A fairly run-of-the-mill action movie with a few unique aspects. The Russian surroundings give it a welcome, different flavor. And the under appreciated Timothy Olyphant helps boost the otherwise stale goings on.

Writing: Not a lot to praise here. Most of it is fairly obvious, despite the possibilities setup by the underdeveloped back story. You have the loner action movie star with a plot that takes him from one fight/action scene to the next with the unexpected (to positively nobody) romantic interest. Then again, who expects much more from video game adaptations? Admittedly, I expected a bit more from Skip Woods, who wrote the overlooked Swordfish.

Production: To help make up for the limited writing, we are treated to a fairly slick production. Both fluid and gritty in style, it’s an enjoyable blend. Most aspects of the production are solid with little to complain about.

Cast: Timothy Olyphant is definitely the highlight here, shaved head and all. He gives the role a calm, aggressive vibe without trying to oversell it. Dougray Scott is passable as the adversary. Olga Kurylenko does a nice job as the romantic interest, providing one of the better Russian performances. The rest of the cast is adequate enough, including actors like Robert Knepper (one of the more fun cast members of Prison Break).

Music: Geoff Zanelli has toiled away as a filler composer for Hans Zimmer’s stable of composers for a while now, and has only recently gotten to take primary composer credits on main stream productions. His score for this film is kinda what you would expect. It has its moments, but I don’t recall it standing out as great in particular.