The Marine 2 Blu-ray review

WWE Films The Marine 2 is the followup to the original movie "The Marine" which starred John Cena as a determined Marine who returned to civilian life only to have his wife kidnapped. This caused Cena's character to go on an all-out rampage to get her back. In the sequel there's no John Cena, but instead new rising young star, Ted Dibiase of WWE's Legacy Stable (Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes). In an interesting side note, fans may be interested to know that Randy Orton was originally due to play the part but due to his collarbone injury couldn't take the role.

In this action-packed sequel, Dibiase plays a Marine named Joe Linwood who arrives home from a mission to take a 5-day trip with his gorgeous wife, Robin, played by the lovely Lara Cox. The couple goes to a fancy Thailand retreat where Linwood's wife has organized a major event for her boss who built the high-tech environmental resort. Although it seems like a fun-in-the-sun party at first, the plot thickens when the party's fireworks become real in the form of gunfire and missiles. A terrorist group takes control of the affair taking a group of hostages which includes Linwood's wife and her boss. Dibiase is displaced from the resort during a fight, and then tries to formulate a plan to save the day, but most especially his wife. It's basically the plot used in The Marine and 12 Rounds, where the guy's wife is kidnapped and the WWE star must rescue her.

The movie's rather short at just 1:35 so fans won't exactly feel like much time was wasted if they don't particularly enjoy it. Some may see it as little more than a cross between Die Hard, MacGuyver and Rambo, which has less than half the IQ. Comparing Dibiase's acting to Cena's is difficult because one's an established major star in the WWE, while Dibiase is a young rising star. However, Ted Dibiase looks a little more subtle yet still charismatic in this first movie role which he handles somewhat well. Seeing this film makes you curious to see more films from Dibiase to see what he's really capable of. The fact that Cena's had a lot more vocal roles in WWE than Dibiase may also help with this performance, giving his character a mysterious feel. It also makes you wonder how Randy Orton would have done in the film's lead. Also starring in the movie is a familiar face from many other TV/movie roles, Michael Rooker, who plays a vet named Church. Temuera Morrison, who played the role of villain Jango Fett in Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones, takes on the role of the villainous terror group leader in M2.

There's plenty of gunshots, explosions and violence in this flick to entertain most nonstop action fans. As with many of the newest Blu ray disc releases, this one has stunning sound and a decent picture for a straight-to-video release which is demonstrated by the beautiful scenery (shot on location in Thailand) and shootout/gunplay scenes which make plenty of noise. There are some scenes which come off grainy compared to the rest in picture quality, but nothing that takes away from the general action of the movie. The on-screen menus are also well integrated into the film making them less intrusive while viewing the movie. The Blu ray disc also contains a number of bonus features including deleted and extended scenes, featurettes and more for those interested in learning more about this latest WWE project.

While this is a standard straight-to-DVD action movie, it's still got its own entertainment value in its own right. The plot is nothing groundbreaking and many will find plenty of holes to poke in it, but action movies are rarely Best picture Oscar contenders. With the recent events involving Legacy and the seeming rift between Rhodes, Dibiase and Orton, it seems as if this film is the launchpad for the possible face turn of a newly reborn Dibiase who will be popular with the fans. Stay tuned to see if WWE puts as much faith in him in more films as they have in his young wrestling career.

Order The Marine 2 [Blu-ray] here at Amazon.com