FREE: The Marine

The listing, The Marine has ended.

Actors: John Cena, Kelly Carlson, Robert Patrick, Anthony Ray Parker, Abigail Bianca
Directors: John Bonito
Writers: Alan B. McElroy, Michelle Gallagher
Producers: Frank Carlopio, Jed Blaugrund, Joel Simon, Jonathan Winfrey, Matt Carroll
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (DTS 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
Subtitles: English, Spanish

The feature film debut of wrestling superstar John Cena, The Marine offers an agreeable smorgasbord of slam-bang action for viewers willing to swallow whole their disbelief for the sake of enjoying the plot. Cena, who is one of the most animated performers in the wrestling arena, is saddled with a taciturn role as a former Marine with an authority problem who tangles with dangerous jewel thieves (led by Robert Patrick) after they take his wife (Kelly Carlson of Nip/Tuck) hostage. Cena handles the physical duties of his role with ease, and former commercial director John Bonito offers him a frantic array of situations in which to display his prowess. On the whole, however, the picture is very light in the logic department, and filled with cardboard characters that quickly wear out their welcome (save Patrick, who tosses villainous one-liners with scene-stealing brio). Extras include a making-of featurette, which includes talking-head interviews with the cast, crew, and WWE head/producer Vince McMahon, as well as a barrage of shorter featurettes on Cena's rise to fame and the film's premiere at Camp Pendleton. --Paul Gaita