This dull Dutch produced techno/corporate/International/assassin/revenge/slick action film is a mind-numbingly bad little thriller. It combines a heavy dose of cliché with a too complicated plot lead by yawn inducing characters. Soul Assassin is neither a decadent, over-the-top-action vehicle or a terribly interesting, smart one either... The premise is about Kevin Burke (Skeet Ulrich) a security agent for a huge multinational banking firm that isn't above making dangerous deals with the wealthy and powerful. On the eve of his promotion, he proposes to his girlfriend, who also works for the company, only for her to get assassinated mere moments later. He soon finds out that she was involved in some of the companies shady business, and his trail to hunt down her killers leads him to an Interpol agent (Kristy Swanson) and further uncovering the corporations treachery, putting his life in more danger.

It doesn't take long to figure out Soul Assassin (2001) was the product of a commercial/video directors vision. From the start, director/writer/producer Laurence Malkin presents a barrage of rapid editing, off kilter angles, blurry compositions, and very bland style over substance that would make even Michael Bay shudder. He not only utilizes shots that are rapid edited, jump-cut with missing frames, but also combined with a nausea inducing flashing strobe effect for no good reason other than an assumption that it looks cool... or should I say "kewl." Really it is the most stomach churning filmmaking trick I've seen in quite a long time. And, amazingly none of the cinematic gimmicks add up to anything remotely entertaining or add to the story. It is just pizazz that may suit a thirty second commercial or music video but is empty and tiresome as a cinematic tool. Add to that the fact that 90% of the movie is shot in blue filter, it makes the visual palette of the film as dull as the characters and the story.

All the performances are pretty phoned in. Skeet Ulrich's career has been distinguished as much by his looks as his acting work, forever known as Satan's favorite pinup on South Park, not as talented as Johnny Depp but not as swarthy as Richard Grieco, with his career highlight probably being Ang Lee's sole critical and commercial flop Ride with the Devil. Well, okay I almost forgot, Scream was probably his high point. Needless to say, as an action protagonist he doesn't rise above Soul Assassin's both contrived and illogical plot with any convincing manner. But, he fairs better than Kristy Swanson, who clearly took the job for its Amsterdam locale (she even sort of states this in the interviews on the disc), and its not like she's proven herself as an actress when trying to act, much less when sleepwalking like she does here. The rest of the cast of baddies and corporate goons are Dutch actors I've never heard of, but the saddest thing is the appearance of Rena Owen, a great actress from the fantastic Once Were Warriors, who, since she's in stuff like this, I don't think has found a project to shine in since that spectacular film.

Soul Assassin also has one of my personal narrative pet peeves- flashbacks to scenes we saw mere minutes before. Flashbacks to a past we never saw are fine. Flashbacks to scenes that were early in a film but placed at the end of the narrative to give a refresher are also fine. But what kind of storyteller, writer/director uses flashbacks to a sequence he just showed us a mere five minutes before? What, does the director assume his audience is so dumb and severely plagued by some attention deficit disorder that they cannot remember that five minutes ago we saw a long scene where the lead characters girlfriend/fiancee to be was brutally murdered before his eyes? And then when he tracks down the assassin some ten/fifteen minutes after that, we don't need yet another flashback to state "this is the guy that killed her, remember?" Granted most people aren't geniuses, but Soul Assassins use of flashbacks is just insulting.

The DVD: Columbia/TriStar. Amazing how so many classic films get barebones treatment, but somehow direct-to-video, forgettable flicks like this get Special Editions with a nice bag of extras. A real shame.

Picture: Widescreen, 16X9 Enhanced. Picture looks great, crisp, glitch free, if only it weren't for those pesky blue filters.

Sound: English Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2-Channel Surround, Spanish Dolby Stereo, or French 2-Channel Dolby Surround Audio options with optional English subtitles.

Extras: 20 Chapters--- Director and Cast Filmographies--- Theatrical Trailer--- Making Of Soul Assassin (20 mins)--- Interviews (6:30)--- Photo Gallery--- Bonus Trailers Zig Zag, Green Dragon, True Blue and Bare Witness--- Director Commentary.

Conclusion: Technically the disc is great, but this film is best reserved for a rental (if you are some kind of Skeet Ulrich nut) or something to fall asleep to when on cable. Otherwise, steer clear of this generic, inert action thriller.