Some action movies struggle to mash-up oddball characters with a preposterous premise, but they rarely emerge as entertaining because of those conflicting elements. "Saw V" director David Hackl's "Dangerous" qualifies as a compelling but formulaic crime thriller that turns this otherwise sow's purse into a silk ear. A convicted sociopath, Dylan Forrester (Clint Eastwood's son Scott Eastwood), is determined to stay on the straight and narrow after his release from prison. Basically, this ex-Navy Seal went psycho and became a Hannibal Lecter-type serial killer. He served eight years in prison. Now, Dylan-who prefers to be called "D"-is out on parole and endeavoring to live as a normal anybody. Our addled hero benefits from a sympathetic psychiatrist, Dr. Alderwood (a gray-bearded Mel Gibson of "Braveheart"), who peddles sage wisdom, even though we never see the two together in person. Dr. Alderwood is no role model. We see him abuse liquor. Resigning himself to daily dosages of lithium tablets, an anti-psychotic depressant, D learns to his chagrin that his upstanding, history professor, younger brother Sean has died. Reportedly, Sean fell off the scaffolding around the lighthouse tower he was restoring. Originally, Sean wanted D to visit him once he made parole. In a chain of letters, Sean wrote to D about a private project he had been pursuing. Sean wanted D to come in with him as a partner.
One day, D surprises an Asian intruder rifling through his things. Before the intruder can use his .45 caliber pistol, D's seasoned psycho personality kicks in and he takes the dude down. However, he doesn't kill him. Later, Agent Shaughnessy (Famke Janssen of "GoldenEye") and an FBI SWAT team storm D's apartment. Not only do they retrieve D's castoff ankle bracelet monitor, but they also find the comatose Asian staked out in the shower. No, the Asian dude isn't dead. Trying to adhere to Dr. Alderwood's advice, D doesn't initially kill anybody. Meantime, D leaves his home in Ohio to attend Sean's funeral on Guardian Island on the Northern Pacific coast of Washington state. Sean had been remodeling a decommissioned World War II U. S. Naval Station as a bed & breakfast. Separated from the mainland, Guardian Island can only be reached by boat. No sooner has D arrived than his mother, Linda Forrester (prolific television actress Brenda Bazinet), demands his immediate departure. She abhors D because he displays zero empathy or any other basic human emotions. Indeed, D is the black sheep of the family, while his brainiac brother Sean was the role model. Later, D meets Sean's widow, Susan Forrester (Leanne Lapp of "The Right One"), and their son Freddie Forrester (newcomer Atlee Smallman), who shared his dad's interests in World War II-era navies. Scrutinizing his brother in his casket, D's suspicions are aroused by the sight of grime under Sean's fingernails. D sets about searching for clues to unravel the mystery behind his brother's death as well as his secret.
Indeed, D uncovers Sean's shady side when D's former Seal Team commander, Cole (Kevin Durand of "Resident Evil: Retribution"), shows up on the island, with a company of well-armed mercenaries. They stole a boat to reach the island and collect on a longstanding debt Sean never paid off. Moreover, they have brought seismic ground testing equipment to probe for hidden subterranean passages. Naturally, while he is surprised to find his old buddy D, Cole is as baffled as D about Sean's secret. Everybody professes ignorance. Agent Shaughnessy learns about D's whereabouts, but she cannot set foot on the island until dawn. Cole takes Sean's family and friends hostage, but D eludes him. When he discovers Sean's secret, D seems rattled by it. One of Cole's thugs manages to corner our hero, but savvy psychopath that D is, he seizes a World War 2 toy Japanese submarine and stabs him fatally in the femoral artery so his assailant will bleed out. Cole orders his best sniper to scale the lighthouse and search for our hero. The sniper spots D, but he has no luck wounding him despite his towering vantage point. Predictably, every shot the sniper takes at D's fleeing figure falls short by mere millimeters. Eventually, D stumbles onto some caverns beneath Sean's bed & breakfast. What he finds underground flabbergasts him. The Japanese Imperial Navy chiseled those clandestine caverns out of solid rock during World War II to serve as a concealed submarine pen.
Since he balks at killing anybody, D wages a constant war with his homicidal instincts. Everything boils down to a fight to the finish, with Cole and his trigger-happy henchmen scouring the premises for Dh while threatening to inflict bodily harm on Sean's family and friends. Once D's mother realizes he is determined to rescue them as well as eliminate the villains, Linda's attitude changes. Throughout this nail-biting but improbable yarn, D calls Dr. Alderwood repeatedly for advice. Alderwood doesn't want D to ruin all their hard-won progress on his path to recovery by reverting to his sociopathic ways. Nevertheless, he insists his patient do whatever is necessary to ensure his own survival. Eastwood slips back and forth between psycho D and nice guy D and wrings some wry humor out of these short-lived intervals. The casting of Gibson as Alderwood seems like a snarky joke considering Mel's recent, real-life trials and tribulations. Indeed, you'll have fun watching Gibson ham it up in what essentially constitutes a 'phoned-in' performance. Mind you, neither Famke Janssen nor co-star Tyrese Gibson, as the courageous, but ill-fated local sheriff who arrested D, interfere with Cole's shenanigans. Like Gibson, both Famke Janssen and Tyrese Gibson aren't around long enough to make much of an impression. Overall, "Dangerous" amounts to an above-average "Die Hard" actioneer that passes muster thanks largely to its charismatic cast, atmospheric cinematography, and Hackl's dynamic helming.
One day, D surprises an Asian intruder rifling through his things. Before the intruder can use his .45 caliber pistol, D's seasoned psycho personality kicks in and he takes the dude down. However, he doesn't kill him. Later, Agent Shaughnessy (Famke Janssen of "GoldenEye") and an FBI SWAT team storm D's apartment. Not only do they retrieve D's castoff ankle bracelet monitor, but they also find the comatose Asian staked out in the shower. No, the Asian dude isn't dead. Trying to adhere to Dr. Alderwood's advice, D doesn't initially kill anybody. Meantime, D leaves his home in Ohio to attend Sean's funeral on Guardian Island on the Northern Pacific coast of Washington state. Sean had been remodeling a decommissioned World War II U. S. Naval Station as a bed & breakfast. Separated from the mainland, Guardian Island can only be reached by boat. No sooner has D arrived than his mother, Linda Forrester (prolific television actress Brenda Bazinet), demands his immediate departure. She abhors D because he displays zero empathy or any other basic human emotions. Indeed, D is the black sheep of the family, while his brainiac brother Sean was the role model. Later, D meets Sean's widow, Susan Forrester (Leanne Lapp of "The Right One"), and their son Freddie Forrester (newcomer Atlee Smallman), who shared his dad's interests in World War II-era navies. Scrutinizing his brother in his casket, D's suspicions are aroused by the sight of grime under Sean's fingernails. D sets about searching for clues to unravel the mystery behind his brother's death as well as his secret.
Indeed, D uncovers Sean's shady side when D's former Seal Team commander, Cole (Kevin Durand of "Resident Evil: Retribution"), shows up on the island, with a company of well-armed mercenaries. They stole a boat to reach the island and collect on a longstanding debt Sean never paid off. Moreover, they have brought seismic ground testing equipment to probe for hidden subterranean passages. Naturally, while he is surprised to find his old buddy D, Cole is as baffled as D about Sean's secret. Everybody professes ignorance. Agent Shaughnessy learns about D's whereabouts, but she cannot set foot on the island until dawn. Cole takes Sean's family and friends hostage, but D eludes him. When he discovers Sean's secret, D seems rattled by it. One of Cole's thugs manages to corner our hero, but savvy psychopath that D is, he seizes a World War 2 toy Japanese submarine and stabs him fatally in the femoral artery so his assailant will bleed out. Cole orders his best sniper to scale the lighthouse and search for our hero. The sniper spots D, but he has no luck wounding him despite his towering vantage point. Predictably, every shot the sniper takes at D's fleeing figure falls short by mere millimeters. Eventually, D stumbles onto some caverns beneath Sean's bed & breakfast. What he finds underground flabbergasts him. The Japanese Imperial Navy chiseled those clandestine caverns out of solid rock during World War II to serve as a concealed submarine pen.
Since he balks at killing anybody, D wages a constant war with his homicidal instincts. Everything boils down to a fight to the finish, with Cole and his trigger-happy henchmen scouring the premises for Dh while threatening to inflict bodily harm on Sean's family and friends. Once D's mother realizes he is determined to rescue them as well as eliminate the villains, Linda's attitude changes. Throughout this nail-biting but improbable yarn, D calls Dr. Alderwood repeatedly for advice. Alderwood doesn't want D to ruin all their hard-won progress on his path to recovery by reverting to his sociopathic ways. Nevertheless, he insists his patient do whatever is necessary to ensure his own survival. Eastwood slips back and forth between psycho D and nice guy D and wrings some wry humor out of these short-lived intervals. The casting of Gibson as Alderwood seems like a snarky joke considering Mel's recent, real-life trials and tribulations. Indeed, you'll have fun watching Gibson ham it up in what essentially constitutes a 'phoned-in' performance. Mind you, neither Famke Janssen nor co-star Tyrese Gibson, as the courageous, but ill-fated local sheriff who arrested D, interfere with Cole's shenanigans. Like Gibson, both Famke Janssen and Tyrese Gibson aren't around long enough to make much of an impression. Overall, "Dangerous" amounts to an above-average "Die Hard" actioneer that passes muster thanks largely to its charismatic cast, atmospheric cinematography, and Hackl's dynamic helming.