Written by: Michael Den Boer on October 4th, 2007
Theatrical Release Date: USA/Croatia, 2006
Director: Mark Burson
Writer: Mark Burson
Cast: Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic, Ruza Madarevic, Igor Galo, Bozidar Smiljanic, Kishore Mandhyan, Simon Kassianides, Francisco Labbe
DVD released: October 9th, 2007
Approximate running time: 87 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo English
Subtitles: N/A
DVD Release: BCI Eclipse
Region Coding: Region 1 NTSC
Retail Price: $19.98
Synopsis:A member of an elite undercover agency of assassins soon finds himself the prey after refusing to kill one of his targets.Ultimate Force starts off with an opening that is intriguing and it features some of the films best action sequences. The film falls off the deep end after its lead Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic who plays Axon Rey is sent to a secluded island for not finishing a job. We then spend over half of the film following him around the island as he squares off against various foes.
One other interesting aspect of the film is a mysterious woman named Nina who he just happens to find imprisoned on the same island. Apparently he had a relationship with her and as the story unfolds so did someone else who he thought was close to him. The film predictably ties up all the loose ends with our hero Axon Rey getting his revenge and uncovering the truth in the process.
The look of the film reminds me of a made for TV action film with its fireball wipes between scenes. Virtually all the fighting scenes are uninspired and downright dull. Usually I am gluten for punishment when it comes to hokey or cliché filled action tripe and yet this one just didn’t do anything for me. The films lead Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic is devoid of any charisma and he moves like a wall when he fights. If you want to see some bad action cinema that at least has some entertainment value to it then rent the latest Jean Claude Van Damme. Ultimately I find myself hard pressed to find any redeeming qualities in Ultimate Force a action film which ranks among the worst that I have ever seen.
The DVD:
Ultimate Force is presented in an anamorphic widescreen that preserves the film’s original aspect ratio. The audio/video presentation for Ultimate Force is adequate as the image looks clean but not spectacular and the audio sounds full and yet it is not dynamic enough at times.
Extras for this release include an interview with Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic (3 1/2 minutes), The Making of Ultimate Force (7 minutes) and a trailer for Ultimate Force (2 minutes). The extras add very little to overall presentation with the making of feature looking is very soft and blurry.
In the end BCI Eclipse deliver an average DVD for a just below average action film that never really gets going.