Package, The

Released by: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Released on: February 19, 2013.
Director: Jesse V. Johnson
Cast: Steve Austin, Dolph Lundgren, Darren Shahlavi, Jerry Trimble
Year: 2012
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The Movie:

Anchor Bay's previous direct to video entry ONE IN THE CHAMBER was a problematical affair with a rote plot and some wooden acting but gifted with a great supporting role from Dolph Lundgren. Their latest venture - THE PACKAGE - shows the boys and girls at AB tightening up their act and figuring out how to improve their game by smartly bringing back Dolph and pairing him up with the solid Steve Austin.

In the tradition of solid no- frills bread and butter action fare like WAKE OF DEATH, FORCED TO FIGHT and THE RUSSIAN SPECIALIST, THE PACKAGE manages to mix just enough character development with balls-out action sequences to deliver a very entertaining product.

Austin is likable enforcer Tommy Wick who works for a loan shark named Big Doug (Eric Keenleyside). After we spend some time getting to know Tommy as he takes care of collecting from a thoroughly unsympathetic debtor and cuddles with his lovely wife we get to the main plot. Big Doug has a very important job for our man - deliver a package (more like a sealed wallet actually) to notorious criminal "The German" (Dolph Lundgren in another show stopping supporting role). An important reason for tommy to take this errand Is that he has a no-good brother deeply in debt to Big Doug. The ledger, however, will be wiped clean if Tommy does this job. And that's really it folks. In a minor masterpiece of minimalist plotting this one is all about getting from point A to point B and what happens in between.

Shortly after setting out on their delivery run Tommy and his partner are ambushed by a group of massively armed mercenaries. Tommy's car is totaled and his partner killed and he's forced to take cover in a roadside store. This is where THE PACKAGE starts to really strut it's stuff - this is a wild sequence filled with thundering gunplay, excellent hand-to-hand combat and even some hilarious gay-themed COMMANDO style one-liners as Austin takes on a heavily 'roided thug. And this is a lovely cgi free zone with blood squibs and well-choreographed head-butting and kick throwing. It's like 1983 came back to kick your tail - and you couldn't be happier.

We first meet Dolph in another great action sequence where he singlehandedly takes out an entire platoon of a rival criminal's crew with a brutal combo of guns, fists and anything else lying around. We also learn some interesting things about The German - he's a health nut that loves blended fruit drinks with mango, he has an unspecified medical condition that makes him cough and he's an unrepentant sadist. But what is the package, why are these other bad guys desperate to get it and will Stone Cold Steve Austin make his delivery to the German alive?

Most viewers will probably see the ending a mile off BUT this one does have a nice coda after the close of the third act. Austin is a limited actor in terms of emotional range but he looks great and has formidable screen presence. His stunt work is perfect and he is well cast in the role. Dolph, much like ONE IN THE CHAMBER, has a smaller role but some great character quirks and neat little speeches about antioxidants and the proper martini. He's aged beautifully as well with the weathered granite features and deep commanding voice of the European badass in imposing middle age. Ivan Drago at 50.

Director Jesse V. Johnson deserves credit for crafting a strong old school style action flick that blends intense gunplay, fisticuffs and extreme fighting style hand-to-hand combat expertly without getting bogged down in a lot of hyper-stylized John Woo worship. There's also enough variety here to avoid boredom and the film has nice pacing. This one is a lot of fun, especially for the action crowd.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Anchor Bay delivers an AVC encoded 1.78.1 1080p transfer with impressive texture and background imagery, nice inky black levels and no obvious digital tinkering. This is a strong transfer visually - facial detail in particular is excellent. The color pallet is a bit muted but that is really a byproduct of where the location shooting was mostly done (British Columbia).

Audio wise the Dolby True HD 5.1 track (with optional English and Spanish SDH subs for those that need them) is perfectly suited to the film: it's a brash and aggressive mix with some cool surround action for the gunshots and racing cars. LFE is both robust and properly balanced - as is the overall sound mix. Dialog is strong and clear and never drowned out. Extras? Zilch - not even a trailer. You do get a DVD of the film though in addition to the Blu Ray.

The Final Word:

How about two? Hell and yeah. This one is action comfort food in the best possible way. It won't win any originality awards and it won't make you think much but it will entertain you quite handily. Dolph continues to be one of the best in the action business and Austin is both likable and skilled at this sort of material. Well-shot and directed with thrilling action sequences THE PACKAGE is recommended.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!