Really Surprised!

Great Film overall

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

When a madman kidnaps a young boy and rigs him with explosives, Ray defies his captain and takes matter into his own hands. Now he must beat the clock and save the innocent child. Countdown was mostly packed with WWE Wrestlers trying to act and beating up bad guys than being an actual good and entertaining flick but i will admit i do admire the fact that at least Kane tried a bit to do something different after those terrible 'See No Evil' flicks but i'm sorry Dolph Ziggler is no John Cena or even at least as amusing and cool as The Miz. (3/10)

"Turistas" director John Stockwell delivers an improbable but entertaining action thriller "Countdown" that qualifies as a genuine guilty pleasure. This WWF financed abduction opus concerns a mad Russian bomber who has strapped an explosives device to seven-year old child and demands a bundle of dough for his life. "Countdown" generates a sufficient amount of suspense and tension despite some uninspired performances. The derivative Richard ("Expendables 2") Wenk and Michael ("November Man") Finch screenplay manages to create some white-knuckled excitement as an iconoclast Seattle detective, Ray Fitzpatrick (Dolph Ziggler), scrambles against the clock—about five hours or so—to locate the adolescent against nerve racking odds. Stockwell proves himself a fair hand at staging the action with some competence. "Countdown" could have been twice as pulsating in the hands of a director like either "Bourne Supremacy" director Paul Greengrass or "Nightwatch" helmer Timur Bekmambetov. Make no mistake, Stockwell doesn't malinger, but "Countdown" should have been an exercise in white-hot mayhem. Indeed, towards the end, Stockwell succeeds in ratcheting up the pace. "Pound of Flesh" lenser Cliff Hokanson captures the action from evocative camera angles, while composer Claude Foisy accentuates the pace with a sizzling orchestral score. The cast struggles to convince us that they are the real thing. Given several years, Ziggler could develop into a capable actor. In the meantime, he handles the demands of the physical action with just enough verve to compensate for his superficial acting. Ziggler surpasses his pedestrian but attractive co-star Katharine Isabelle who isn't believable at all. Glenn 'Kane' Jacobs musters more credibility as Ray's superior. The opening scene is somewhat interesting because our audacious detective shoots his undercover partner to make a believer out of the arms dealer that he is trying to bust. Altogether, "Countdown" contains enough kick and tick to land somewhere between routine and above-average. The Seattle scenery is a feast for the eyes.

I'm sorry but the film was just horrible. I watched it the other day, and it felt like a 10 hour long film rather than a less than 2 hour one. The acting from the protagonist was so bad that I fell asleep several times watching it. Don't listen to the other reviewers.I have watched other WWE movies in the past, so the measuring stick for this movie wasn't that big going in and despite that, this movie couldn't reach the top of it. There are other wrestlers in WWE who could be great actors if given the chance, but the promotion is very corrupt and biased, so only the backstage favorites get that chance. I wish they would let someone that can act get an opportunity like this for once.

For DZ's first feature film, I thought he did a pretty phenomenal job, though I felt some moments he kinda felt stoic and not portraying enough emotion. The emotional backdrop of Ray Thompson's loss of his son was one thing I thought he shined with. He's a bit of natural, he's got it there but just needs to improve and show that he can take up a serious role. The story was absolutely intense, from the chases to the brawls to the crazy explosive escape. Everything was top there! It's no masterpiece but it's another great cop film with a very tense premise and real life atmosphere. My only disappointment was the WWE Live event setting, i thought it was going to be the main setting of the entire movie kinda like Sudden Death with Van Damme. All of the live action was just within the first act but the last half of the movie was just as intense as the beginning. Countdown is great but far from any action set masterpieces such as Die Hard. I give this movie a 7 out of 10.