Puncture Wounds (2014) User Reviews (23)

Watchable! 3/10

[leonblackwood · 3/10 · 22 November 2014]

Review: I must admit, I was expecting this to be one of those typical badly made movies with a ridiculous storyline, but it didn't turn out to be that bad. The acting was a bit sketchy, but there was meaning behind the violence and the characters all played there part in this movie about revenge. Basically it's about a war veteran whose suffering with post traumatic stress and he ends up saving a girl from getting a beating in the parking lot of his hotel. The girl turns out to be a prostitute who works for Hollis (Dolph Lundgren), who isn't too happy about the guy taking out his men. To keep up his street cred, Hollis teaches the guy a lesson for messes with his business, which turns out to be a big mistake. It isn't a very deep and intelligent script, but you do end up sticking with the storyline, just to see how the whole mess pans out. The fighting scenes were OK but it still looked a bit cheap and the main character needs some more acting lessons. Average!

Round-Up: What the hell was going on with that stupid wig and the ugly looking moustache on Dolph Lundgren. I've heard about actors getting into character, but that make-up was terrible. Anyway, Lundgren seems to be another one of those actors that hit the big time when he was young but now they can only manage to go straight to DVD. I quite liked him in the first Expendables but I haven't really seen him in anything amazing since then. The guy who plays the main character, Cung Le, also starred in the awful Man With The Iron Fists but he hasn't done anything else that major. You can actually tell that he hasn't starred in anything in this scale because his acting is quite stiff, like when the Rock first started out in the movie world. Anyway, if you want a no thrills type of movie without that much depth, then it's worth a watch.

I recommend this movie to people who are into there action/thriller movies about a stressed out war veteran who takes on a drug lord after saving a girl from a beating. 3/10

A tough sit

[tarbosh22000 · 3/10 · 22 June 2015]

John Nguyen (Le) has all sorts of problems. After serving his country in Iraq, he comes home to L.A. and has to deal with not just his PTSD, but also his lazy, none-too-bright roommate (not sure of his name, but he could possibly be in the next casting for Jersey Shore, if his acting was better). One night Nguyen unleashes his Martial Arts skill on some toughs harassing local prostitute Tanya (Evigan, daughter of My Two Dads' Greg Evigan), and some of the guys die. This upsets crime boss Hollis (Dolph). So Hollis sends some more of his goons to kill Nguyen's family. Now in full revenge mode, Nguyen vows to go after Hollis - but to get there, he must get info from Bennett (Jones) and figure out what the detectives investigating the case know. Will Nguyen get revenge? Will someone die of PUNCTURE WOUNDS? Man, this Cung Le guy looks like Cuba Gooding, Jr. I mean, he REALLY looks like him. Note how on the box art, his Cuba-face is strongly emphasized, while no actors' names are present. Could this be a trick? Well, that aside, it's a dark day in DTV-land once again, as these modern-day productions prove time and again they cannot hold a candle to their far-superior 80's and 90's counterparts. You know it's a bad sign when two separate directors get two separate credits (and on the version on Netflix streaming at least, it's shown under its alternate title, A Certain Justice). Here is no exception. The stupidity is all-encompassing, as everywhere you turn in this movie, something dumb is happening - with the possible exception of Dolph. Whenever he's on screen, things are better, but he and his walrus 'stache can't save this turkey from its own sophomorically-written ways.

It is indeed hard to believe someone over the age of 14 actually wrote this inanity down on pieces of paper. Hey, writers - instead of writing down to us, how about writing UP to us for a change? We're action movie fans, not automatons that will just accept any old slop. From the unnecessary narration, to the gratuitous use of slow motion, to the puzzling stylistic choices such as quick cuts and foggy, blurred edges on screen, to printing the names of the characters on screen as if that matters/has never been done before, to the nu-metal-esque soundtrack, the whole thing seems targeted towards the 'stupid market'. It all screams "NEW DTV production", to its detriment. Yes, we're glad Dolph is still working, and it's nice to see mainstays like Vinnie Jones and Robert Lasardo (who is in one scene), so we don't want to seem ungrateful, but Puncture Wounds is just not enjoyable to watch. We're sorry, but there's no getting around that, no matter how hard we try.

The premise is even very similar to fellow Cung Le vehicle Dragon Eyes (2012) - Cung moves into an apartment complex in a bad neighborhood in L.A., beats up a bunch of people, and there are crackheads running around. But thankfully Dragon Eyes was directed by John Hyams, so it was better than Puncture Wounds. While we liked seeing Dolph as the baddie, and we thought that was a nice change of pace, it was really a wasted opportunity.

So, yes, Puncture Wounds does have some action, but at what cost? The movie typifies some of the worst aspects of modern-day DTV, unfortunately. We thought it was a tough sit

Below Average Action Thriller With Some Redeeming Performances

[OneView · 4/10 · 16 March 2014]

Puncture Wounds is another depressingly familiar C-Grade film with a plot we have heard many times before – innocent man's family is killed in a brutal fashion by a bad guy. Innocent man hunts down bad guy, kills him and his henchmen. Film over. This kind of storyline can be done well if writer, director and cast are willing to create some areas of deviation or innovation to make their mark. Sadly, Puncture Wounds is limply paced with actors mouthing dubious dialogue without conviction. A key scene is meant to show the innocent man's decency through a speech delivered by his ex commanding officer. That said officer appears on set in an ill-fitting uniform and facial hair that would never be permitted in the American armed forces removes the said scene of any impact. Dolph Lundgren is the nominal star but plays the bad guy in an unconvincing wig and fake moustache. (Indeed the fake hair in this film has to be seen to be believed.) It is an interesting performance from Lundgren whose character displays some particularly vile misogyny towards a prostitute in his employ. Cung Lee is our good guy but simply does not have the acting skill to sell his roll convincingly. Vinnie Jones is second billed but plays little more than a glorified cameo. His contribution to the film is reasonably effective but hardly career definining. What the film does benefit from is a number of solid character actors in small supporting parts. James. C. Burns. as Sergeant Mitchell conveys a subtle humanism as well as conflict between his duty and what he knows to be A Certain Justice (to use another title the film was released under.) Briana Evigan brings humanity to what was likely on-paper the fairly vacuous role of the used and abused prostitute and the ever-reliable Robert LaSardo adds a touch of gravitas in a single sequence mid film. Probably the best performance though is from Mario Melchio as Shady, a disreputable neighbour of Cung Lee. He sweats constantly in the thrall of his drug use, twitches and paroxysms of pain evident as torture is inflicted upon him. There is also a memorable yet just death scene. Production values are efficient but far from memorable. Action scenes are overcut and lack any impact. Little production errors (like the woman seen wearing underwear seconds after being pack-raped offscreen by the bad guys are numerous. Puncture Wounds is watchable action fodder but lacks memorable elements or effective cohesion. Four out of ten is a fair representation of its value and demerits.

One of the worst movies ever made

[fpweeren · 1/10 · 27 September 2014]

Wow. I would like to have been a fly on the wall when this piece of utter detritus was first pitched. I have not seen a movie so ridiculous, so badly written, so comically badly acted, so full of terrible clichés in decades, if ever.

Cung Le is devoid of any acting talent and would be well advised to not quit his day job, whatever that may be. Dolph Lundgren is obviously "past it" and looks like a total alcoholic has-been in this horrible production.

Blood flows freely, people die like flies, but acting and any genuine character development are absent and might not even have been able to rescue this turkey. I started laughing out loud at one point when even the fight scenes were so preposterous that even a four year old would not have believed them.

Save your money. Don't even wait for it to go to cable. Just don't go and say you did. You'll be better off.

Awful

[khillikat · 1/10 · 15 March 2014]

I do not usually judge films as awful I am not a movie snob, but this film has nothing.

I struggled to watch an hour of this and had to turn it off as I really couldn't care less about what happened next or to who.

I love movies of all genres but this had no entertainment factor at all. I had no empathy with the main character John and sadly couldn't find any reason to keep watching.

Maybe something amazing happens in the latter part of the movie but for me this was just a bad action flick that showed us nothing we haven't seen a hundred times before done a hundred times better elsewhere.

Save yourself from this boredom and pick another one to watch.

An unexceptional and tiresome DTV entry

[Wizard-8 · 3/10 · 5 April 2018]

When this movie popped up on Netflix recently, I decided to give it a look since it had Dolph Lundgren in it, one of my favorite B movie actors. Also, with this movie he returned to his acting roots of playing a bad guy after so many years of playing heroes. Sadly, this novelty did nothing towards saving this pretty bad movie. There are many problems with the movie, but the main problems are that the movie is very slow and boring. The pacing is sluggish, and there are some plot holes and murky plot details that reek of amateurish writing. The movie could have been livened up by some good action, but the movie disappoints in this area as well. Believe it or not, in the first hour of the movie, there are only about two minutes of footage that could safely be called "action". And when the action does come, it's choreographed, directed, and edited in a way that comes across like the protagonist (or antagonists) are not skilled at all in hand to hand combat (or other kinds of combat, for that matter.) As for the acting, lead actor Cung Le (who in many scenes looks like Cuba Gooding Jr.) is really bland and lacking charisma, and Lundgren gives a very lazy and unemotional performance, clearly just being here for the paycheck. Not the worst action movie I've seen, but it's so boring that I would only recommend it for insomniacs.

HE BELIEVES IN JUSTICE

[nogodnomasters · 5/10 · 6 September 2018]

PTSD victim John Nguyen (Cung Le) is living in a dive hotel in LA, He gets in the middle of a prostitute /(Briana Evigan) pimps tussle which launched him into a war against LA mobster Hollis (Dolph Lundgren). Vinnie Jones has a small role.

That is pretty much it. There are fighting and torture scenes as the film comes across as a grindhouse at times. Plot was fairly formula stuff with a lack of memorable dialogue.

Parental Guide: F-bomb, sex, brief nudity.

"This is a certain kind of justice"

[The_Phantom_Projectionist · 5/10 · 10 May 2015]

In between playing supporting roles in movies like THE GRANDMASTER, Cung Le found the time to build on his solo career in the direct-to-video realm. Disappointingly, his sophomore effort here leaves a good deal to be desired. While the previous DRAGON EYES filled his prospects as a karate star with promise, PUNCTURE is a less impressive action flick that's mainly weakened by the ravages of producers and certainly leaves Le looking less extraordinary. It's still a decent film that's strengthened by its fight content, but a bit too far from perfect to warrant a purchase for me.

The story: The family of a war veteran (Le) is murdered by a racist underground faction after he interferes with their business, prompting him to target the group and its leader (Dolph Lundgren) for retribution.

I don't blame the stars or even the director (Giorgio Serafini) for the movie's DTV-isms. The production company behind the film, Voltage Pictures, has a habit of editing its low budget movies in amateurish ways, so expect to see lots of gratuitous slow motion and sped-up segments, "artistic" lighting overexposures, unnecessary close-ups, and scene-hopping. These aspects are present just enough to properly irritate you but not ruin the movie, to the same degree that the screenplay bothers me. There's a good deal of unnecessary cruelty and exploitation of women that I don't appreciate. While that was bad enough, I find it just as hard to forgive how boring the script renders Dolph Lundgren. The Swedish Superman excels at playing villains, and though it seems like the part of the long-haired supremacist leader would let him show off some of his creepiness, he clearly doesn't have good character material to work with and ends up being pretty unmemorable.

Cung Le shows his rather meager dramatic limits, though he still makes a good tough guy. Another tough guy, Vinnie Jones, plays a character that weirdly has the bare minimum to do with the plot but manages through sheer charisma to still come off cool. But actions speak louder than words in these kinds of movies, and this is where PUNCTURE WOUNDS shows its best side. With only four fight scenes and one shootout, the movie could definitely use more action, though Cung Le's kicks are worth waiting for. The choreography manages to appear completely efficient without shirking flashiness, so it's very satisfying when Le takes on groups of bad guys. His finale with Lundgren is much shorter than it should be, but it allows Lundgren to look pretty fluid and powerful, using his height, reach, and power karate to take the fight to Le, cool but believably.

The fights too are hampered by the aforementioned editing, so despite being the movie's brightest spot, they can't elevate this review to a higher rating. Despite this one being a minor disappointment, I'm hopeful for Le's future, provided he choose a better studio for his next vehicle. Bottom line: if you're looking for an imperfect but moderately exciting karate-revenge movie, this one fits the bill well enough, but it's not nearly the best any of its performers have to offer.

Not bad for a mid day action movie.

[face-819-933726 · 7/10 · 11 March 2014]

Dolph Lundgren is pumping these out pretty fast these days. This one is one of the better ones that has come out with him in it. The camera work is not anything special, the lighting needs to be worked out, but when it gets down to the action Lundgren is his usual rock against which all of the waves think they can make a mark, and the addition of Chun Le only ever makes things better. The supporting cast do a decent job of giving us a reason for all of the drama, and the final showdown though a bit short, and sudden does play out well Vinnie Jones is always a good bad guy. I Enjoyed this for what it was, an afternoon action movie, no tear jerking around here. I recommend this one to action fans who have already run through the top 500, this is getting pretty close to scraping the bottom of the barrel, but there has been much worse in the past few years than what you are given here.

Very poor actioner

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 2 June 2023]

A CERTAIN JUSTICE, aka PUNCTURE WOUNDS, is another nondescript straight-to-DVD action film starring Cung Le, who certainly impresses as a fighter. It's just a shame that this film's fight choreography is unremittingly awful, constantly cutting away from hits and adding in fake stylistics which spoil the pace and impact of the fights. I was lured by the UK DVD cover, which features a short-haired Dolph Lundgren and Vinnie Jones, but it's a cheat as both have more minor roles as bad guys. The plot is serviceable and perhaps with a bigger budget this might have been more impactful, but as it stands it's pretty disastrous.

Much better than I expected

[Mischief810 · 9/10 · 19 June 2015]

I have to admit--I haven't seen Dolph Lundgren in such an evil bad guy role since Rocky IV. But even though Lundgren is showing some age, he also shows why he has become a diverse actor with still impressive physical skills.

Cung Le turns in an admirable performance as our antagonist, and the guy has incredible moves. Still, you have a hard time finding a true "good guy" here.

This is a great action flick, suitable for a weekend "boys night in" complete with beer and pizza.

I honestly didn't expect much, and that often results in me being honestly surprised. If you approach action flicks without the expectations of Academy Award winning performances, and you also understand that you're sitting down to a low budget flick, you usually get what you came for.

The metal score is fun. The violence is plentiful and gratuitous. The special effects are well done and the fight scenes are epic. It's a fun movie to watch.

It's a B category movie with more realism than an A movie

[savudan_rei · 7/10 · 29 March 2014]

The movie did not have a lot of suspense or created much empathy, but had much more realistic behavior from the characters than any A category movie where the main guy goes to the end of the world for a chick he knew for 2 weeks. The hookers act like a real hooker, the drug dealers act like drug dealers, there's even a bad guy who knows when to quit while he's ahead. There are no white and black characters. The ending is a little too dramatic, since both the light gray guy and the dark gray guy had the opportunity to shoot each other but they chose to fight it out. Overall, a "light" movie better than most Dolph Lungren or even Van Damme movies.

No Justice for the Actors

[deepfrieddodo · 4/10 · 21 January 2021]

The minute Lundgren saw the wig and facial hair his character would have, he should have known this was a film he should have steered clear from. It's not good, the script is bad, the acting is fairly poor, and the plot unoriginal.

It is coherent, so if you want an action film offering nothing more than a bit of violence, then this absolutely fits the bill. The final fight scene is actually pretty good too, so you have that choreography to look forward to, but the rest are a bit hit and miss.

It's really the dialogue that makes Puncture Wounds/A Certain Kind of Justice so poor though. Cringeworthy narration to bookend the film and the most ridiculously placed "It's okay, bro" within the script. So it's difficult to see if the acting is bad, or the material the cast had to work with just tripped them up. To be fair, Evigan (the only woman with lines) does okay, Vinnie Jones does his job (but very much typecast), and Lundgren passes, but really Le as the lead doesn't excel in anything but kicking.

Also shout out to the most shoe-horned scene possible, where a secondary character has to deal with an ill loved one whilst getting visited a rip-off Colonel Trautman.

Rather dismal, unfortunately

[r96sk · 3/10 · 18 August 2020]

Tiresome to watch.

'Puncture Wounds' is a film that somewhat tries, but nothing really comes to fruition all that well. The story is a tad messy, the score is poor, the dialogue is iffy alongside a mostly disappointing cast list.

I never felt Cung Le (John) wasn't trying, he was but I'm not sure he is lead actor worthy - his delivery isn't quite up to stretch here, given there's a lot of narration from his character; not helped by the writing, of course.

Dolph Lundgren isn't even the usual Dolph Lundgren, which is quite something - a very 'relaxed' performance, despite the spree of destruction involving Hollis. Vinnie Jones (Bennet - one T according to the film's intro) is what you'd expect, he's solid enough at playing a bad guy.

I'm all for mindless, combat-filled films but this doesn't even reach those levels. Rather dismal, unfortunately.

not a bad action film

[thewalkingpuns · 5/10 · 14 May 2023]

A certain justice had a good ring to it for a movie, but we ended up with another made for dvd film and because of the quality it showed. But looking away from that lets get onto the main plot of the movie .Chung lee plays john. An ex veteran that some how gets mixed with mob people. They do the unspeakable to the people close to him and because of this its an all out revenge type movie that is pretty good. We also have vinnie jones and dolph lundgren. Both pretty good actors and maybe this movie was not the one to showcase them but both characters were good and along with the rest of the cast it was enjoyable enough overall an ok movie but nothing really to great.

No just no

[gman1978 · 1/10 · 24 September 2021]

Terrible in everywhere, starring no one of acting ability, backed by.... some sort of story line.

Not great, but certainly good

[Blonde2291 · 6/10 · 13 March 2014]

This movie does not disappoint you if you are looking for some nice action. Many movies have been made on a similar storyline, but Puncture Wounds presents it you in a different flavor.

John (Cung Le) is a soldier returning from war. He tries to help a hooker who works for Hollis (Dolph Lundgren) and that's how matters get worse. The rest of the movie is a mixed up world of corrupt police officers, drug dealers and prostitution rackets.

Cung Le has given good performance and Dolph Lundgren has impressed like always. Vinnie Jones appears briefly but plays the bad guy role very naturally. One thing that may let down Dolph Lundgren fans is that he was not given longer screen time.

decent developed characters

[bibivinh · 8/10 · 19 June 2014]

Cung Le's best acting so far. still has a few more wrinkles to iron out like his "ape mode" facial expression when expressing anger. It has to be more subtle and appropriate for the emotion that the script called for. Good script and well placed dialog. Action and fighting scenes are too slow for Cung or my taste. editing of fight scenes were not on point. too long of shot and slow as heck. Overall, decent story (better than half of "A" listed movies. Bad guys were not bad or dirty enough to be viewed as authentic. good actors were: motel manager, good cop, Cung's OC officer, bald drug dealer. decent actors: Cung Le, mob boss, Cung's vet "brother". There were no bad actor in this movie. No cheesy comments, no over the top agenda or political statement.

very good worth watching action movie

[nikola17 · 7/10 · 10 January 2016]

very good worth watching action movie, but it needs more action too movie well it can't because it is very low budget film specially i am fan of Dolph Lundgren is bad guy just like old times and Cung Le witch Cung Le is lead role just like dragon eyes. the story is very well written just like skin trade but skin trade is has a lot more action then this movie. story follows:(Cung Le)John Nguyen is a Veteran Soldier coming back home from overseas John has a suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder soon he investigates screaming woman Tanya(Briana Evigan)getting buy thugs john get's into fight with them killed all thugs Tanya say's that we are going to be doomed with Hollis Hands. (Dolph Lundgren) Hollis lord pimp gangster Visited Carl(Eddie Rouse)motel manger has connection with Hollis talking about john to know who he is. Hollis asks lieutenant Vin (Gianni Capaldi)to murder John's family at night Vin and he's couple men went to john family house killed them in a burning van later John found out his family has been killed in burning van found someone who killed his family witch was request buy Hollis Movie is all is cung Le is lead role the movie is trying to be like Skin Trade, Punisher, John Wick, Hard to Kill type of thing because it's a Revenge movie witch has a lot of action witch didn't have big budget had low budget shooting, fighting, little explosion's i love scene with cung Le With only four fight scenes and one shootout, the movie could definitely use more action, though Cung Le's kicks are worth waiting for. The choreography manages to appear completely efficient without shirking flashiness, so it's very satisfying when Le takes on groups of bad guys. His finale with Lundgren is much shorter than it should be that's it very fast placed. Dolph Lundgren didn't do much in his character his role is noting really

he is most of movie but main is Cung Le Dolph Appears most of scenes he is there just for paycheck i know he is not that into movie as much he looks bored expect for Skin Trade was very fun movie then this movie is noting wrong normal low budget action movie expect Dolph he didn't kick ass until end of movie little fights that's all i could write about Dolph character.

(Vinnie Jones) Bennett was friend to Vin witch has noting got to do with John Family all he knows who Hollis is and who killed his family he didn't do anything he is there for paycheck he is in it half way that's it shame all actors in movie sadly didn't get too do much expect for Cung Le witch i like but i wanted Dolph to do something bad luck he didn't much to do Anything In Movie that is bad luck for fans like me but Cung Le is good actor not best not everyone is a fan but i am fan of him in MMA. Showdown towards at end of movie witch was OK not very big and long fight with Cung and Dolph, Dolph is getting back Johnny Mnemonic with long hair looks like biker gang but he is powerful gang mob leader Lundgren to look pretty fluid and powerful, using his height, reach, and power karate to take the fight to Le, cool but believably. Dolph Lundgren is doing good movies but he is not really doing any better movies skin trade was a a lot better but another's are OK but he needs to be in a lot better roles,Main Character, better movies for lundgren expect Skin Trad was a great movie. Cung Le needs more of main role movies with better action,horror movies needs better studios better scripts more action scenes 7.10 not bad movie to watch for lundgren fans if you like watching him as bad guy like Universal soldier 1,3,4, Rocky IV, Stash House, Johnny Mnemonic, The Package but mostly he is good guy in rest of his movies. this one i won't highly recommend for everyone only cung Le fans it's more of cung Le movie then a lundgren film both cast cung Le is in it more then lundgren has been in it.

Okay fight scenes,terrible wig design for Dolph

[debdigvijay · 7/10 · 18 May 2019]

Check this movie out only if you are a fan of the martial arts genre. Although Cung le is an excellent martial artist, the choppy direction makes watching the fight scenes rather irritating(Watch out for Dragon Eyes to get a better glimpse of his abilities). And who designed the wigs for Dolph?? He looked horrible,although he gives a fun performance as the villain.

Great Movie for MMA Fans

[hans-j-schmid · 10/10 · 23 June 2014]

Simply great movie for MMA fans. Cung Le is just a fantastic mixed martial artist. One of the best. It's a bit sad he already passed his forties but he still good enough for the UFC! Seeing Dolph Lundgren in the movie is just entertaining. Very different look from the past.

I can't understand the movie got such a bad rating. The guys who gave a bad rating might want to watch different kind of movies. My advice for them: Cinderella and Tinkerbell.

The story is a typical black/white or good/bad kind of plot. So action movie fans will certainly like it. Besides action scenes some nice erotic scenes are also offered. You can't ask for more.

Enjoyable action movie

[davehaydock · 7/10 · 20 March 2019]

Was a bit corny good characters..good right over wrong movie

Entertaining but could had been better

[destroyerwod · 6/10 · 6 March 2015]

I managed to find this movie because i wanted to see a Cung le vs Dolph Lundgren Movie for sure... It was not easy to find but i did.

The start of the movie is a bit anti climatic and even tough i saw this formula of presenting the guys one after the other with there name stamped on a freeze frame, it was kinda chaotic in that movie. I also didn't like the blurry camera in some part, i guess they wanted to go artistic but ended up just bad.

The script is as unoriginal as it may get but i usually like that kind of stuff and overall liked it. On the other hand some scenes really does not help the movie, bad decisions made by the characters and "roll your eyes" moment where you are really wondering why didn't he just shoot...

Also the relation between the characters looked very forced and the wooden acting of Cung Le and his army buddy didn't help get into those guys as characters either. Dolph is Dolph, he is enjoyable and he play a good enough villain. Vinnie Jones is there to be Vinnie Jones and add "star power" to a DTV movie.

Now for the spoiler, and this really bugged me out, the Vin guy, who is the one killing the family, ending out showing remorse and we do not know if he died or not, that really was bad... There was so much potential, they could had made so much in the movie with that, as will he forgive him for having kill his family when he want to repent and do a good deed, it may had been cliché but the whole movie is very cliché anyway.

So in the end, a good time if your drunk by Jeremy Jahns standard, the fights are nice, and even tough not spectacular in any mean, it fill a Friday night pretty good.