It's hard to believe that Arnold isn't 70 yet. I looked it up, and I assume the almighty Wikipedia wouldn't steer me wrong about something so inconsequential. Well, he is long in the tooth, to say the least. Yet, we are to believe that he is an active member and leader of an elite group of DEA undercover agents. I say that they are undercover agents, as that's what they say they are. This doesn't hold much weight, as they never seem to go undercover, and they never make an effort to hide their faces or tattoos, even when meeting with a bunch of Mexican police who all wear masks.
Arnold needs to start doing what Clint, Connery, and Costner have all decided to do: play guys who aren't young and prepared for punching matches. It's not that Arnold did a terrible job with this movie, but it would have been MUCH better if someone else had played the lead. Watching Arnold try to float through the movie without putting out a heap of effort is a bit of an effort for the audience to watch.
Sam Worthington plays one of the brood - he's the generally nutty one who is... dating? Married to? Let's go with seeing one of the other members of the team - the only female one. He has distracting facial hair and his American accent falls a few times, but I like his acting style, and I'll forgive a bit of accent issues.
Olivia Williams is the only woman on the team, and she is also a drug addict and a bit nuts - so she's a catch. Joe Manganiello took time away from his role as a werewolf in True Blood to put in some cornrows and play the grumpy big guy with a more grounded moral compass than the rest - but not too grounded. I keep thinking that Terrence Howard will appear in a movie and I'll think, "Boy, he was great!" and I'm still kind of waiting. I don't know what it is about him, but he fades into the background even when he's front and center.
The movie has not enough action, a little too much intrigue that feels like the writer is laying Legos out in front of you with instructions on how they go together, too many close-up shots of Arnold's eyes as if something is happening behind them, and too many damn characters on his team. The strangest idea for a group of undercover operatives is that they also do prisoner transfers and serve warrants and raid drug dens and all other kinds of things.
Oh, and Olivia Williams is the investigator who exists to find out all of their little secrets. The character is pretty bad, and the actor they picked is probably the weakest of the bunch, and that includes Arnold.
Action was okay
Acting was pretty good
Effects were okay
Story was weak
Dialog was pretty horrid
1.75/5