city streets, collatoral damage be damned, and is broadcast to a room full of rich fat cats betting heavily on the action. If I knew there was a sportsbook for wetworks I wouldn't have wasted all those years betting on dogfights.

A wacky assemblage of mercs are gathered this time around. The prize of $10M is enough to draw out a lot of loonies, but seriously, you'd think it'd get harder and harder to find quality assassins everytime this event comes around. You'd think that eventually they'd get to the point where they'd be fielding mall security guards or something, right?  The increasingly massive and dour Ving Rhames plays a returning champion who enters the competition to find his wife's killer. It's his story that drives much of the story's momentum. The still disgustingly hot Kelly Hu(what happened to your career, Lady Deathstrike?) plays a Triad hitter trying to make enough loot to escape after a botched mission. Robert Carlyle is a priest who's faith has been shaken, yet finds renewed vigor when he's accidentally thrust into the game's crosshairs. The real kicker, though, is Ian Somerhalder(Lost, The Rules of Attraction) as a wild Texan maniac who delights in cold blooded murder.

Each character comes with their own backstory and motivations, but only one of them truly matters. It's Ving Rhames' character who pushes most of the narrative in his quest for vengeance. The violence is way over the top and extremely gorey. Expect to see more than a few people literally blown to smithereens. It's the comic action that is the film's strongest selling point. Since this is clearly a low budget affair, it's best to not create a world that's to be taken too seriously. The characters are all one-note, the violence is gratuitous but pretty inventive. There are only so many ways to flip a car over or have a shootout in a bar, but first time director Scott Mann manages to keep it fresh.

You're not going to be blown away by anything The Tournament offers, but if you're a fan of shoot 'em ups, car chases, and arcade style action then it's probably worth your time.

Next Up on The Queue: 2009's BRIGHT STAR, starring Abbie Cornish and Ben Whishaw