The Marine 4 Adds A Different Feel To The Franchise

Genre: Action | Thriller
Directed by: William Kaufman
Starring: Mike Mizanin, Danielle Moinet, Melissa Roxburgh
Written by: Alan B. McElroy, Scott Wiper, Declan O’Brien

Synopsis: Jake Carter is assigned to protect a “high-value package,” a beautiful whistleblower trying to expose a corrupt army defense contractor. (c)IMDB

One of the original WWE Studios productions turned franchise is back for the 4th installment. The Marine 4 Moving Target has established their star of the franchise in Mike”The Miz”Mizanin. Jake Carter (Mizanin) is back at work, this time his duty is to protect a pretty whistleblower Olivia Tanis (Melissa Roxburgh). Carter is tasked with supervising Tanis, but a group of mercenaries are right on her trail. An ambush soon erupts, Carter and Tanis find themselves a target of pursuit.

The Marine 4 has a bit of a different feel from the previous films. Majority of this movie consists of Carter and Tanis running for their lives. There isn’t nearly as much action as I anticipated there to be. Obviously there are a handful of scenes involving shootouts, but the production team has noticeable toned down on the action. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Taking away an overabundance of action lends some extra focus on the story line development and the acting.

The one thing that the movie does well is not go wild with the explosions and use of CGI. It has a fairly authentic feel to it. The fight scenes are well choreographed. The rest of the action is fittingly placed.

Pretty faces that kick some ass

The acting is solid. Mizanin doesn’t overact, and establishes a calm and authoritative demeanor. He looks the part and owns it. Director William Kaufman doesn’t shy away from featuring Mizanin’s wrestler physique. The movie starts out with a shot of Mizanin coming out of bed and heading to the bathroom. It’s like a scene from an episode of The Bachelor, establishing from the start that the female audience will not be disappointed. Kudos to the WWE Studios for not only casting two extremely pretty women in Roxburgh and Danielle Moinet a.k.a Summer Rae from the WWE, but establishing them as strong female characters. Known for mainly being a valet and a pretty Diva on WWE television, Rae plays an imposing gun wielding baddie in the film. She doesn’t have much dialogue, but for a her big screen debut she holds her own.

The Blu-ray comes with a few features. Firepower features all the different guns and weapons used by the actors in the film. Beauty is Dangerous is a feature showcasing the women in the film that possess brawn and beauty. The Franchise is a 10 minute look at all the previous Marine films that lead up to Moving Target. The features are interesting and worth a look.

The Marine 4 continues as WWE’s most successful film franchise. Mizanin has established himself firmly as the face of the franchise, and also very well could be the next wrestler to breakout into the Hollywood scene full-time. He’s certainly has the look, charisma, and solid acting skills to follow The Rock, Steve Austin, and Dave Bautista. Fans of the franchise should enjoy this film, newcomers might be swayed either way. If you are looking for non-stop action and blowouts, you might be a bit disappointed. If you want a mix of both action and drama you will be much more receptive to the movie.