Jill Rips

As a general rule I don't like martial arts movies and especially don't like Dolph Lundgren. But this isn't his typical fare and altho he still doesn't come off as an actor this film has a sort of interesting plot and our Dolph isn't the all powerful superhero.

He is an alcoholic ex-cop who has gotten involved in tracing what may be a serial killer for reasons of his own and almost displays some semblance of humanity. I say almost because although he tries our hero still has a lot of work to do, but this film is tolerable for the late nite audience.

I saw this film under the title of "Tied Up". In general I have enjoyed Dolph's movies, so gave this one a try. It wasn't worth it. I have read some of the previous comments about the box enticing viewers. Don't be fooled. This is a poor film at best. The acting is nonexistent. The plot, what little there is of one, is very predictable. The movie in places seems to be chopped together. This one just plain stinks the place up. Not even worth the price of a cheap night rental. As a bit of a Dolph fan, I kept waiting to see him in action. By the end of the movie, you will still be waiting. Best to avoid this film, and spend your time watching almost anything else.

Dolph Lundgren stars as a former cop/boxer who searches Boston's kinky scene to find out who killed his brother,who was well thought of in the community, however along the way he learns how his brother enjoyed kinky sex and that a serial killer is to blame. Dolph Lundgren is very good in this movie, in fact on the basis of his performance here, one would forget Lundgren's rise to fame involved action roles. That said the material gives Lundgren nothing to work with, in fact, Lundgren is completely left out to dry in a dreary thriller which is both predictable and incomprehensible. Co-Star Danielle Brett is also good, in fact the film works best when it centers around the chemistry of Lundgren and Brett, indeed had the film taken the time to explore their relationship the film would've been fairly decent. However the movie is lackluster, the action is non-existent, the plot not given enough exploration (Too much boring B.S around Lundgren's investigation of his brother's employer) and the film is needlessly gory and ridiculous. Once again, Lundgren is actually really good (As is newcomer Danielle Brett) but the film just lumbers from one sequence to the next, which makes this movie particularly disappointing. If anything else though, it shows how underrated Lundgren is, as an actor.

*1/2 Out Of 4-(Poor)

Dolph stars in this thriller which delves in to the dark world of S&M and does a good job as the guy who's brother was killed after a session with a mystery female killer nicknamed Jill the Ripper. The films story is not too taxing on the brain but is far from simple and there are a few twists in the plot along the way as for the characters, there are a few engaging characters Dolph being one of them and there are a few who are not so engaging who in fact you really start to hope get killed off. Lundgrens performance is decent and he outshines the rest of the cast none of whom would be recognizable by name or face, the film is at times quite funny with some of the costumes and accessories that are on show. This is not a typical Dolph film and is a rare venture out of action for him and it is quite enjoyable i would give it 6/10

Even though I am a Dolph Lundgren fan, I put off watching "Jill The Ripper" for a long time, namely because it was a Phoenician Entertainment production - they have made many cheap and shoddy movies. So I was surprised by the quality of this effort of theirs when I sat down to watch it. Although it is a low budget production, the movie looks fairly slick and professionally made. The snow-covered Toronto locations help to give this movie an appropriately dark and moody feel to it. Lundgren gives a pretty good performance, apparently not afraid to play a protagonist who does several unlikable things during the course of the movie. So there is some good stuff here. However, there are also a few disappointing aspects to the movie. Although running only 94 minutes, it feels a lot longer. The mystery aspect of the movie is somewhat confusing. In fact, there are several parts of the movie where it seems that footage is missing. And why the heck is the movie set in 1977? It could have easily been set in the present day with absolutely no changes to the script. Despite these and other flaws, the movie is still interesting, and will appeal to Lundgren fans who want to see him in a different genre and different kind of character for a change.