Mercenaries ended up in my queue because I added all of Zoe Bell’s movies to my queue. Mercenaries is an empty action flick that is supposed to be a female action hero rip off of the Expendables franchise, which I have not seen. Mercenaries’ premise is a female warlord, played by Brigitte Nielsen, has kidnapped POTUS’ daughter. Martial arts legend Cynthia Rothrock recruits imprisoned women with special skills and nothing to lose to form a team to rescue her. Zoe Bell is the natural leader, a former soldier who got screwed over by her superiors when a poorly planned mission goes wrong. Kristanna Loken, who is best known for being the star of the Blood Rayne franchise, which is not a good thing, but she should not be judged too harshly, is an expert sniper and a sexual assault survivor. Vivica A. Fox plays Rothrock’s contemporary who went rogue. Nicole Bilderback (who?) plays an explosives expert. Mercenaries’ main tension is will the women successfully team up or will they be willing to do anything and betray anyone to achieve her goals.
Mercenaries is a bit over the top even for a pulpy action film. The acting is not great. The camera work is aggravating because it keeps getting closer and closer to the subjects. The creepiest aspect, which could be considered the main detraction for some viewers, could be the constant threat of rape of Nielsen’s prisoners, not including POTUS’ daughter, by one of her chief henchmen. I was not offended for three reasons. First, such things unfortunately happen in places with no stable government and with conflicts all the time: ISIS in Syria, Serbia Croatia conflict. Second, Mercenaries did not handle it in a prurient manner, but definitely considered it a sign of how awful these villains were. Third, it is a common theme in martial arts movies involving women to have a revenge theme. There is an argument to be made for and against this theme being prevalent in movies helmed by female action stars, but I feel like tackling that controversy in a forgettable action flick is a waste of time so I will save that discussion for a better movie. Just note that it could be inherently problematic or redemptive depending on how it is depicted in the film.
The joy in Mercenaries is the cast even if the actual product is not that great. For fans of female action stars, having Zoe Bell and Cynthia Rothrock in the same room is sufficiently exciting. Only check out Mercenaries if you are a fan of the cast, otherwise avoid it.