Section 8

This cynical B action movie plays like a series of ticked-off check boxes, rather than an intricately woven story, running its sad hero through the wringer and growing ever dumber as it goes along. The various sections in Section 8 -- the war, the body shop, revenge, prison, etc. -- are all just lined up, one after another, without much finesse. Jake goes through an unprecedented amount of bad fortune and handles it with a morose expression that stays the same throughout the entire movie, even as the rest of his appearance runs steadily downhill. (The character's costume and makeup -- consisting of a scraggly beard, uncombed hair, and a leather jacket that looks as if it smells to high heaven -- are a curious choice.)

The movie's meager budget is obvious throughout, from its overly choreographed, shaky-cam fight scenes to the fact that it looks as if Rourke was almost never in the room at the same time as any of the other actors. Dolph Lundgren and Scott Adkins are here, too, but likewise feel dissociated from the proceedings, brought in only when needed. Dialogue is ridiculous -- from stale chestnuts like a soldier saying "watch your six" to an assassin saying "wakey wakey!" to his sleeping prey -- but also has weirdly earnest sermoning ("this is my block!"). As Section 8 crawls toward its conclusion, which includes a ludicrous double-twist and a final "are you kidding?" ending, it's best not to ask too many questions about what's going on or why. The whole thing will fall apart.