Target of Opportunity

I recently watched the film Target of Opportunity and as far as action films go this one is tops. The 2 guys Dean Cochran and Todd Jensen are terrific. Both stars have great comic timing that really play against the typical boring action type genre. The production value is also very high for a Nu Image film - it looks like these guys actually went out and filmed big action sequences and you can tell it's really the stars doing the stunts. All in all Target was a great movie watching experience and I hope to see more from this team because for once in one of these films you felt like they cared about making a good, fun movie with a decent script and dialogue and weren't just out to make a quick buck with the same rehashed story and actors.

Target of Opportunity finally announces the arrival of Dean Cochran as a full fledged leading man. The movie itself is pretty good, it's got a decent story, good action, it's fairly well directed, and has a high production value for a Nu Image film; but, the key here is Cochran. I've followed him through his lead roles in Air Marshal and Shark Zone and seen him in supporting roles in films like Phone Booth but Target really marks his arrival. I read that he was cast opposite Chuck Norris in an upcoming movie and think he has a new series coming out. It's good to see a film company take the time to build stars.

Target follows Jim Jacobs as he defies the CIA to go to the country of Ghorna to rescue his former parter Nick (played very well by actor Todd Jensen). It starts out a lot like SPY GAME in that sense but quickly becomes like The Borne Identity as Jim finds Nick has completely lost his memory other than knowing that he has left himself clues about a mission.

It's all pretty well done - now understand, it's well done considering it's a lower budgeted action film but it does more with a small budget than a lot of 40 million dollar films have done with all that money lately. I can only imagine what these guys could do given time and money.

I recommend this very highly for action fans.

I'm sorry to say this, but the acting in this film is horrible. The dialogue sounds as if they are reading their lines for the first time ever. Perhaps I got the "dress rehearsal" version by mistake. The director over-uses slow motion during special effects perhaps as an attempt to compensate for the poor performance of the actors themselves. The story is pretty well written, and the fight sequences are actually better than I have seen in many action films. The fights seem pretty real. But all of this happens while to two leading actors time and time again miraculously survive incredible amounts of point-blank automatic weapon fire, grenades, morter rounds, and bazookas. The enemy soldiers are definitely some of the worst shots I have ever seen, especially when they have the escaping truck in their sights from about 30 yards, and every bazooka shot is wide by at least 50 feet. Those bazookas need serious site calibration.

I'm with the guy who said that the movie as a whole rated around 7.5, but I feel I have to compensate. I suppose some folks just feel better when they are hyper-critical.

I knew when I picked this movie up at the rental store that I was getting a straight-to-video movie. What I wasn't prepared for was a movie that I found fun and could easily recommend to others. I liked the concept of the movie, but I would have liked to have seen a punched up script with a little more character development. But this was an action movie and the action delivered IMO. The fight sequences were totally realistic and the karate moves didn't make me think they were completely scripted as some movies do. I think Dean Cochran was outstanding (especially given some of the script shortcomings), and I think we'll be seeing a lot more of him. He's got the whole package -- great looks, an easy manner with duologue or comedy and he's an action natural. I'd like to see him in a movie with a big budget. I could easily see him in roles that have gone to Matt Damon, Keanu Reeves or Eric Bana in recent years.

Todd Jensen did very well too and I'd like to see more of him. He seemed very natural in this role. I could see him having a long career as a character actor.

I feel this film rates about a 7.5 but due to some people rating it low for no good reason I am rating it a 10. I know film, particularly those in this genre. One thing that has to be considered is the amount of money that is generally spent on lower budgeted action features compared directly to the amount of production value that they got out of this motion picture. Had Target of Opportunity been shot anywhere in the United States it would have cost them a minimum of 15 million dollars and that's not paying some "stars" to play the lead roles. Danny Lerner is a good producer and in the 3 films that I have seen of his as a director he has gotten significantly better in his craft with each one. Les Weldon is also a talented writer who knows this genre well and made for a compelling storyline. I have seen Todd Jensen over the years in various action-type films and this is certainly his best work. He brought something to the character and avoided the obvious traps that exist for his role. I am also familiar with the other lead in the film. Ironically, I saw him play Hamlet years ago and have wondered what he had moved on to do. Cochran was a wonderful Hamlet playing the role with gusto and zeal. Again Hamlet is a role with many traps and he deftly avoided them in his performance. In Target of Opportunity he brings a very strong character to the screen but one in which he is not afraid to show some vulnerability in. I was quite impressed with his work as I see some others were as well.

Target is a solid bit of film making for this group and I look forward to seeing what they put together in the future.