The Marine 5: Battleground

The Miz is back again as Jake Carter, the poor beleaguered ex-Marine who can't seem to find a job where people aren't shooting at him, and I'm happy to say this is a much better installment in the franchise than the last film was. The script is simple, but was everything it needed to be for a popcorn action flick. This fifth "Marine" film was packed to the gills with WWE stars, with solid and believable performances by Heath Slater, Maryse, Naomi, and Curtis Axel. The Miz ia awesome as always, and I like how he's allowing the cumulative emotional toll from the previous two films to build up and show through his performance in subtle ways. He is a profession and very proficient actor, and I'm glad he now owns this role. However, I have to say the true star of this film is Bo Dallas. His turn as the big bad boss in this was just tremendous. His range of emotion and commitment to the character was great. I predict he could have a long career in film, if only he can get that first push (a push, I might add, that he has been long deserving of and not getting in the WWE). This was a solid installment in the "Marine" franchise and a big improvement from the last film, and I hope The Miz gets a whole slew of new sequels to come. 3.5/5

The Marine 5: Battleground on Netflix

Countdown

This WWE action movie is bad. Pretty damn bad. Ziggler is not believable at all as a police detective, although Kane surprisingly is as his captain. Neither of them look the part though, so I was feeling this seemed ridiculous from the start. There's this long extended section of the film that actually takes place at a WWE event, complete with an inside joke at Ziggler's current feud at the time. This whole plot was lame from beginning to end, with a little decent action along the way, but not much even of that. I don't know who's been doling out these writing assignments lately, but they need to be fired. I certainly hope "Marine 5" is better than this, because I enjoy The Miz in those roles. But this? Don't waste your time with this. 2/5

Countdown on Netflix

The Marine 2

Surprisingly, Ted DiBiase Jr. was the strongest part of this action flick. His acting was shockingly decent and even believable, which is so rare from a WWE wrestler. Sadly, none of the rest of this mess was any good. The script was terrible, all the supporting actors were awful, and the direction was bland. I have slightly higher hopes for "The Marine 3", but I'm not holding y breath. 2.5/5

The Marine 2 on Netflix