Plot: Jim Rhodes (Steve Austin) is a skilled tracker and border patrol agent, but a dark event in his past has left him a scarred man. He used to work a particularly violent stretch of the Texas-Mexico border, so he was no stranger to action, but a routine meth lab bust took a tragic turn. His partner was killed and Rhodes survived, but he struggled to move on. Years later, he now works a more peaceful border patrol, as Montana isn’t a hub for violence. He has tried to put the past behind him and hopes a short vacation with his beloved daughter will be a much needed escape, only to run into a band of criminals on the hunt for one of their own, who betrayed them. In a strange series of events, Rhodes finds himself forced to help the criminals track their prey, or his daughter is likely going to be killed. But have these crooks made a mistake going into the woods with a master tracker like Rhodes?

Entertainment Value: Your interest in this movie is likely dictated by the presence of Stone Cold Steve Austin, who has the lead here. If you’re a fan of Austin, you’ll find it easier to overlook the film’s lesser elements, but if you don’t like Stone Cold, there’s not much here to entice your interest. Austin is by no means an epic action hero, but I like his work and he has enough charisma and presence to make a role like this work, so I had fun with this one. The narrative is simple enough, using well worn action movie ingredients, but Austin’s presence helps balance that out. I do think the movie is a little slow at times, especially given how thin the plot is, but once we get to the woods, the movie kicks into gear. The final act is by far the strongest, as Austin finally gets his chance to play the hero and he runs with it. The cast also includes action legend Gary Daniels, Eric Roberts, Gil Bellows, and Marie Avgeropoulos, who plays Austin’s teen daughter here. I do wish the first act was more kinetic and there was more action, less filler, but fans of Austin or direct to video action flicks should find enough to like here to make it worth a look.

No nakedness. An awkward scene where a beautiful woman swaps spit with a geriatric is about as close to erotica as this one gets. The movie has some bloodshed involved, with arrows, gunshots, stick warfare, and of course, out and out fisticuffs. A couple of the kills are pretty splashy, with a branch impalement as the most gore laden, while most are just light spurts of crimson. The action itself is fine, though not as plentiful as I would like, as the first couple acts are mostly more talk than action. But Austin battles Daniels in a fun brawl, which is a highlight. A few other fights break out, explosions are unleashed, and of course, Austin uses the woods to unleash ambush attacks on his enemies. So I wish this had more action, as that is when the movie works best. The dialogue is mostly bland, but Austin uncorks some hilarious and sometimes cringe level one liners, while Gil Bellows goes way over the top as the main villain. So some fun action movie barbs and tough guy talk, but not much else. No real craziness to speak of, just the usual action movie/outdoorsman against city slickers type stuff.

Nudity: 0/10

Blood: 3/10

Dialogue: 2/10

Overall Insanity: 0/10

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