‘The Assault’ DVD Review
Stars: Tom Sizemore, Kevin Nash, Jordan Ladd, Nikki Moore, Thyme Lewis, David Gere, Tom DeNucci, Lindsay Lamb, Nicole Bardis, Lester Keefe | Written by Jacob Cooney, Bill Hanstock, George Saunders | Directed by Jacob Cooney
Jacob Cooney and his 3 Headed Shark Attack co-writer Bill Hanstock, re-team for a low-budget action revenge drama The Assault, aka Blue Line – which sees two friends, Lindsey and Nicole – fed up with their current state in life and wanting more – seek revenge against Lindsey’s abusive husband Seth. Hatching a plan to rob Seth of his fortune and skip town for good, the girls find themselves on the run after their plan goes south. With a local detective on their tail and their friendship failing with every turn, can Lindsey and Nicole reach their goal of the perfect life, or will their plan lead to their demise?
Oh how we love a clever bit of marketing… Judging by the DVD cover art, and the new UK retitle for that matter, you’d expect The Assault to be some kind of female-led take on Michael Mann’s Heat – but obviously on a lower budget (this is direct to DVD after all). However this is less Heat and more cold; as in ice cold, but less because this film is set in winter and more in the way this film left me feeling. For like many a low budget affair, The Assault uses name recognition to bring in the audience rather than have them invest in the films characters or story.
Kevin Nash’s role is merely an extended cameo role, where the former professional wrestler gets to look badass, have a [small] fight with one of our heroines and then take a bullet “from a broad”! [Sidenote: Nash is not the only wrestler to appear in The Assault – keep your eye out for the likes of Tommy Dreamer]. Meanwhile Tom Sizemore, who ACTUALLY starred in Michael Mann’s Heat, gets a much more meatier role than we’ve been used to seeing. His character, Detective Broza – a jittery, always on edge, cop just transferred from New York to this small town, is central to the films plot and for once Sizemore appears to actually not be phoning this one in. THough I don’t know about anyone else, but it seemed like he’d created an entire backstory for his character, that no one has told the audience about though – complete with odd mannerisms and a verbal delivery that boarders on manic!
I’m sorry to say that of the rest of the cast there’s absolutely zero empathy built up for any of the characters, including our two female leads. Hell, even Jordan Ladd’s beaten wife doesn’t ring true – it’s an odd case of acting really coming across on camera as acting. There’s no believeability at all. I do commend Cooney for wanting to make a film that has two strong female leads, it’s just that the finished product doesn’t portray them as such. In fact it’s not until the concluding moments of The Assault that our two leads actually get the least bit interesting… but by then its too little too late unfortunately.
Probably one for Sizemore completists only, The Assault is out now on DVD from 101 Films.
