“The Mercenary” Theatrical Poster
Jesse V. Johnson, the filmmaker behind Triple Threat and Accident Man is prepping yet another actioner in the form of The Mercenary (aka Legion Maxx), starring Dominiquie Vandenberg (True Legend) and Louis Mandylor (The Debt Collector).
Maxx (Vandenberg) is a legionnaire turned mercenary. When a mission in South America goes wrong Maxx is left for dead, but he is nursed back to health and reborn with a new outlook on life. He tries to live tranquilly within the confines of his new beliefs surrounded by his new friends at a church. But his peaceful days are short-lived when mercenaries he used to work with cross his path again and he is forced to revisit and face his own demons.
Be on the lookout for The Mercenary on DVD and Digital thisJanuary 7, and definitely don’t miss the film’s Red Band Trailer below (via FCS):
NICE! Big fan of both Jesse V Johnson & Dominique Vandenberg, his book THE IRON CIRCLE is one hell of a read and discusses his martial arts background and his time in the Legion
I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it and i know i know i want to see this movie as soon as possible
I rented The Mercenary and I thought it was pretty good. (I wish they kept the Legion Maxx title.)
I definitely want to read Dominiquie Vandenbeeg’s book, because the action he puts on display gives a real taste of what he can do in real life. He doesn’t move “gracefully” but his martial arts moves are raw while still being on point.
His work with bladed weapons is also fun to watch, and you can make a drinking game of how many times he makes someone bleed gallons from the neck. There are times though where the henchmen are too stupid even for this genre, where they have guns and run at Vandenberg instead of trying to shoot him.
It’s unfortunate that despite establishing his character as unstoppable, the way he’s incapacitated in the beginning of the film made him look like a chump and was only there for plot convenience. The movie also speeds through the portion of when he becomes a missionary and when his colleagues find him, and it would have been nice to see that middle portion take its time.
I guess in a movie where people are waiting for him to kill the bad guys, there isn’t much room for introspection, which is too bad since Vandenberg’s friendship with the priest, Carmen Argenziano was a nice aspect of the story.
I hope Vandenberg stars in more action films, because he has a unique quality.
Big fan of Dominiquie and Jesse since the early days of The Honourable and Pit Fighter… Dominiquie is a true warrior on and off screen, his book the Iron Circle is a very good read and really fills you in on his life and what made the man and the legend, from his martial arts training in Europe, to his time training hardcore Karate in Japan to his time in the French Foreign Legion and beyond
i really think Malay Kim did a great job on the fight choreography, it has a brutal feel to it