20th Century Fox / 2009 / 95 mins / Rated R

Blu-ray Release Date:  December 29, 2009

Reviewed on 1-09-10

WWE superstar Ted DiBiase takes over the franchise as one of "the few and the proud" in this direct-to-video sequel featuring another tale of heroism fit for the Marines.

While vacationing at an exotic resort, Marine sergeant Joe Linwood (DiBiase) and his wife Robin attend a VIP dinner party... when disaster strikes.  Ruthless terrorists crash the event and claim a number of hostages--including Joe's wife (sound familiar?)  

Alone, in a foreign country, with no backup, Linwood must rely on his Marine training and become the single handed hero who strikes back at the terrorists... save the hostages and prevent an international war!

THE MARINE 2 released December 29, 2009 on Blu-ray! MSRP is $22.98.

Five minutes into this slickly produced sequel and you quickly get the formula.  As soon as Linwood arrives in Thailand with his wife, you can tell this vacation will be anything but... and sure enough, the drama quickly escalates.  Replace the name Linwood with John McClaine, put him in a foreign location and you get the movie--

That said, the formula obviously works (given the four sequels to Die Hard) and Marine 2 follows that path.  Although neither the dialogue or acting is as explosive as the action, it's not nearly as bad as expected.  

Fortunately for WWE fans and non-fans alike, the producers wisely chose a likeable lead with DiBiase.  With his midwestern cornfed good looks, the wrestler quickly rises to the occasion and does a surprisingly serviceable job as Joe Linwood.

Credit director Roel Reine for putting almost every dollar of the budget on the screen.  Given the competition with obviously huge blockbusters, Reine delivers some truly heart stopping sequences which are elevated by some choice editing and creative angles.

It's easy to throw pot shots at a movie like The Marine 2... but there's really no reason to.  It is what it is and never once pretends to be anything but an entertaining action adventure movie.  Marine 2 could have failed on a myriad of levels, but instead manages some true jolts and a satisfying, if not expected, ending.

The 1080p, 2.35:1 image is crisp and vivid, thoroughly utilizing the jungle motif for most of the movie.  The pyrotechnics are abundant -- not particularly breathtaking -- but more than accomplish their tasks.  Even the night time shots are pretty damn crisp and never muddied -- quite a task for a movie at this level.  All and all, quite impressive.

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 delivers with every explosion and bullet fired as you might expect.  Dialogue is always crisp despite the action that's going around--and the action is thankfully not as over-exaggerated as it could have been considering the low budget.  

Behind the scenes Featurettes: Village VIrtuoso: The Final Fight, The Last Resort: Inside the Terrorist's seige, Building a Legacy: Ted's Story

Muay Thai Fight Outtakes

Deleted Scenes

Extended Scenes

Making the Cut: Delete Shots Montage.

I went into this with zero expectations and walked away quite impressed.  I'm not sure if you'll want to watch this multiple times... However, if you're a fan of WWE, Ted DiBiase or the genre, I promise you won't be dissapointed.