There is vast symmetry between the lowball features associated with Bruce Willis and those that keep cropping up with familiar faces. Dolph Lundgren and Mickey Rourke are two dependable veterans of the screen. Their resulting outputs of the past few years are a sign that they either need better agents or have interests elsewhere. These are easy putdowns to a wider problem, one that contains within it a desire to return to the resounding success of the 1990s action flick. Just one of many issues plaguing that is the sincere lack of variety now found. Section 8 is another drab and seemingly incomplete feature that preys on the redundant tropes and throes of straight-to-streaming movies.
But should any less be expected than blind patriotism and villainous stereotypes from director Christian Sesma? If Paydirt is anything to go by, then no. There is a polished quality here that at least shows improvement. But improving on the crass tones of Paydirt is no feat of endurance. Despite one less Val Kilmer on the cast, Section 8 improves itself by bulking up on former action faces and failing stars. Rourke and Lundgren are essential to working this piece, one that hopes to glide through on star power alone. Yet still, the problem remains. Section 8 is horrifically light on action. Its static shots are shaky and at times cut into with what appears to be stock footage and placeholder shots of cars driving, planes flying or smoke machines gone wild.
To be fair though, the action is the worst part. No encounter between two groups of rough and tough criminals needs that much of a smoke machine behind it. Symmetrical cars parked in a perfect square with nameless bad guys in front of and behind setpiece vehicles are no real surprise. There is no dynamic, no energy to the shootouts that Sesma attempts to craft. They are the usual shaky shot calamities that rival physics and common sense, with single bullets blowing out cars and a general lack of awareness seen in the face and actions of villains. Fist fights that look like they were ripped straight from the choreography of that Jason Bourne videogame, and lighting of that Xbox 360 quality too.
Section 8 plays out like a videogame at times, but with no interaction from the audience, it is hard to take an interest in the shootouts, fight scenes or general direction of the story. What little story there is overlaps the action as a nuisance rather than a necessity. Ryan Kwanten leads a feature where the action is thick and the scriptwriting is thicker. There is a fine line between how much Section 8 will really offer. It has the same pratfalls as the worst of the genre but still manages to keep itself squeaky clean with a cast list bigger than its ambition. Limited and shaky opportunities can be found within Section 8, the most minor of improvements in Sesma’s filmography, but still far away from what the budget action genre could and should be providing audiences.
