The Marine 6: Close Quarters - DVD Review

[Michael Scott]

The Marine 6: Close Quarters

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

​

Movie
Yup, it’s that time of year again. Another The Marine sequel out on home video and another entry with Mike “The Miz” Mizanin helming it. I have to really had it to the WWE films, Mike Mizanin, and the producers. They have sort of got this DTV sequel thing down to an art, imitating the heyday of the 1980s and Cannon Films, grabbing a hefty WWE star, putting him in harms way, and watching him shoot and beat his way out of said situation. Rinse, repeat, ad nausea. Simple, right? I really REALLY hate to admit this, but I actually like The Marine films. The Marine is easily the best of the bunch, and a solid entry into the fledgling WWE Films repertoire a decade (ish) ago when John Cena was trying to be the next Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. It didn’t break any records, it wasn’t that great, but the huge bodybuilding WWE star was a good bit of action oriented fun. Then 20th Century Fox and WWE Films went with Ted DiBiase Jr. for a mediocre sequel that almost killed it’s DTV aspirations. Luckily they found DTV gold with Mike Mizanin, who reinvigorated the DTV sequels with a reasonable amount of charisma and has helmed films 3-6 with ease as Jake Carter. I won’t say that these movies are good movies, or even acceptable movies, but the WWE capabilities of their stars and lots of action has given us an above average series of DTV films that are actually rather enjoyable for rentals (I’ve seen MUUUUUUUUCH worse in the DTV genre, especially lately).

Poor Jake Carter. He’s had a rough several years. First he comes back form combat to find out his sister is in trouble, then he works private security and gets attacked. Then he moves to being an EMT where he has to defend his life and an innocent’s against a rabid gang of bikers, now he’s helping out a friend and STILL manages to get shot at! The poor guy just can’t catch a break! When Jake (Mike “The Miz” Mizanin) agrees to help out fellow veteran Luke Trapper (Shawn Michaels) in bringing aid to an old vet by the name of Tommy (Tim Woodward) squatting out in an abandoned Oregon brewery he gets ANOTHER chance to kick some butt.

The duo tries their best to give some food and help to the seriously disturbed Tommy, but as they’re leaving they run into a group of gangsters headed by the vicious Maddy Hayes (WWE Diva Rebecca Quin) who have kidnapped a young girl. Well, what do you expect a pair of Marines to do? They yank the girl out from under Maddy and do their best to escape the massive warehouse alive. The problem is, Maddy is keeping the young girl there to leverage her father who is a juror on her gangster father’s ongoing trial) and she will do everything in her power to keep the two Marines from leaving alive. Even if that means killing them all in the process.

Yup, not exactly hard to describe. Jake and Luke are trapped in the building and it’s up to them to shoot, beat, and otherwise tear through the bad guys for 85 minutes. It’s stupid, predictable, but actually rather fun. Mike Mizanin is actually quite charismatic for a WWE star, and he’s gotten better and better with his acting personality with each and every one of these films that he’s done. Adding Shawn Michaels to the mix as his old CO and partner actually adds a mild flair to the film. Instead of one manning it like usual, Jake is forced to work with someone and the banter between the two adds some charm to the movie.

I won’t give TOO many spoilers, but this actually acts as the final film for Mike Mizanin as Jake Carter, and they do a solid sendoff for his character. I have no idea if they aren’t continuing the series, or if Mike himself is tired of the role, but they close out the Jake character pretty finally and while they MAY put Shawn Michaels in the role, I think they’re going to not go on, or cast another WWE star in the role of super man Marine.




Rating:

Rated R for Violence and Some Language




Video:

The 2.39:1 framed MPEG2 image is a bit dry and bland, but it is a serviceable transfer nonetheless. I’ll mention this in my Blu-ray review as well, but the movie is very drained of color, giving it an ash gray color grading that doesn’t really lend itself for bright and colorful (except for Maddy’s bright red hair, the CGI blood and some muzzle flash). Details are solid enough, with shadow detail keeping it from being excellent. Blacks can get a bit crushed and smeary in the darkest of scenes. Skin tones are a bit flat and gray, but overall it’s a decent enough transfer as fine details are good most of the time, and the disc doesn’t show any major artifacting except in the dark.







Audio:

The 5.1 Dolby digital track is also standard fare for the DTV market. The lossy audio is a bit thinner than I’d like, as gunfire and fisticuffs don’t hold the same power and weight that I find more typical of the format. It’s a fairly basic mix though, with solid dialog and decent surround usage when the gunfire gets going. The LFE is a bit milder than I’d like, but at least gunfire sounds more realistic vs. the thundering shockwaves that event the smallest .22lr derringer seems to use in most mixes. The track really doesn’t do much to be stellar, but it covers all the basics easily and never sound bad in any way, shape, or form.







Extras:

• Making Maddy and the Marines
• The Breakdown: Epic Fights

Final Score: ​

Lets be honest here. I like The Marine series for what they are, and have had a good time watching them, but these are not great films. The first one was the only theatrical one of the mix, and it was nothing to write home about either. They’re direct to video sequels that just happen to be above average for the genre, and thanks to the WWE’s pool of literal stunt men, their action sequences are better as well. This one marks the final film for Mike Mizanin, and maybe even the end of the franchise (since he’s carried the series ever since the 3rd film), and it’s pretty much par for the course when it comes to quality (if you’ve seen the others). A decent low budget action rental that works well enough as a cheesy watch. Easily a decent rental if you like the genre.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, Shawn Michaels, Rebecca Quinn, Louisa Connolly-Burnham
Directed by: James Nunn
Written by: Craig Walendziak
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 MPEG2
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French, Japanese DD 5.1
Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Thai, Spanish, English, Japanese
Rated: R
Runtime: 86 Minutes
DVD Release Date: November 13th 2018

Image

• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Cheesy (but fun) Rental

 

[Valerius Walls]

Are there any trailers on this DVD?

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will check it out once on amazon prime/netflix.

 

[Michael Scott]

Are there any trailers on this DVD?

no