Review of Wrong Side of Town (2010) by Gina W — 10 Apr 2010

"Wrong Side of Town" was written and directed by David DeFalco and stars Rob Van Dam as Bobby, a guy from special forces in the wrong place at the wrong time (a club when he's a buff guy that hates to dance). A bad guy named Seth's dumb brother is accidentally killed after he tries to rape Bobby's wife so Seth assumes Bobby was the cause and puts a hit out on him for $100,000 for any goon that can get him.

Rob Van Dam is not believable in any regular conversations establishing relationships, but is great at taunting and clever quips in a fight. He handles the physicality of the role in the fight scenes easily due to his depth of experience. It is pretty cool when a goon called Animal shows up at a gas station and low and behold, it is the wrestler previously known as Big Daddy V or Viscera, real name Nelson Frazier Jr. (Junior to whom I can only imagine).

After enough fights and car chases late in the movie, Bobby goes to B.R./Big Ronnie played by David Bautista, another partner in special forces for help. Dave Bautista (known in the WWE is Batista) seems stronger by comparison in the acting department, mostly because all he has to do is be a tough guy and make threats. This movie is only 85 minutes long and Bautista doesn't show up until 45 minutes in so leading off with him first on the cover seems a bit misleading but he has a more imposing presence that looks better out front. Bautista isn't involved for long either, maybe 15 minutes of the film, this is really Rob Van Dam's movie even though the cover won't admit it. Ja Rule is also on the cover for some reason but shows up as one of many goons that try to take Rob Van Dam down late in the movie for about five minutes total.

There are so many obvious cliches. The boss has two bald, bearded bikers for henchmen who are as dumb as any stereotype and don't even check to see if the hero is dead before reporting back. There is an obligatory stripper club scene since they are in the "wrong side of town" complete with many topless women and lots of swearing. No wonder the WWE didn't jump up and down to produce this one since it goes against the somewhat family-friendly image they try to promote currently for their young fans.

The layout of the story is poor. For example, after an attack the two couples go to the cops and immediately change their mind about being there and ask for a ride home, the only purpose of the visit appears to be so Rob Van Dam can flash his special services badge for the camera. They are sent on their way in a taxi, not a police cruiser so that the driver can be easily corruptible after receiving a text incentive to pull over.

Another poor set-up. This smart special forces guy actually goes home while on the run where that would be a good place for the bad guys to lay in wait for him. After a lengthy scene of first aid from his wounds, he finds his daughter has been kidnapped to draw him out...Since he is at home, he can use all the special forces stuff he wants from his secret stash to come prepared, how dumb can these bad guys be? They are going after him for no reason since the brother was an idiot and they allow him every opportunity to defeat them if he wants. The "big surprise" at the end still doesn't change the stupidity of the bad guys.

The editing is poor making the action sequences seem slower. Scenes are poorly lit and it messes up the focus on the camera. The shaky handheld cam does not improve matters outside of fight scenes. Two people can be laying still having a conversation and the camera keeps wobbling. What's worse is that the story is weak, the writing is poor, and the whole thing just feels like some sort of cheap B film.

Favorite line of the movie after daughter meets Bautista: "His tattoos were awesome, I want one!".

It would be awesomely bad if it were actually awesome.