The Specialist
THE SPECIALIST (18)
D: Luis Llosa
Warner Bros. (Jerry Weintraub)
US 1994
110 mins
Action/Thriller
W: Alexandra Setos [based on the novels by John
Shirley]
DP: Jeffrey L. Kimball
Ed: Jack Hofstra
Mus: John Barry
Sylvester Stallone (Ray Quick), Sharon Stone (May Munro),
James Woods (Ned Trent), Rod Steiger (Joe Leon), Eric Roberts (Tomas Leon)
The Specialist is one of those insipid, formulaic,
nonsensical action movies which would be rather enjoyable if it didn't take itself so seriously.
Sylvester Stallone plays Ray Quick, a bomb expert who
doesn't take kindly to thugs who don't allow little old ladies to sit down on the bus, throwing them through the vehicles window to demonstrate his displeasure (seriously, this actually
happens). Either side of this scene, there's some rubbish about him being hired by Sharon Stone (supposedly playing a 20-year-old) to carry out a revenge plot on the mafia members who
murdered her family.
A sex scene between Sly & Stone is wedged into the
story because 'nudity', despite the fact that there's absolutely no chemistry between the two characters.
It's a rather rotten excuse for entertainment, but the
screen brightens up whenever James Woods appears, gleefully overacting as a corrupt government agent.
4/10
