Review of Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002) by Liunaticfringe — 27 Dec 2020

Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever isn't great, but it's far from the "worst movie ever made." The fact that it stars Lucy Liu as a kick-ass assassin who, in one early sequence, escapes a squad of some 50 or so heavily-armed attackers with nothing but a couple of fight batons and the weapons that they’ve managed to drop along the way earns it a B+.

Sure, the third act is just a bunch of loud explosions, but Antonio Banderas is all scruffy and cute, and Gregg Henry plays a great smarmy bad guy, as usual. The criticism of Liu's acting is also way off base: she's playing an emotionless killer -- so guess what, there's not a lot to play.

And actually, there are a couple of nice beats where she does reveal some vulnerability. But obviously, Kaos is not exactly an actor's director, and the script does her no favors. It's just your basic over-the-top shoot-'em-up thriller.

Enjoy the nicely choreographed fight sequences and car chases, along with the always lovely Lucy Liu in bad-ass mode and call it a day.