Hidden Agenda (2001)

Dolph's worst movie

This movie got some good reviews and I expected it to be a return to form for Dolph Lundgren. Instead, I found this to be his worst movie. The script is more or less completely incoherent. I lost interest within a couple of minutes and found myself checking my watch, hoping the movie would end soon. I wouldn't recommend this movie even to Dolph Lundgren fans. I am a fan but I wish I had spent my time watching something else. August 22, 2007

One of dolphs best

To be clear this is definatly not dolphs best film, but it is nowhere near his worst. I would say its one of the better directed and produced movie he was in. His performance in the movie is probally in the top five of his career. The action scenes... Well they are very well staged and look real good. The director tried to make them resemble brotherhood of the wolf a little bit, and he didn't really succed. But the directors real weakness in the action was the gunfights. He did not stage them right and didn't do a job editing them. The real flaw of the movie was the last gunfight it was a major letdown. Still a solid movie with a some good action sequences 4 stars!! April 27, 2003

Bad Movie

Despite the fact that I'm a Dolph Lundgren fan, I hated this movie. It was hard to stay awake watching it. Boring! The movie is way too slow. In this movie he is a restaurateur with two computer experts working for him. There are two main women in the film who have a minor romantic connection with Dolph, but it fails to please, partly because these women aren't that attractive. In Dolph's films that were make before 1993 the ladies were always attractive and sexy. In this movie, all the woman are strong, but not sexy. Upon the first encounter with one of the women, she immediately starts trying to punch him. Then, there is a restaurant brawl, and of course, she beats up a man.
Dolph does have some fight scenes in this movie but you have to wait a long time to get to them, and they aren't that great. April 6, 2003

Dolph is a disgrace to his own IQ

This movie is a sad attempt to do an action movie. Dolph has stared in some good action movies, but this one is not one of them. The story is bad and the acting is even worse, Dolph get his ... kicked all the time but wins in the end.
He has an IQ of 140 but that doesnt help him to know which movies he should aviod starring in.

However all of you who want ot see, know you have a choice.
if you buy it, you will regret it, if you rent it you will wish you choosed another. March 20, 2003

Possibly Dolphs best ever!!

As a long time Dolph fan the last few years have not been kind. Dolph has churned out films irregularly and most have been bad. Nearly a year after my last "new Dolph film" Hidden Agenda has finally arrived in my mailbox. Dolphs last was the dire Agent Red. So the long awaited release of Hidden Agenda left me concerned and as I loaded up the DVD in excitment the rather blocky, crude and dull graphic that said lions gate entertainment popped up filling me with more concern.
I then started the movie and from minute 1 to the end the movie screamed class! it looks every inch an A movie, from the cinematography to the explosive action scenes and considering this was shot on a budget, most likely, no more than 10 million thats quite something. Of course the glossy overcoat of the movies visuals are thanks to cinematographer Sylvain Brault, who has been nominated for several awards in his field including an Emmy.
Anyway the plot is good and so is the dialogue. It also seems that research has gone into the various gadgets that these sort of agencies use. The direction is surprsingly first class from Marc S Grenier and I hope Dolph works with him again. His style is reminiscent of John Woo and the Wachowsky Brothers, from the slo-mo fight scenes and gun play to the subtle sound editing used. This is a well written thriller and it features more than enough action sequences for this type of flick. Dolph's martial arts are utilized to full effect thanks to the direction, editing and choreography and we also get the best out of Dolph in the acting department. If you prefer the more all out action approach for a Dolph flick then this will not float your boat in the same way as the Punisher but if you want Dolph in something more clever which also includes impressive action then you should definately purchase this. Whatever your Dolph preferance this is worthy of a rental. I personally think this was his best. It had a good mix of top acting, story and action as well as top draw cinematography and features some impressive explosions. The fight scenes remind me of those in Brotherhood of the Wolf, from the stylish tendancies to the bone crunching sound effects. The few gripes are that at times it gets a little overly complicated and occasionally some shots are quite dark. Also the ending was a minor let down especially compared to the brilliant opening. Still great film that was easily worthy of a theatrical release. March 8, 2002

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