Absolutely Brilliant!

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

This is the same type of movie and made in the same way as "The Marksman." Take a pretty good action actor, throw in a lot of military toys that have been sitting idle in a prop shop somewhere, add some strippers so we get to see naked female flesh, and then of course, because there is a female actor in the movie make sure that she and the main actor have sex. Now that we have all that stuff in a line, let's see if we can write a script around it to use it, oh, and make sure there's lots and lots of blood and lots and lots of explosions for no reason.I know U.S. Special Forces are pretty good; Delta, Green Berets, SEALS, Rangers, Recon, all those guys are great and I have a ton of respect for them but if any of them watch this movie, I suspect they've probably put out a "hit" on Dolph Lundgren and the makers of this movie for trying to turn what they do into some kind of cartoon.I almost turned it off when Dolph decided that he was going to rescue our 'damsel in distress' by taking out an ENTIRE military base by himself. Even as he was doing that I was logging in here to see something about this movie and I really wish I had done so before I began watching this. Oh, and by the way, you might notice that he doesn't even break a SWEAT after he gets beaten in prison, really? REALLY? I thought we were through with the whole 'guns that never need reloading' back in the '80s and '70s with the Rambo movies and the like but nope, someone seems to think we're going to just buy into that again.If you're looking to watch a movie that has some kind of plot, a little credibility and even some decent acting, you would do better to watch something like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" because this film is much more of a Cartoon than any animated movie ever made. Seriously, if your best friend suggests you watch this DVD, just shoot him and save both of you from making a bad decision.

May contain spoiler, but not much.Looks like a production that went straight for DVD, but it gives you some action if nothing else. A bit like a Jason Bourne chase, just cheaper. Dolph is an ex-American soldier in a Balkan prison that is released in order to rescue a girl from a local military man and bring her back to the USA. They will be chased by many, and we get to know some of the background for the rescue and that not those that are bad or good are not exactly what they were set out to be.A plot line says Russian prison, however it's from the Balkans according to the movie. Cyrillic street signs are put up for the movie, but soldiers have a Slovakian symbol on their uniforms and cars drive with some EU look alike signs, so not really sure where it is. A city with an Orthodox church might give you the impression it could be Bulgaria - no idea :)5/10 was maybe a bit generous.

I'm a fan of Doph, but this movie was lame. It did have cool explosions and stunts, but thats it. The story is similar to The Russian Specialist, which in my opinion is far better. One thing I've come to appreciate from Danny Lerner's movies is the fact that a lot of stuff gets blown up. In my book that is a plus. In this movie the fights did not look too convincing. The Russian dude in the beginning of the film in the jail, gets his ass kicked by Dolph within the first few seconds and he just sat there and took it. I've seen the same Rusian dude in other films and he kicks ass. Dolph looks in great shape, but his moves appear slow as if the editing or choreograph was not all there. But then again, I'm not a movie maker. Dolph has been in somewhat of a slump with films like Diamond Dogs, Missionary Man, Direct Action and now this. I think the films he's directed himself are far better...

Direct Contact: 6 out of 10: This is one of the most action packed movies I have ever seen. Keep in mind the action is not always good and the script certainly writes checks that the budget cannot cash. In addition, Dolph Lundgren gives the best performance in the film… However, one cannot deny that compare to those bloated (in more than one-way mind you) Segal films like Driven to Kill; this is a fit, fast and fun ride.Dolph starts the film in an eastern European prison but is released to rescue an American girl from a concentration camp located just east of a World War 2 film. (Direct Contact takes place in modern times but both the camp commander, and the camp victims, would not be out of place in Schindler's List as done by Full Moon Productions.) Bashar Rahal plays camp commandant General Drago with such a silly vigor, that when he shoots children in the head you just cannot help but laugh. Not to mention the fact that any character with the name General Drago belongs in a film with either Lightsabers or Dragons, not Fiddler on the Roof extras being mowed down by machine guns.Gina May plays the American girl, whom is much easier on the eyes than she is the ears. Her acting could have been improved with more nudity and less dialogue: much less dialogue. The rest of the cast is Michael Pare, random Bulgarians or James Chalke who gives the kind of horrible performance that makes one wonder if he financed the entire film.Now back to the reason to watch the film: the action. Dolph is in good shape and makes a surprisingly agile action star. Moreover, even though Bulgaria has no native word for continuity, it is a country that, for a couple of bucks, you can drive tanks through buildings downtown like some sort of Goldeneye road show.Overall, I enjoyed the film more than I should have. Lord knows it could have been better. However, as the good lord above also knows, it could have been a lot worse. Direct Contact may commit countless cinematic sins but it is never less than entertaining.