Sanctuary

I thought this was going to be an all action, shoot em up, kickin' arse type movie. This was totally the opposite. The movie kind of moves slow and lags behind at times. I expected a lot better from Mark Dacascos because I totally enjoyed the movie "Drive." I felt like it was beautifully well done and the action scenes were astounding. I don't get why this movie would be listed under "Action" because it hardly had any action in it. It was more of a "lite thriller" type movie. I felt like this film could've been much better. This movie is only for people who enjoy movies like this. If possible, I would highly recommend that you skip this Mark Dacascos entry, unless you're a big fan of him.

An assassin turned priest has to get his bearings - and his guns - when killers are after him… an honest thriller, well filmed, but which never goes beyond its primary goal as video-club fodder, though it was obviously made for the big screen. Dacascos is good though.

I turned to this movie late at night mainly to see Mark Dacascos who is nice to look at, and not a bad actor either! I tend to fall asleep if a movie doesn't keep me interested. Well, I felt that, for a cable action movie (on Action Max) it was entertaining and had an actual plot that made sense. In a series of flashbacks, we see the events that shaped Dacascos's character. It's got plenty of guns, a few explosions, a government conspiracy, bad guys, good guys, a possible good gal, and an ironic ending that is both unexpected and appropriate. This is a flick that both guys and gals can watch - lots of action but not any gore. I wish Dacascos luck in catching a mainstream movie and riding it to the big screen. He deserves it!

This is a very well made thriller. It tells the story in flashbacks. Sometimes a little hard to follow, but very interesting. The action scenes are good. Mark gives a good performance. The ending leaves the possibilty of a sequel, which I wouldn't mind seeing.

The previous Mark Dacascos movie I watched—buddy kung fu flick Drive (1997)—was hugely entertaining nonsense, with a lightweight but fun plot, likable characters, and very impressive martial arts scenes; Sanctuary, made the following year, is the antithesis of that film, a joyless thriller that takes itself way too seriously, suffers from lifeless direction, and which completely wastes the extraordinary fighting skills of its star.

Dacascos plays CIA agent turned priest Luke Kovak, who finds himself pulled back into the violent world of black-ops espionage by his ex-boss Dyson (Alan Scarfe), who is keen to lay his hands on an incriminating tape that could prevent a senator from becoming security adviser at The Whitehouse. A confusing narrative structure that involves numerous dreary flashbacks, coupled with a plodding pace and a lack of martial arts makes Sanctuary a B-movie bore from start to finish.