Showdown in Manila (2016) User Reviews

This really is the poor mans Expendables.....

[FlashCallahan · 3/10 · 15 May 2016]

And if you think that sounds bad, wait until you try and make sense of the 'plot'.

The main star of the film is someone you've probably never heard of, and he gets shot by Matthias Hues and Shang Tsung from Mortal Kombat.

Then we flash forward however long it is, and now he's working with Casper Van Dien as private investigators.

To cut a long story short, Tia Carrere is married to Mark Dacascos, they are on holiday, for some reason Matthias Hues and Shang kill him, so she goes to them so they can capture them.

The film is totally incoherent, and unfortunately, an uneventful mess. It's clear from the beginning that this was someone's dream project, and after the success of The Expendables, why not get the best of the straight to Video action stars of the early 1990's?

Well they do, but only in the final third, when Dacascos (who directed this) decides to turn the final act into a rip off of the rescue mission in Predator.

It's all lethargically done, the action is below par, and despite having all these martial artists involved, the action sequences are really poorly done, and the CGI explosions are laughable.

What should have been a big slice of nostalgia, turns into nothing but a chore to get through.

And it's really only worth watching to see just how out favourite C-list action stars of yesteryear have changed.

And for at least three of them, the years have not been kind.

You'll be desperate to see Wayne's World after this....

Showdown Dosn't Work

[mikecanmaybee · 2/10 · 29 March 2020]

At least we know who should play in the life and times of Imelda that being Tia Carrere (Ms. Wells) who all of a sudden is looking a bit maidenly. Ms Carrera however was by far the best actor in this mess. Alex Nevski (Nick) should stick to being a thug rather then a depressing leading man. Even Veteran Casper Van Dien (Nick) was off key in a part that only Dirk Benedict could love. Everybody else was forgettable and struggling with a script that could have used a couple of rewrites. Nick's girlfriend Sofia (Maria Bravikova) pop's in from time to time and seems to be from a different movie, it is weird. The only good things about Showdown in Manila are - the music is not bad, the ending had some finality, and sniper Victor (Dmitriy Dyuzhev) looks a lot like a young Martin Landau, but other then that don't waist your time.

Look away. You don't want to see this.

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 7 January 2018]

Nick (Alexander Nevsky) is an ex-cop who got his unit killed through his own bad judgment. Nick delivers his few lines as if he is Arnold and not that well. He teams up as a private detective with Charlie (Casper Van Dien) a former LA cop and self described sex addict. They are being paid by the wife of a dead FBI agent (Tia Carrere) to capture the killers. They also happen to be the same guys who killed Nick's team.

The film is straight forward without any twists. Charlie being a sex addict provides for some minor humor, but the joke only works a few times before it gets old. Alexander Nevsky simply can't act, but then again how many tough guys can? It was like watching a Steven Seagal movie without Steven Seagal.

Guide: No swearing or sex. Possible distant nipple slip, otherwise no nudity. Girls bras/panties.

Sort of a watered down version of "The Expendables"...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 8 July 2018]

Right, well the reason for why I picked up this movie was because it had Mark Dacascos in it. Boy was I surprised to find out that he had less than five minutes of screen time in the entire movie.

Well, this 2016 action movie definitely bears traces of wanting to pick up or cash in on the success of "The Expendables", by trying to put together an all who-was-sort-of-semi-big-in-the-late-eighties-action-stars. But these were not the blockbuster stars of the late eighties action movies, but the ones from the lower rated and smaller budgets. This includes Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Cynthia Rothrock and Olivier Gruner. But honestly, it was actually a blast to have these former semi-big action stars come together in a movie such as this.

As for the lead cast of Alexander Nevsky and Casper Van Dien, well I was familiar with Casper Van Dien of course. But Alexander Nevsky I have never heard about, and he fared well enough, despite only having one expression for most of the scenes that he did. But a movie such as this runs on action and adrenaline, so the inability to put on a thesbian performance was sort of alright here.

There is a good amount of action throughout the movie, which is also what keeps the movie afloat. As for the storyline and plot, well it was entertaining, but it was on the simpler side, so don't expect to be mentally challenged.

It was also nice to see Tia Carrere in the movie as well as Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.

An entertaining enough movie for what it turned out to be. Worth watching once if you enjoy a good old action movie.

Worse than inexplicably bad

[peter07 · 1/10 · 28 February 2017]

I saw this movie via my satellite TV's movie package, and it was such a waste of 90 minutes of my life. The movie drew me with its cast of former action stars Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Cynthia Rothrock and Oliver Gruner plus Tia Carrere but gosh, the (lack of) acting, plot, flow and everything else made it one of the worst movies ever. Please do yourself a huge favor and avoid this turkey.

crap movie made by a Russian fake bodybuilder Arnold-wannabe

[mangkaynor · 1/10 · 14 May 2016]

Man the actors in this movie must've really been hurting for money. The plot seems like it was copied and chopped from much better movies. The lead actor tries way too hard to copy Arnold's speech-pattern and mannerisms. I'd like to know why Dacascos had anything to do with this movie, frankly it stinks and most of the actors seem to know it. Avoid at all costs. Tia Carera looks like an old worn out porn actress showing off some droopy cleavage. Don Wilson hops around like a lame rabbit. The local filipinas are portrayed mostly as hookers and bar girls as is the norm in these cheap productions. Tagawa looks like he's semi-conscious in most of the scenes he's in. Casper tries to act but given that the material is garbage its a wasted effort. The ending is just a whole bag of stupid. Where does this Russian guy get the money to fund these movies? I suspect he's a crony capitalist or has connections with the old Russian govt.

Honestly it wasn't that bad and it had some great action scenes...

[mariokartlover · 5/10 · 4 December 2019]

Ok. The middle part of this movie was terrible. I even considered turning the movie off. But aside from all of that, the beginning and the end (the first 25 minutes and the last 30 minutes) were pretty good. Those scenes were not too boring, included lots of action, and the acting wasn't that bad. A lot of the time. Keep in mind that I said a lot of the time. Because there was one actor (the main actor in the movie, Alexander Nevsky) who was absolutely horrible. He has only been in a few films ever, does not even speak good English (he has a Russian accent so it is occasionally difficult to understand what he is saying), and simply looks bored when killing the bad guys. On the plus side, he is not seen much in the action scenes, only moreso in the middle of the movie. To conclude, I think this film should be watched at least once, as some parts of it were very enjoyable, and at the end, the fifteen minute long fight scene with guns and explosions is one that I just can't stop watching.

basic redbox type flick

[jamesfortankiy · 2/10 · 30 July 2018]

If you go in with lowx epectations you won't be as disappointed. Tia Carrere the once knock down gorgeous chick from Waynes world, is now pushing 52 and gets about a 1/5th a 'schwinn' in this flick. The lead is a horrible Arnold imitator. Not a good flick by any stretch of the imagination; I only tuned in for the gorgeous chick in the above trailer hoping they're be other beautiful Filipinas...

It's A Wanna Be Ensemble Action film like Expendables

[nikola17 · 5/10 · 25 December 2016]

first of all trailer and actors the style of movie looks like cheap version of Expendables movie. Mark Dacascos as a director is terrible. as a actor doing Martial Arts and action everything is great !! about what is most terrible thing about movie is writing of movie sucked is only thing is cast in movie are not really part of movie the guys who were only part of movie is Alexander Nevsky and Casper Van Dien are only guys part of movie. In Expendables for example they show everyone but in this movie NO it's 2 guys they only show the rest don't appear like almost to end of movie. the story follows in Raid Team Nick Peyton (Alexander Nevsky)was SWAT Team in Manila working in it to catch Aldric Cole

(Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa)is main villain and his Henchmen trying to be like Steve Austin Character in first Expendables(Matthias Hues)Dorn in movie as always all raid team got killed the only one is left is Nick was shot and he Survived. 2 years later Here you go Crying Freeman (1995), Drive (1997), Cradle 2 the Grave (2003) (Mark Dacascos) Matthew Wells in film he directed and act in and Showdown in Little Tokyo, True Lies, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (Tia Carrere)Mrs. Wells is in it this playing her husband going for a holiday The action your going to have last for second is Mark Dacascos character killed 3 guys then he's character gets killed off buy Aldric Cole now Mrs Wells wants revenge she goes up to these Private detectives Nick (Alexander Nevsky) and Charlie (Casper Van Dien) oh look it's Starship troopers live and work in Manila. A murder investigation leads them to the jungle camp of an international terrorist called The Wrath what a lazy as name called Wrath for the group villain leaders. Nick and Charlie agrees to do mission to catch the guys who tied to kill him, in movie the actors you might think everyone is in it like part of movie but the only actors who is part of is only Alexander Nevsky and Casper Van Dien are only guys who is part of it none of another actors Don The Dragon Wilson,

Olivier Gruner, Cynthia Rothrock they don't appear at final showdown of movie. in all movie its just Alexander Nevsky and Casper Van Dien are looking and Investigating to find the guys who were involved is Aldric Cole and Dein doesn't do much in movie only thing is he gets into fight for second with Casper character then Alexander knocks him out that's it he gets arrested he doesn't do anything in movie. the action is lazy not very well made but why could off the budget could been a bigger movie you have the final showdown at end of jungle this is when Don The Dragon Wilson, Olivier Gruner, Cynthia Rothrock they appear at final showdown in a very well great place to shoot a action movie if it was a BIG BUDGET movie but its a very low budget movie with fake shoot outs, fake blood spatters, fake Explosions now i love action scenes at jungle or like rip off of the rescue mission like in Predator in jungle scene and Welcome to the jungle AKA Rundown in jungle that's where Aldric Cole is hiding they found they were Hiding in Jungle. one final showdown they had a M60 Machine gun shooting around but it didn't last long. Don Dragon Wilson kicks ass in movie but not for long but no stunts for him but i can see a lot of stunts in movie Cynthia and Oliver fights in movie you do see them fight but you can see Cynthia background fighting so its not her there is too many stunts in movie come on final showdown has few another explosions that's it the hand grenades are so fake. movie didn't do anything its not worst movie but it's fun to see these actors back but they don't appear until at very end of showdown. Mark Dacascos doesn't know how to direct or write movie i don't know why he got himself as character killed when he is not in movie he is in it for 30 seconds then he got killed off i don't know why he really did that he could be lazy ass can't be bothered or been lead star in film like his old films i love and liked his old staff that's what got Me Interested but then got me Disappointed it got all the other fans Disappointed rather then getting Alexander Nevsky why could of they get Jean Claude Van Damme or Dolph Lundgren as Lead but Alexander Nevsky was OK but not great. Mark Dacacos is great as actor and Martial Arts but for directing makes everyone disappointed i was thinking of John woo to direct movie rather then Mark he is terrible writer terrible director why ? the action is good and it's good to have Don The Dragon Wilson,Olivier Gruner, Cynthia Rothrock back in one movie they don't appear until at end of showdown what a sad thing they all could been apart of movie specially Mark Dacascos if you want movie like this stick with watching Expendables 1-3 Stallone is better director, writer and has better idea's then Mark. Mark Dacascos Said i wanna make movie like this but complete Epic fail. 5.10 but why is this so cheap why could been different director big budget like Expendables better story but Mark Dacascos Lazy directing with lazy action expect at final showdown ending in Jungle. and it's a movie is just good for time waster that's all i can say it's not like your gonna watch more then million times it's your opinion not mine.

HORRIBLE TRASH.

[maxworld-85941 · 1/10 · 25 April 2020]

Just another Nevsky-Kurytsin lame movie making attempt. Talentless in all ways, pointless and ridiculously stupid. See for yourself.

met my expectation and was entertaining

[moberg_clifton · 8/10 · 27 December 2017]

I liked watching this film. The casting was normal as would be found among people on the good side and people on the bad side as to be found in a somewhat still 3rd world country. I rented the film hoping to see some of modern manila; most was market places and industrial buildings; so, although colorful, this didn't provide much of a travel-log set of scenes. But there was good variety of the faces on the screen and the dialog plus humor was all natural and appreciated. Hollywood has pretty weird plots nowadays, and this film was not too heavy handed. Good guys die all at once initially, and from then on, the toll taken is strictly on the criminals. It was advertised as disclosing terrorist activity; however, that aspect never was brought up. There seemed to be no religious themes at all in the movie. The film did not have night scenes which I think are much too much overdone in most action films currently made. Music was good with the film and I can't remember being offended by any profanity. Although the chief criminal -- whose name never could be clearly heard in the dialogue (Wrath) -- was a drug producer, there was no overt scene showing drug use. I also welcome this. The sidekick investigator had good lines and he complemented the most-often stone-faced lead male player. They seemed always working together so the "happy medium" of the good guys always seemed personable. The ending was a bit of a shock, but if someone is going to pay one hundred thousand dollars to have this "Wrath" criminal captured, I guess there should be a little allowance for overkill, so to speak. Jungle scenes were colorful, scenic, and not frightening. The writer and director did more than adequate job and performing, only the police force actors actually over-acted a bit and tension being built seemed somewhat far-fetched. The young female informant did a cute job and her lines added to a bit of confidence that movie was headed towards a good resolution. The girlfriend of the Russian star has a somewhat European face and I enjoyed fitting all her features, voice, teeth, nose together to total up to a girl this strong star would desire and kiss on screen. I liked the film. I'll watch it a second time tomorrow.

Showdown In Manila was a pleasant surprise.

[tarbosh22000 · 6/10 · 9 November 2020]

Nick Peyton (Nevsky) and Charlie Benz (Van Dien) are buddies and private detectives, but they seem more like mercenaries. After her beloved husband, Matthew Wells (Dacascos), is slaughtered by some baddies, including Dorn (Hues), a certain Mrs. Wells (Carrere) pays a visit to Nick and Charlie. She wants both answers and revenge, so she goes with the best. It turns out the super-evil Aldric Cole (Tagawa) is behind all the chaos. One of the smarter moves made by Peyton and Benz includes calling in some most excellent reinforcements: Haines (Rothrock), Dillon (The Dragon), and Ford (Gruner). What will happen after the SHOWDOWN IN MANILA?



Showdown In Manila was a pleasant surprise. As it is the long-awaited directorial debut of Mark Dacascos, we knew he wouldn't let us down, and he didn't. The man knows too much about what works and what doesn't work in the world of action movies to really produce a dud. As it was produced, in part, by Dacascos, Nevsky, and Andrzej Bartkowiak, and features a lot of the same cast members, this could have been another Maximum Impact (2017). Thankfully, it isn't. It's a lot better. It's snappier, shorter, and the humor works a lot more. It mercifully doesn't include Tom Arnold making references to his bladder.



Even the setting of the Philippines is a nod to the golden age of action in the 70's and 80's, as is the title, which is reminiscent of Showdown In Little Tokyo (1991), Showdown (1993), or pretty much any action movie in the past where people were having some sort of showdown. It seemed to happen a lot back then.



Clearly, the standout aspect of 'Manila is its stellar cast. For our two main heroes, we have the power team we've all been waiting to see together - Nevsky and Van Dien. Both are likable and they make a great duo. For some reason Nevsky seems to get a lot of "shade" online but we think he's a solid action presence and has a Schwarzenegger-esque sense of humor. He doesn't seem to take himself too seriously, but he can still give the baddies a quality pounding. Nevsky should have been around in the 80's, but now that he's in our era, he can act as a sort of "throwback" action star of the type we're more used to.







Matthias Hues feels like an old friend at this point, and Tagawa always - ALWAYS - plays the baddie. He must have that kind of face. Carrere isn't hunting relics anymore and it was nice to see her (and she was, of course, in the aforementioned Showdown In Little Tokyo, as was Tagawa). Things pick up when our heroes meet up with the reinforcements in the jungle. Seeing fan favorites Rothrock, The Dragon, and Gruner shooting and fighting people in the jungle really brought us back. It's a direct reference to the 80's and early 90's. There just should have been less (or, ideally, no) CGI or questionable muzzle flashes. But that's a minor quibble when we see our favorite stars back in action. Literally.



The three reinforcements should have had more screen time, but we're happy with what we have. While they're all wearing camo in the jungle, including Rothrock, her bright pink hair streaks kind of defeat that purpose...but it's all part of the fun. The movie is filled with silly shootouts and amusing humor. It would've gone to theaters in the 80's for sure.



Featuring the T.a.T.u-esque theme song, "Another Life" by Polina Butorina (who was in both this and Maximum Impact and sings both theme tunes), Showdown In Manila is about as close as we're going to come these days to golden era-style action, and we applaud Nevsky, Dacascos, and the gang for that. We say keep 'em coming.

Putrid, dull, very poorly made in too many ways

[I_Ailurophile · 1/10 · 16 May 2022]

Within a very short time of starting to watch, this movie made three distinct impressions. The first was to reflect that I had low expectations, so the good news was I wouldn't be disappointed. The second was that this is unmistakably a paycheck film, a production that its biggest stars and most others surely signed onto to help pay the bills, and for no other reason. The third was that some individuals working in the film industry, whether as actors, stunt people, writers, or otherwise, are able to very adeptly make a shift to the director's chair - but Mark Dacascos does not appear to be one of those individuals. One or two moments elicit a short laugh, but that's mostly on account of Casper Van Dien leaning into his character, who is seemingly written primarily as comic relief - but even that becomes overbearing after a point. One or two shots seem particularly well done, if unremarkable in the grand scheme of things, but many other instances seem imitative and derivative. I would love to say that I have more concrete praise to offer, but I really don't: 'Showdown in Manila' is... Well, it's not a movie you need to watch. Ever.

Even including Van Dien and his character Charlie, dialogue mostly varies from boorish, to tired, to dull. Scene writing varies from boorish, to tired, to dull. Characters range from boorish, to blase, to flat. There's nothing whatsoever in the narrative to meaningfully grab one's attention. With four brief sentences I've succinctly described Craig Hamann's screenplay, and it's not worthwhile to expound upon it any further except to note more than a few tropes, including one or two racist ones. Dacascos' direction is truly no better. The fundamental orchestration of almost every shot and scene feels lethargic and soporific, if not stilted - and that most definitely includes scenes with any measure of action or violence. I can't speak for every actor on hand, but there are a few noteworthy names here whose skill I recognize - so for the fact that they are shoved into a small corner that reduces their performances to either unbothered, lackadaiscal daydreaming or egregious overacting, with no middle ground, I assume Dacascos' inexperienced guiding hand is to blame. On the other hand, leading man Alexander Nevsky seems as stone-faced, wooden, and unmoving as John Wayne or Steven Seagal, illustrating acting one or two steps down from even that of his constrained co-stars. Ugh.

Whatever the tone of a given scene, or its content, the intended stimulation is so heavily squashed by flagging pacing and flailing direction that one may fairly wonder if 'Showdown in Manila' weren't intended as a deadpan parody of its brethren. For every inclusion that should offer a spark of joy, others cancel them out as questionable and unnecessary. What levity we get can't begin carry the film. The cast is utterly wasted, so one shouldn't get too excited that, say, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is involved, or Cynthia Rothrock. Even supposing that action scenes did serve up appropriate levels of excitement - and they emphatically do not - the rest of the picture drags them down. The nearest this comes to offering any invigoration at all is in the hand-to-hand combat we see at the climax, but the arrangement of these moments is so blunt as to diminish their impact. I don't even know if I can rightly say that the feature is well made from a technical standpoint, as special effects are dubious, sound design feels indifferent, Sean Murray's music is bland, and even props and costume design seem to have been approached with a mindset of "Hmm, yes, this looks very paramilitary."

I want so badly to say there was something about this to stick out to me, in a positive way, that would save the whole from sinking to the bottom of the barrel. But there just wasn't. From start to finish 'Showdown in Manila is endlessly tedious, and altogether lacks color or flavor - which is, genuinely, preferable to moments that outright leave a bad taste in our mouth. There are no highlights; on the other hand, I'm not sure whose specific contribution is more rotten. Whatever it was about this title that drew you in - as someone who has watched many movies of a wide range of genres and quality, let me assure you that there's just no reason to watch this. Whatever you're looking for, it can be found elsewhere in much greater abundance, with much more value. Even if you're a diehard fan of someone involved in the production, 'Showdown in Manila' isn't a movie that anyone needs to see.

Fun ending, shame about the first hour

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 11 August 2019]

SHOWDOWN IN MANILA is another cheap digital thriller that throws a handful of has-been action stars into a non-existent story of revenge, drug smuggling and the usual heroes battling bad guy gangs. This one was directed by Mark Dacascos, and I'm glad to see that it's thus far his sole directing credit because he shows little affinity for the task. He also has a small but welcome cameo in the movie, playing the husband of TRUE LIES actress Tia Carrere.

The first hour of the story is a real slog to sit through and totally uninteresting. Russian hardman Alexander Nevsky joins forces with middle-aged American cop Casper Van Dien to hunt the usual bad guys, including German hulk Matthias Hues and the ubiquitous Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. The last half hour picks up a bit and turns into an EXPENDABLES copy in the Filipino jungle, except instead of A-list stars you get the B-list roll-out here: Cynthia Rothrock, Olivier Gruner and Don "The Dragon" Wilson all show up for some jungle hijinks. A pity the rest of the film wasn't more like the last twenty minutes, because then it could have been interesting.

Low Budget Expendables with a charisma black hole lead actor. Yikes !

[destroyerwod · 3/10 · 12 April 2023]

Showdown in Manila at first glance may remind you of The Expendables, but instead of the 80s and early 90s big action stars like Arnold and Sly, it use the "direct to video category". I am not saying this negatively as i for one enjoyed these type of movies. I had fun with Cynthia Rothrock, Don The Dragon Wilson, Olivier Gruner and Mark Dacascos action movies. Sadly, these peoples are barely anymore than an extended cameo for the first 3 and a litteral cameo for the last as Dacascos is actually the director of the movie and his poster appearence is completely misleading.

The movie instead follow Alexander Nevsky as the main character Nick Peyton. Imagine taking Arnold Schwarzenegger but basically stripping all the charisma and one liners from his characters. Thats pretty much what remain there. Nevsky speak with a huge accent making his dialogues hard to understand, but the biggest offender is that he has absolutely no charisma or acting skills. The Terminator showed more personality than his character.

Casper Van Dien plays his partner in the detective agency and is by far the best actor in the whole movie. He tries his best to add charisma and personality to it but thats sadly feel like trying to light a piece of paper in a water bucket.

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Mattias Hues plays the villains and they do fine altough i felt they were wasted overall.

The story ain't nothing special, and i supose with better writing, acting and charisma it would had been alright to hold us til the climax, but in its current state it was litteraly a chore to sit trough. By the time you reach said climax you just wish the movie was over.

Dacascos direction when it comes to action was ...fine i guess, even tough the limited budget clearly showed its ugly head, but i felt like he watched Nevsky deliver his line like a robot and was like "thats a wrap, great take". I just can't understand how they could look at this and think it would pass.

I really wish i would had liked this movie, and don't get me wrong i was not expecting theatre quality in term of budget and action, and i was more than fine with these actors "very average acting skills". I never watched a Don The Dragon movie for his acting. That said the movie would had improved a lot if he had been the main character cause his acting is several steps above M. Nevsky.

This movie was litteraly on Youtube completely free (sadly with no subtitles, wich made a lot of the dialogue of Nevsky hard to understand for a non english native as i am) so i can't be too harsh on it i guess as it didn't cost me anything. But if i always enjoyed owning and putting back once in a while an old Bloodfist or China O'Brien, Showdown in Manila is one movie i never intend to rewatch.

best movie ever

[awesomeposo · 10/10 · 19 January 2022]

Only God and Alexander Nevsky (which are practically synonymous) know how I, along with all the viewers of our vast country, was waiting for this film. And this, of course, is an understatement - I think this film was expected all over the world. Alexander Nevsky is an amazing person in the domestic show business. I'm not afraid of this word - a master, a creator, a person who has achieved everything that is possible, but retained that amazing modesty inherent in a true genius. He adequately carries the light of his creative thought through the years, bypassing the malicious 'sofa' critics who do not understand anything in high art. 'Showdown in Manila' is a new film by a now recognized master, and this is a new era not only in his work, but in the history of cinema as a whole.

I am extremely sorry that Alexander Nevsky did not act as a director or screenwriter of this picture. His exciting ideas and directing style would have made 'Showdown in Manila' an even higher level film. By 'director's style' I mean that unique technique used in the great film 'Black Rose' - city views. But, fortunately, Mr. Nevsky acted in this film as a producer and performer of one of the roles, for which special thanks to him - I can't imagine how this picture could do without the brilliant acting of Kur ... sorry, Nevsky. If until recently the viewer could doubt the acting talent of Mr. Nevsky, now even the most ardent skeptics will finally believe and give a standing ovation. Russian Schwarzenegger - this is what the spiteful critics said about him, but now the time has come when the student has surpassed his teacher a hundred times. The emotions that Alexander conveys cannot leave you indifferent. His fear, horror, sadness, joy, an approving smile... His eyes literally look into the very soul from the screen, you empathize with him with all your heart, shudder from every blow that falls on his character. Isn't this great art, gentlemen?! Movie Magic! Magic Nevsky!

I can sing praises to the great Alexander for a long time (sometimes you catch yourself thinking that it was not just that he received this surname in honor of the Grand Duke ... but he could have been some kind of Kuritsyn), but it is worth noting a very high-quality and solid script . The story of two friends Nick and Charlie is very touching and interesting. I really want to watch the interweaving of the plot, I want to guess what will happen next. But, again, if this script fell into the talented strong hands of Nevsky, it would acquire a completely new sound. And so a very entertaining story came out, which absorbed all the classic tricks from famous action movies. But specifically in this film, they played with new colors. Very, very strong and interesting script.

It is worth noting the excellent quality of shooting. The work of the operator is grandiose, these are not the tops of the trees from the 'Survivor'! A very nice atmospheric shade of the frame, interesting scenery, beautiful costumes that Del Toro would envy. You can see right away what a great job. I watched this film at the cinema and enjoyed it immensely, fortunately, I was the only one in the hall, and no 'critics' could stop me. There was a desire to even watch the credits as a sign of respect, but unfortunately, I didn't feel well - this film is so catchy! I advise you to watch this movie at home in order to avoid a nervous breakdown, because you will not be able to calmly react to the ongoing magnificent action.

In the end, I want to say that the long-awaited 'Showdown in Manila' is a new stage in the work of Alexander Nevsky and film production in general. Yes, we complain that Hollywood has been producing few quality films in recent years, but this film was worth the wait. For me, as well as for many of my compatriots, this is the main discovery of 2016, this is a reason for pride that there are still such creators in our country! Bravo, Nevsky!

And remember, my friends - vodka is inside, and a bottle is outside!

10 of 10.

Not as bad as expected

[tomatespelados-40-292979 · 6/10 · 2 October 2018]

In my daily work I stumble upon many awful action films and I've seen them far worse than this, even with a way fatter budget. This one is a correct homage to 80's martial arts and action flicks and its quality is honestly in line with those one, not being a good or great movie by any means, but at least entertaining and fun.

Could have been good TV show in 1995-2005

[SaintNinja · 10/10 · 19 September 2021]

This is not The Expendables. More like Thunder in Paradise TV pilot, but cancelled. By the way, Showdown is directorial debut of martial arts legend Mark Dacascos. Doesn't sound good, right? Two lead actors are ok. Casper is underused master of suspense acting, Alexander is big and calm guy. I would surely watch TV series based on this detective duo, but the movie itself is too short and feels unfinished. Couple of scenes with legendary action stars doesn't help much. Nevertheless, I give 5 for beautiful nature of Philippines and another 5 for the nostalgia. 10/10.