Mikes Film Talk

The 2024 Action/Thriller The Bouncer has a doorman from the nightclub heading to the street. He is in a fight for his life and the woman he’s rescued. This is almost like a low budget version of John Wick. While Keanu Reeves, John Ozuna ain’t, he does a pretty good job playing the bouncer with a heart.

The Bouncer Story

Frank Sharp, an expat with a past, lives and works in Romania. While working as a bouncer, he crosses a Romanian Mafia boss. He decides to save a Russian sex worker and the two go on the run.

The Bouncer Cast

John Ozuna is Frank Sharp.

Costas Mandylor is Kane.

Rosmary Yaneva is Silvia.

Simon Phillips is Carl.

Vincent Rivera is Zandor.

Massimiliano Cerchi is gun dealer.

Let’s Talk

Director, and co-writer, Massimiliano Cerchi (He shares credit with Adrian Milnes.) give us a bargain basement version of a kick arse character. Sharp is a throwback to the old Jean-Claude Van Damme days of chopping first and asking questions later.

In this world though, the toughs are Russian mafia members and their earnings come from human trafficking and drugs. They also seem to have a death grip on gun distribution.

The acting may be a tad below par here, but, the fight sequences are spot on. There are no clear misses or sloppy executions. It is easy to see that Ozuna is a real life master of the craft. Vincent Rivera does a brilliant job on all the stunts in the film.

Some Off Putting Moments

There is at least one jarring moment in terms of action sequences. In the shootout taking place in the parking garage, the blood splatters make no sense. I also personally had an issue with all the dialogue sounding “dubbed.” *This was a problem I had with The Last Gunfight. This may be a looping thing. *

It Works, But

The Bouncer works. Sure the acting is uneven. Not all actors are created equal and some are better than others. Simon Phillips is head and shoulders above his peers in the film. His performance has layers and it helps the overall feeling of the film.

Mandylor is, unfortunately, a “one trick pony” Here. His character has been painted into a metaphorical corner. He is incredibly good at being angry and threatening. However, that is all he is really allowed to do.

Yaneva looks far too similar to Angelina Jolie to take seriously and sadly, she does not share Jolie’s acting chops.

Ozuna, for all his impressive action skills, lacks the acting depth to bring his character fully to life. The delivery is wooden and lacks emotional feeling.

For all that, the film works on many levels. The gore factor is pretty low and the fight scenes, as I’ve said, are impressive.

Distaste?

The Bouncer doesn’t appear to have rated very high with anyone. Rotten Tomatoes has not given it any type of score; critic or audience. It has not gotten a “zero” but instead, rather insultingly, its not been scored at all.

I did find it entertaining. Could it have been better? In terms of story, not really. Sadly, it is the acting that leaves the entire enterprise wanting. It is watchable though and certainly no worse than many “Drive-in” flicks I watched in the 70’s. The Bouncer also, to me at any rate, has the feel of a Spaghetti Western. It may be down to the “dubbing” issue, but the soundtrack also evokes this sort of response.

The Verdict

The film easily earns a 3 star ranking. It is not perfect but it is certainly not horrible. With a runtime of 78 minutes it is not a complete waste of time. It is streaming on Prime, Tubi and Roku right now. Check it out and see what you think.

*For the record, there is no sex, or nudity. There is very little bad language and the violence is not “in your face.” The entire fam could watch this one with no real qualms about content.*