Anchor Bay Home Entertainment
Directed by Robert Lieberman
Written by Quinn Scott
Starring Steve Austin, Adam Beach, Erica Cerra, Ron Lea
It's very easy to start 'The Stranger' with the assumption that it will be low-budget-terrible. Firstly, it's a straight-to-DVD action movie, and good ones of those are very rare. Secondly the lead is professional wrestling star "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Again, an actor who has crossed over from another entertainment profession who can actually act is rare. Lastly, no other actor is mentioned on the cover, meaning there's no one in the movie significant enough to be noted alongside Austin.
However, basing assessment of the quality of this movie on Austin's ability is grossly unfair. Given a dreadful script, appalling supporting actors (particularly Adam Beach) and cinematography reminiscent of a student film club project, Austin's performance is remarkable. He holds his own amongst a legion of amateurs behind and in front of the camera and although the plot isn't as original as it tries to claim it is watchable, building to the inevitable conclusion seen hundreds of times before.
There's not enough here to give the movie a good rating, which Austin almost deserves for holding the whole thing together against the odds, and it's therefore difficult to recommend this to anyone except Austin fans who will enjoy seeing him put in a good turn. It has to be said though, if you're looking for a bit of no-brain action entertainment, there are better movies out there.
“ a legion of amateurs behind and in front of the camera ”
Special Features: The Stranger: Behind The Scenes / Trailer
TECHNICAL DETAILS
DVD Release Date: August 9, 2010
Studio: NGN Productions
Feature Running Time: 87 mins
Special Features Running Time: 7 mins
Certificate: 15
Language(s): English
Subtitles: None
Other Format(s): Blu-Ray
