RUN AND GUN/ THE RAY

US, 2022, 96 minutes, Colour.

Ben Milliken, Brad William Henke, Janel Parrish, Richard Kind, Mark Dacascos.

Directed by Christopher Borelli.

This is a B-budget, small action film – without Bruce Willis or Nicolas Cage!

It is the kind of straight-to-video film of the past, no major stars to attract, action, and some tantalising dialogue with a touch of twist. The title is very much for the B-picture although the original title focused on the central character, Ray.

The star of the film is British-born, Australian growing up, Hollywood career, Ben Milliken (who keeps something of the Australian accent, calling people mate, and with a map of Australia in his trailer). Brad William Henke makes a large villain and Richard Kind has the opportunity also to be a villain, of the elegant paranoid kind. There is a striking opening with Ray about to be lynched but breaking free – then two years later in an office job, shrewd, with his girlfriend and her son.

However, he is tracked down, his past as a criminal remembered, his being a given a job by Grayson (Richard Kind) who has a sinister associate, Brando (Mark Dacoscos) who is in league to betray his boss.

The mission that Ray is sent on is sabotaged and he is wounded but escapes to an old factory site in the Salton Sea, encountering the security guard, Billings (Brad William Henke) who tends his wound, seems agreeable, then turns out to be more of a villain than we would have suspected, imprisoning Ray, violent towards an assailant, and then involved with sex trafficking.

The latter part of the film shows Ray imprisoned, escaping many times, confrontations, the appearance of Grayson. Grayson is quite odd, talk about multiverses, talking about a film with Sindbad which will prove his theory, spending $440,000 to get a copy of the video…

Which means that there is a lot of oddball and ironic dialogue throughout the film as well as the final action.