With its many twists, ‘Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever’ doesn’t hit mark
The latest action movie featuring Lucy Liu and Antonio Banderas has stunning explosions but a weak, convoluted plot line.
By Taylor Gibbons
Skiff Staff

The title of “Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever” is really only half accurate. While the movie has more than enough bullets, fire, car crashes and pugilism to justify calling itself “Ballistic,” the “Ecks vs. Sever” is a bit of a misnomer.

While it may feature a character named Ecks and a character named Sever — and even a couple of fights between these two characters — it doesn’t really center on their conflict. When you consider the actual plotline of the movie, however, it’s easy to see why Franchise Pictures decided to try to sell it as a two-hour showcase of Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu (who portray Ecks and Sever, respectively) beating the crap out of each other rather than as what it really is.

So what is it, really? Put simply, a classic example of style coming before substance. “Ecks vs. Sever” serves up a smorgasbord of gunplay, martial arts and 50-foot explosions set to a pulsating techno soundtrack. This is all well and good until you try figure exactly what is going on. Herein lies the movie’s weakness.

Somewhere underneath all the eye candy is a thin, convoluted plotline that would probably find itself more at home in a TV movie.

The movie opens with the dramatic capture of the son of a government big-wheel by Liu’s character. Elsewhere, the big-wheel (Gant, played by Gregg Henry) has a flunky kill himself for allowing this to happen, thereby establishing himself as the villain with all the subtlety and understatement of a brick to the temple.

In yet another locale, haggard former FBI agent Jeremiah Ecks is asked by his former supervisor Julio Martin (Miguel Sandoval) to return to the fold for one last mission in exchange for information about his missing wife. Ecks takes the mission, which sends him in pursuit of the mysterious Sever. From there, things go downhill.

It seems that for every bullet fired, the filmmakers deemed it necessary to throw in yet another stupid plot twist. By the time the movie is over the story is a confusing, forgettable mess that will challenge the ability of even avid action fans to suspend their sense of disbelief.

Despite its remarkable deficiencies in story, “Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever” remains a watchable movie thanks in no small part to its cast. Liu isn’t given a lot to do as Sever with the exception of firing off an occasional monotoned one-liner, but she does so capably and it’s a blast watching her beat up people. Equally fun is Banderas as the hard-drinking, chain-smoking, perpetually trench-coated Ecks.

Although this undoubtedly is Banderas and Liu’s movie, a few supporting cast members also manage to make their mark. Ray Park, who appears here in his first major role without heavy makeup, delivers his lines in a rather sedate fashion. He more than earns his keep, however, with an impressive martial arts sequence that admirably showcases the talents he first displayed as Darth Maul. Henry is regrettably nothing special as the movie’s cornball villain, Gant; although I really have to give Henry credit for expanding his repertoire of facial expressions from just a sneer at the beginning of the movie to a sneer, a smirk and a scowl toward the end.

Should you see “Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever?” That depends. If you like a good fight scene followed by a cool explosion, then by all means, see it. However, if you like to have a half-way believable reason as to why any of these things are happening, you might be better off passing this movie by.