The Disappearance of Lenka Wood (2014) User Reviews

Nothing to see here, really nothing to see

[feel-1 · 2/10 · 5 October 2014]

I didn't expect much from this film and unfortunately I was right in doing do.

The story is quite poor which makes it very easy to figure out the connection between the characters and therefore most of the plot/twist long before it is revealed.

The stereotyping is just appalling, almost about as bad as in the movie Midnight Express that was mentioned in the movie; the Turkish "bad-guys" were either pictured as steroid eating muscle bulging mountains or sly and cowardice rats.

I can't really go into the moral issue of the story without ruining the (attempt of a) plot, but I can say that it didn't make up for all the other awful aspects of the movie.

As a final remark, Mark O'Neal is about as good an actor as an average couch potato sports fan is at being one of the elite athlete he/she's watching. Just awful to watch.

Mediocre, but I've seen worse.

[chrismackey1972 · 4/10 · 6 October 2014]

It starts off with Dexter, a special forces member who would extract information from those in Iraq he felt had info the US military needed. After leaving the army, Dexter becomes engaged to Lenka, and the two decide to spend their pre-marriage honeymoon in Turkey. They go out to dinner, and Lenka tells Dexter to follow her in a few minutes, because she is going back to their place to put on something sexy for their "alone time." He does so, only to find the place a mess and Lenka is missing. A lot of the beginning has Dexter in a police interrogation room, and there are plenty of flashbacks that show what I described. When the detective leaves, Dexter beats up three policemen, with one punch for each one. His fists must be made of dynamite. lol In fact, he sees a muscle-bound Turk on the streets and knocks him out with a single punch. Rocky's lucky he never went up against this guy. haha.

I didn't think this was as bad as the reviewer Feel-1 did, but it was nothing new. Dexter reminded me a lot of Thomas Jane, and Lenka reminded me of Naomi Watts - just in how they looked. Considering that it's low budget, the cinematography was pretty good. It clocks in at 73 minutes, and it is filled with plenty of clichés. I think it's as good as this could be with the low-budget, but it's nothing new. Parts of it were very reminiscent of "Frantic" starring Harrison Ford, and "Breakdown" with Kurt Russell, both of which were obviously better in every way.

One of the overly used clichés is that the only good-guy characters in this are Americans, and one British (?) guys. All the Turks are evil. In fact, only the lead character, his dad, and his dad's friend are the only good guys in this. That used to work in movies, but the real world is hardly as black-and-white as that. I know, this isn't reality, it's just a movie. Still, I wish movie makers would try to focus on realistic story lines if they're gonna bring realistic situations into the story.

There's very little action. A lot of the time, Dexter is spying out the area he intends to invade. I've seen worse, but I've definitely seen better. There is some nudity. A woman takes off her panties, and her butt is visible. She also takes off her bra, exposing her breasts. There was a twist at the end. I suspected it in the beginning, but as the movie went on, I doubted they'd do it. But they did it. I won't spoil anything.

I gave this a 4-star rating.

YOU CAN USE YOUR OWN BLOOD

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 12 November 2018]

Dexter (Mark O'Neal) is a former special ops person who is now engaged to Lenka (Petra Bryant) a woman of Russian (?) origin. They have a pre-honeymoon in Turkey where she is abducted. The police treat Dexter as a murder suspect. Much of the film is told in flashbacks.

Yes, this is another "Taken" film as Dexter uses his skills to find his future bride. Mark O'Neal is not convincing in his role. Even Simon Phillips, who I typically love, had trouble delivering his lines convincingly. The script didn't seem tight and lacked the promise of the plot. The ending was a major WTF with a twist whose clues were sparse and ambiguous. It lacks a decent scene to make the film.

Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex. Very brief nudity (Anais Alvarado?)

Terrible in ways that would make Ed Wood proud

[adamz3998 · 1/10 · 24 October 2014]

I don't think I have the words in my vocabulary to convey how terrible this movie is. Stilted, overwrought, contrived -- even these words fall short of describing the amateurish drivel that is the screenplay for The Disappearance of Lenka Wood.

Maybe it's best to let the film speak for itself. Here is an excerpt from the second act:

Army Guy: Next time, I'll cut your leg open. Then you'll have three wounds, and only two hands. You get to choose which one stays open.

Corrupt Cop: please, ill tell you where she's being kept

Army Guy: write it down for me

Corrupt Cop: I don't have a pen!

Army Guy: You can use your own blood!

Worse than expected

[Caderrousse · 1/10 · 25 October 2014]

I expected this to be a poor movie, but it was worse than poor. According to IMDb the budget was $1.5 million but if that's the case, $1.49 million was spent on catering I think. A few things without giving away the movie to clue you in.

1 - There are guys carrying assault rifles, but they have shotgun shells around their waist.

2 - There is a rich woman with bodyguards and a chauffeur. She is being driven around in her ultra high-end $17k Hyundai Elantra.

3 - Think of the worst karaoke singer you have ever heard in your life. Well, the best actor in this move has less acting skills than that person did singing.

I must admit, I was not able to make I through the movie, it was just too terrible.

If you like suspense dramas with terrible endings - this movie is for you. (semi-spoiler)

[rickrt-125-235659 · 5/10 · 5 October 2014]

(May contain minor spoilers) I would have given this movie 8 out of 10 if it had followed the standard stolen loved one and retrieval formula with a good dose of payback to the bad guys of other similar type genres, but I found the ending to be quite disturbing and just a terrible let down. The story creates too strong of a facade for the main character edging you to believe in them as a true hero. Instead you find yourself wronged and feeling like a jerk for being on the "dark sides" team the whole time. I'm not saying that people wouldn't enjoy 90% of this movie, but I'd bet that a majority of viewers will wish they could get back the 1 ½ hours in their life they will feel they've wasted after reaching the end.

Twisting but working?

[kosmasp · 3/10 · 10 January 2015]

This might seem like a standard thriller/movie, but maybe it does have at least something that will surprise you. Just the fact that we do get a bit of a back-story through flashbacks from our main character, to show where he came from, is the movie trying to show you, that it is more than just that one plot (described very neatly in the actually long title of the movie).

The acting is below average at best, but the ending might either fool you into liking this more or make you hate it, because you don't like it. So it's a make or break and while I have seen worse movies than this, it is pretty low standard and has not many things to savor ...

The Disappearance Of Lenka Wood

[a_baron · 3/10 · 29 May 2015]

If you like action, you may like this film, the hero - or is he? - is a US soldier/special agent who could give James Bond and Arnold Schwazenegger a run for their money and then some. He and his future wife decide to take their honeymoon before tying the knot, and she chooses Turkey where she is abducted while he finds himself accused of her murder.

Apart from the brutality of the police - three of whom are no match for him - Turkey sounds like a fun place to live. Even a humble barman has a palatial home, everybody speaks English, and there is a nice quiet toilet in the discotheque where you can torture and murder a police gopher, after you've drowned the barman in his swimming pool.

There is a twist in the final scene that gives the game away, this is not so much an action film as a political statement, but the long, circuitous route taken to make it beggars belief.

The True Story of War and Revenge

[drhall-672-138129 · 7/10 · 12 July 2017]

"Disappearane of Lenka Wood" Mark O'Neal as intel recon soldier Dexter was not typical Segal slash and burn! Unusual movie explaining in detail the uncertainty and constant questions of how war can damage both sides as in the physical and mental sense. Well crafted and directed, good cinema work with a minimum of talk, talk, talk! Tom Turner coordinated dialogue with Simon Philips, producer and created a first rate movie relying on a steady stream of flashback cuts. Akbar Kurtha came off as a really good bad guy on one hell'va revenge mission, which was explained last minute of movie. Damn good job too.

Oh, yes, what a crap, but a good one.

[searchanddestroy-1 · 20 March 2016]

I begin to know who Paul Tanter is; it's a sort of British Uwe Boll, a director who gives us interesting schemes, such as this one, with a TERRIFIC twist ending, but so badly made, acted and edited. Paul Tanter is probably the worst film maker UK has ever had, but I always enjoy his films. They are enjoyable, corny but watchable, silly but surprising at moments you would never guess. This movie is very offbeat, because it points out the torture American soldiers did in Irak against, native and hostile prisoners. Do not watch it as a masterpiece but a better than expected, announced and commented grade B picture.

Yes, don't be angry with me, but I love this crap, and I recommend it. That's the way I am. Always fair and objective. I don't confound a film I like with a good movie, or a movie I dislike with a bad movie. Unlike so many folks unfortunately do.

But I admit that the best part of the film is during the last five minutes.