A movie like The Marine would be right at home on the release schedule of Cannon Films during the 80's. It's loud, it's dumb, it's filled with ridiculous action sequences and it marks the film debut of wrestler John Cena (who also released a rap CD we should just not mention) for this second official production by the WWE. Seems the company certainly likes going after the standard by-the-book audience as their first effort, See No Evil went for the slasher horror crowd and this one goes after the "dumb as bricks" audience who want to see stuff explode real good. But that's not to say this doesn't have enough enjoyment for us regular folks who just so happen to dig extremely silly old school flavoured action.

Cena plays John Triton who's your typical "great American hero" type as evidenced by his one man rescue of some of his fellow soldiers while on a mission in Iraq. It seems, though, that the Military isn't willing to appreciate his efforts and cut him a break as he ends up being discharged for disobeying a direct order.

At the same time we meet up with baddie Rome (Robert Patrick), a wisecracking thief who manages to pull off an elaborate diamond heist with the help of some fellow criminals and finds himself on the run from the law - after he's had a few gunfights and blown-up a cop car (the first of a few too CG looking effects in the movie), of course.

Triton's been having a bitch of a time keeping a job, which isn't helped by him tossing obnoxious people through windows as a security guard, and he decides to go on a road trip with his wife in order to get rid of his tension. However, this being as typical a action movie as you can get, his path crosses with Rome and his gang while at a gas station which ends with him being knocked-out and his wife kidnapped when Rome over-reacts to the arrival of some policemen to the station.

From there the script by Michell Gallagher and Alan McElroy (the veteran screenwriter who's penned such fare as Halloween 4, Rapid Fire and Wrong Turn) tosses out all the expected clichés and moments as Cena becomes driven to hunt down Rome and his crew in order to get back his wife. There's the expected car chases, fist fights, and gunplay you'd expect and despite them being pretty standard at least debuting director John Bonito knows to keep his action scenes moving on high adrenaline giving the viewer little time to absorb just how dopey it all is.

The Marine is the type of movie that you're not going to like unless you fully and completely accept that it's going for nothing more than entertainment. It never once takes itself seriously and Cena makes for an okay action hero (though he does have a few weak "my wife" dialogue moments) with the movie getting a big boost from the added bonus of a hammy Patrick as our main villain as well as Anthony Ray Parker and Abigail Bianca supplying decent comic relief and just enough menace as two of Rome's cohorts.

As mindless actioners go, this one delivers what's expected and moves quickly enough that you won't be worried about trying to inject any kind of logic into the script. Sure, there might be a few too many shots of Cena running through the woods and there's a completely pointless sequence set in a shack owned by some rednecks but ample explosions, a cool demise at the hands of a bus in the finale, and a chainsaw wielding Patrick makes this one totally worthwhile for fans of the stuff Cannon and PM Entertainment cranked out for most of the 80's and 90's.

Review based on the unrated version which runs a whole twenty-two seconds longer than the theatrical version (yawn). (Chris Hartley, 9/10/07)

Directed By: John Bonito.
Written By: Michell Gallagher, Alan McElroy.

Starring: John Cena, Kelly Carlson, Robert Patrick, Anthony Ray Parker.