serosnes Be careful!!!! SPOILERS HERE!!!! Don`t read this if you haven't seen the film, and you are going to see it.Well, you are warned. What I wanted to tell you about this film is that is totally impossible how it starts!!! The film starts with some action in... Spain?? We can see how some Russian "marines" have to destroy a Chemical Plant where someone is manufacturing Chemical weapons. Of course, the "marines" kill everybody, and a MIG??? destroys the factory....Well, I can't believe this!! This is totally stupid!! Spain is a member of the European Union, very civilized, very Rich (number 8 of the world), and the situation described at the film is totally impossible!I feel ofended, i can't really believe that at this days, there is still people stupid enough to direct an stupid film like this one!And, please..... no one in Spain uses that stupid "hat" worn by the soldier who speaks with the secretary. Ah, of course, the name of the secretary is Maria.... is this an obsession? Not all the Spanish girls are named Maria (in spite of the fact that, for example, I have fallen in love with a girl named Maria :P)

tedg Spoilers herein.Cat's eye comments follow*.This is a film about a woman (played by Lisa Arturo, one of the faux lesbians from `American Pie 2') who works as a scientist in a secret plant in California developing outlawed biological weapons. She has many personal problems and has been through several marriages, murdering her last one in a fit of pique. Because her work is so unique and valuable, the authorities covered it up and placed her next door to a Russian defector (played by Jeff Speakman). That aging defector (code named Running Red) did not supply any useful intelligence to the CIA so has to `earn' his keep by looking out for his neighbor. He is having an affair with her, here noted by her stealing his `banana.' His .His daft wife has no idea of his past, his soured deal with the CIA or his affair with the neighbor, despite her hints. She is played by Angie Everhart who doesn't even know she is in a movie and believes her husband has had a job for the last ten years.The story is rather predictable. Old Soviet special ops buddies show up. They kill his lover (the woman he was supposed to protect), so he kills them. Along the way, we never know whether the resurfaced Russians are in cahoots with the CIA or not. Sometimes they seem to take control of the whole movie, for instance when the hero Greg is sent on a wild goose chase into literally another movie: a bus lures him out of `Running Red' into `Red Heat' in an attempt to fool him into thinking their purpose, one of Russian law enforcement. A bus gets hit by a train.All this oblique storytelling is symbolized by Greg's ability to shoot around corners by having bullets bounce off mirrored surfaces. This narrative is challenging and not for the simpleminded; for instance, many viewers may miss the importance of the bug exterminator.*Cat's eye comments result when nothing intelligent can be said of a film.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 4: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

tp320 While Steven Seagal is my favourite action hero, Jeff Speakman is a close second. He has a powerful screen presence, a good voice and suitably calm manners for a man of action. He has made some excellent actioners in the past. His first starring role was in "The Perfect Weapon" which almost lived up to it's title - it was indeed nearly perfect. Two years later he returned on screen in "Street Knight", another excellent action film. Since then, he has starred in numerous low-budget actioners.Although his later films are not up to the standards of the first ones, I have liked many of them. I even liked "Land of the Free"! I had a pretty good idea what to expect from "Running Red" but unfortunately it disappointed me in a few key areas.Speakman stars as Gregori, a Russian professional soldier who's brother is killed by the enemy. Because of this and his sadistic commander, he quits the army and starts a new life in the USA. Now calling himself Greg, he has a new job and a family. His life gets an unexpected turn when his former superior locates him and asks him to kill three men or his family would get hurt.The plot is nothing special but it isn't embarrassingly bad either. It's pretty much what one expects from these films. And the film does have some good points. The first one is of course Speakman himself, he still has a strong screen presence. Also he handles the scenes with his family pretty well. His wife is played by the beautiful Angie Everhart. While Everhart has already been in several low-budget films (like "Executive Action"), she still brings a touch of class to any production she's in. Also there are some other familiar faces in the cast you might recognise.And now for the bad news. For an action film, there's surprisingly little action here. PM Entertainment has done excellent car chases before and they continue that tradition here. But the gun fights unfortunately lack the budget to make them special and considering Speakman's skills, there's very little fighting here. The lack of martial arts-fights is especially disappointing since Speakman's fast and furious fight scenes are always fun to watch.Also, there are some scenes which are taken from other films. For example, the entire bus chase uses footage from Arnold Schwarzenegger/James Belushi-film "Red Heat" (an excellent film, by the way) and in some scenes you can actually see the James Belushi-character in his grey suit in the bus which Speakman is supposedly driving alone. I wish they wouldn't have used that footage at all and instead would have replaced the bus chase with a good fight scene.One of things which was a personal disappointment to me was the score. Speakman's first films had a terrific music score ("The Perfect Weapon" by Gary Chang and "Street Knight" by David Michael Frank.Anyway, the lack of plot, acting or originality probably won't surprise anyone and won't disappoint the target audience. But this film desperately needed more energetic fights. Some might think that the low level of violence and lack of nudity are good things but I couldn't disagree more. If you're a fan of Speakman and this is on TV, feel free to watch it. It isn't -that- bad. But if you want to see a good action film, rent Speakman's "The Perfect Weapon" or "Street Knight". This one gets only a 5.

Jake-149 I saw an answer print of this film at the lab. I thought it was really well directed for a low budget action film. Also I thought Jeff Speakman was better than I had seen him before. All in all a nice effort by the filmmakers.