Blackjack

John Woo, whose film resume consists of classic action films

such as "Face/Off" and "Hard Boiled," steps into the world of

television in this action-packed, yet awfully dull thriller. Big

Swede Dolph Lundgren stars as Jack Devlin, a bodyguard with a

penchant for arming himself with so many handguns in his body,

it would make Charlten Heston blush! Devlin is hired to guard a

hot fashion model named Cinder (the fine Kam Heskin) from a

vicious serial killer on a huge ego-trip.

"Blackjack" has many fine looking stunts, with cool gunfights

and pyrotechniques that trademark John Woo's style of film. Yet,

this movie isn't as violent as his previous films, because

obviously it was shown on the USA network. In other words, a

cable channel can't go for excessive gun-induced violence.

Also, the editing in this film was lousy and trite as well.

There was a scene where Devlin shoots a guy several times,

supposedly killing the assassin. But later, the same man comes

up unharmed, ready to try to waste our hero twice! Huh??! What,

is that one hitman immune to bullets?

The acting in this film is at least more decent than the

production values. Hey, Lundgren still needs to work on his

lines, but compared to his past movies, at least the script is

much smarter. Maybe it's just the actor who needs improvement.

Overall, "Blackjack" is a good movie, but it ain't great folks.

Go blame that on the fact that it is a

There's something about Dolph Lundgren that makes him a likable actor. It may be because of his (seemingly) clean personal life, or that he has never tried to portray himself greater than he is (unlike actors like Steven Seagal.) Here, Lundgren gives one of his better performances. He seems very comfortable and assured here, giving off more emotion than he has in other movies. And it's always fun to see Saul Rubinek and Fred Williamson in a movie, and their presence boosts things.

Other than the actors, all I can say in favor of this movie are that the production values aren't bad for a made-for-TV movie. This movie is a mess! Starting with the action scenes. Now, I know Woo was confined by TV censorship rules, but he clearly could still do a lot. Yet every action scene is horribly done - badly edited, improper use of slow-motion, and with the camera often in the wrong place and/or angle. You see the great potential in these scenes, yet Woo botches it each time. Seeing them, it's hard to believe this is the same guy who did the action scenes in HARD BOILED or THE KILLER.

There are plenty of plot holes as well. For example, how does Lundgren get in the fashion show near the end when it's supposedly been tightened up with security? Where is the villain getting all these people to help him? Why does the villain retreat back to his hideout after the secrecy of it was blown? And on and on. But the worst thing about the movie is that it's simply boring. It's slow-moving, and filled with a lot of unnecessary things that easily could have been edited out. Don't "bet" on this one should you see it in the video store - it's a "bust"!

I can only assume that this is the work of a completely different John Woo, i.e. some vodka-sodden squinting tramp by the same name who managed to get caught up in some kind of top-quality mistaken identity farce. If not, then Dolph Lundgren may as well throw himself out of a top floor window right now, because if not even John Woo can make you look cool, you don't stand a chance.

In fact, what's the exact opposite of 'cool'? That's the only way to describe this film. I saw it on TV, and I'd still have felt cheated if I hadn't been laughing so much. How my sides ached at the sight of Dolph Lundgren sitting in a big lake of milk, trying to look all serious and pained as another meaningless flashback kicked in to further the cause of the most hilariously stupid cinematic premise in the history of everything in the world ever. "Oh yes, I've got this phobia of white things, but only sometimes when the bullets stop flying and we need to stop the audience from changing channels." And even that doesn't work.

He looks old, as well. If they're going to do (snigger) Masters of the Universe II, they'd better (snort) hurry up and get on with it...

Ah, me. The only advice I can give you is this: if you don't start laughing within the first ten minutes of Blackjack, give it up.

First and foremost this was never intended as a movie. So I do think that should be taken into consideration when viewing.

This was a TV pilot for a show that was never picked up.

After this the pilot was restructured and released DTV to capitalize on Dolph Lundgren's popularity in DTV market.

It probably had the opposite effect and really harmed his career.

Although it got released before, Blackjack (1998) was filmed after Dolph Lundgren's two previous films, Fallen Knight (1998) and Sweepers (1998), that he had made back to back earlier that year (1997).

This 'movie' as an hour long TV pilot would probably be quite fun. It's mostly set up and introducing us to the world of Jack Devlin played by Dolph Lundgren, a U. S Marshal who protects high-profile clients when it comes to a matter of security.

The character Jack Devlin is hit with a strange phobia - fear of white color.

It's a very silly premise but Dolph Lundgren is quite charming in the role. We get introduced to characters that would have been recurring characters in a TV show.

The action for a TV show at the time is actually handled quite well.

'Alias' and 'Dark Angel' would come out a few years later so there was clearly a market for this type of TV spy thriller.

Sadly we will never know if this could have worked as a TV show.

This is more of a curiosity for Dolph Lundgren fans. It would have been fun to see him pursue a TV career as 'Blackjack' seem to represent a real downtrend in his output and popularity.

I do think this film harmed his career and it is evident in the movies he did after this. The quality of his output declined.

I don't think I would recommend this but, if you have low expectations and view it as a curiosity in both Woo and Lundgren's careers you can enjoy some of the action.

It's very slow and unnecessarily long.

1.5/5 stars. Fans only.

Put simply, Dolph Lundgren is the real one man army!!



Swedish-born Lundgren is Jack Devlin, a bodyguard for hire who holsters guns all over his body and uses playing cards as deadly projectiles. He can take out an group of at least a dozen men armed with automatic guns with only the use of his pistols. Talk about unbeatable. This guy could teach Rambo lessons! Devlin's got one weakness, though, and that is the color of pure white. This is done so he's not portrayed as a complete superman!



"Blackjack" is a prime John Woo film, which is filmed in an expertly way. But that doesn't mean it's perfect. This film has a lot of drawbacks!! For example, Devlin has an unlimited supply of ammo, meaning he never had to reload his guns! That was an error that should have been corrected. But the dumbest mistake in this film is the fact that Devlin has a phobia of the color white! That is the dumbest fear ever since being afraid of having peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth (I'm not kidding!!) Plus, there were instances where Devlin touched a couple of white objects (i.e. doors) and he didn't react to them! Those were one of the weirdest and most boneheaded doozies ever shown on TV, and with a master director like John Woo, they should have been corrected!



But, despite all those miserable errors in this film, "Blackjack" is really a very enjoyable action flick, with great stunts, great performances (especially of Lundgren's, this has to be his best role for a very long time) and cool action sequences, which is typical John Woo-style adrenaline rushes. Watch this movie if you're in the mood for a guilty pleasure!