Tried and tested

The Condemned
Director: Scott Wiper
Writers: Scott Wiper and Rob Hedden

Starring: Steve Austin, Vinnie Jones, Rick Hoffman
Genres:  Action, thrillerl
Rating: R
Running Time: 113 minutes
Seef Cineplex II  at  11.30am, 2pm, 4.30pm, 7pm, 9.30pm and 12 MN

While thousands of Romans filled the Colosseum to witness the glorious brutality of gladiatorial events, the idea of man hunting man classed itself up in the 20 century with the novel “The Most Dangerous Game,” in which a wealthy hunter invited a big-game hunter to his island for the ultimate hunting experience.
After several screen incarnations, the basic storyline was given a shot of satirical extremism for 2003’s Battle Royale, which turned middle school students against each other with explosive neck collars for reality TV viewing pleasure.
For the concept’s latest rendition, The Condemned doesn’t attempt to inject anything new into the story.
In fact, it takes Battle Royale’s basic framework and strips it of its satirical strengths, making a dumbed down, manufactured movie product and bringing the spectacle back down to the level of gladiator barbarics.
Instead of a reality TV show, The Condemned is a reality show that is streamed over the Internet by a multi-millionaire who contracts 10 death-row prisoners to fight to the death for their freedom.
Instead of explosive neck collars, the contestants are rigged with explosive ankle collars that blow up if they are tampered with, someone pulls the red tag or 30 hours pass, whichever comes first.
 – Jason Morgan