Wrong Side of Town (2010)

Ex-Navy Seal Bobby Kalinowski lives a quiet, peaceful life as a landscape architect in an LA suburb with his wife Dawn and 16 year old daughter Brianna. Tonight they are invited out for an evening on the town by new neighbors Clay and Elise Freeman to a happening club downtown. Little did they know that this would be the start of a life or death ordeal for the group. While at the club, Dawn is accosted by one of the club owners, Ethan Bordas. When Bobby intervenes and accidentally kills Ethan defending his wife, his enraged older brother, Seth, puts a one hundred thousand dollar bounty on his head. Now Bobby must escape LA while being pursued by every criminal, wise guy and thug in the city. Bobby decides to separate from his wife and neighbors and revert to his Navy Seal training to survive. To complicate matters, Seth has a corrupt police sergeant preventing Bobby from getting any help from the law! However, they all underestimate the fighting skills and abilities of Bobby Kalinowski who battles through an army of thugs to finally make it back home. But, relentless, Seth doesn't stop there. He targets Bobby's family next and kidnaps his daughter. His plan is successful and he lures Bobby to his seedy warehouse complex for the final showdown.


As good as a movie starring Rob Van Dam, Dave Batista, Ja Rule and Omarian can be expected to be, "Wrong Side of Town" stands above recent efforts by professional wrestlers such as Kurt Angle ("End Game"), Ted DiBiase ("The Marine 2") and John Cena ("12 Rounds"). Van Dam is rather dull and unconvincing in the lead role of Bobby Kalinowski, an ex-Navy Seal who finds his family the target of a crime boss after accidentally killing his brother. Van Dam is not a naturally gifted actor, and as admirably as he tries, he spends most of the film sounding exactly like he's reading lines off a teleprompter. Jerry Katz is over the top as the main villain; he is given little outside of the stereotypical bad guy to work with but doesn't seem up to the task of raising the role above the material. Batista, on the other hand, comes off far more natural as the wisecracking, shady former friend Big Ronnie. Director David DeFalco handles the action tolerably, though the fight scenes do occasionally lack in smoothness and visual style. In terms of straight-to-video films this is far from the worst, though the generic story and very uneven acting make for a film that is really only worth a recommendation for wrestling enthusiasts that are interested in seeing Van Dam, Batista and Nelson Frazier, Jr. (better known as Mabel, Viscera & Big Daddy V) in a role outside the squared circle.


I am still confused on why Batista is the main person in the picture since RVD is the main character. And sorry to disappoint, but Ja Rule was only in the movie for about 55 seconds! Not that anyone goes to see a movie just because of Ja Rule. The fight between Batista and the little black guy was pretty sweet. He had a "no one makes me bleed my own blood" reaction. They had a slap/knife fight. I enjoyed that part. BIG RON FOR THE WIN! (That was Batista's character.)


Best Line of the Movie: "I'm not a meathead, I went to community college!"


***/*****


3/5 Stars because I mark out for wrestlers in movies!