Right, well a movie such as "Skin Trade" did seem like it could have great potential. After all, I mean, there are some pretty big names on the cast list, which includes Tony Jaa, Michael Jai White, Dolph Lundgren, Ron Perlman and Peter Weller.The concept of the storyline was good, although the movie itself was rather predictable and generic.Naturally there was lots of good action and fighting sequences. These sequences were nicely choreographed and executed on the screen, and that really added to the enjoyment of the movie."Skin Trade" had a good cast, as I mentioned earlier. Though I feel that Michael Jay White, Peter Weller and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa weren't given enough screen time or prominent enough roles to really utilize their abilities and talents.All in all, "Skin Trade" turned out to be a mediocre action movie because of the storyline, and while the action was bountiful and nicely executed, then it could only do so little to salvage the storyline. "Skin Trade" is good enough entertainment for a single viewing if you enjoy action movies that do not challenge your intellectual side.

Nick Cassidy (Dolph) is a tough New York cop with a loving wife and daughter. When a Serbian gangster named Viktor Dragovic (Perlman) and his three sons appear on Nick's radar, representing many illegal interests, not the least of which is human trafficking, Nick makes it his mission to shut them down. It becomes personal when the baddies kill his wife and daughter and leave him for dead. Now fueled for revenge, Nick travels to Thailand, and while there meets up with a Thai cop named Tony (Jaa). At first they are enemies based on misunderstanding, but eventually they team up to end the Dragovic criminal empire - permanently. Add to that some duplicity on behalf of a man named Reed (White), Nick and Tony have their hands full. Will they both put an out-of-business sign on the SKIN TRADE? Dolph delivers what fans want with Skin Trade, and notches another positive on his ever-growing resume. Having starred in, co-produced, and co-written the film, Dolph has described it as a passion project. That he has two daughters of his own provided even more emotional fuel for him, and he even got involved behind the scenes with anti-trafficking organizations. While that is noble, and there is a tasteful title card after the film that informs us about trafficking, what we're here for is the action, and there's plenty of it. It's all framed around what is probably our favorite plot, the revenge framework.Dolph even assembled a dream cast for this one. You can't do better than having Dolph, Tony Jaa, Michael Jai White (MJW as we call him), Ron Perlman and Peter Weller all together, can you? Weller's part is necessarily restrained, but he does bring his classic voice and intensity to the role. Perlman, honestly, doesn't get a ton of screen time either, but he makes the most of what he has. The Dolph-Tony Jaa fight amongst all the falling rice was a movie highlight, as was another dream pairing, the MJW-Tony Jaa fight.It looks professional and non-junky, thank goodness, and the stellar cast only reinforces the "this could have gone to the theater here and probably did in other countries around the world" vibe. Dolph does walk away from an explosion, which is always cool, but sadly it's a CGI explosion. While we really liked the movie overall, and there is plenty to commend within it, the use of CGI explosions, bullet hits, sparks, etc., plus the annoying use of cut frames was a bit bothersome. But it's very clear the positives outweigh those minor negatives.We applaud everyone involved, especially Dolph, for producing Skin Trade. On the one hand it has brutal violence and top-notch fights from the best in the business, and on the other hand it delivers an important message about one of the evils in the world today. The fact that Dolph and the gang found a way to marry those two together is impressive and noteworthy. Skin Trade is worth seeing and recommending.

aHere's a movie of it's worn ilk, that comes off better than you think it will, thanks to some nice little plot differences, it's realistic end, a surprise, leaving a kind of sting in your tale. Face it. There's been so many movies on Human Trafficking, almost more than I've had hot dinners. ST is almost a fresh take on these movies. An aging Dolph who heads a task force against human trafficking, butts heads with a slave trade owner (Ron Pearlman, a nice choice of casting) who in an act of family revenge, (think The Punisher) kill's his beautiful half Asian wife (what a waste) and supposedly daughter. Lundgren's not the only aging actor. His boss and friend, is an almost bald Peter Weller, who looks (pardon me) bloody awful. We also don't have a team player in this task force. Lundgren's furious and no holds barred vendetta to kill Pearlman, becomes the driven plot, in what is an engaging and well made action pic, with not just action to boot. Dolph's force is not the only ones with eyes on Perlman. A Japanese task force is also in operation, a female colleague, working undercover as one of the bought girls. Lundgren's rage and wild antics of course, jeopardizes the Asian operation, headed by Tony Laa. When Dolph enters their territory, being mistaken for the guy who shot Laa's partner and close friend, now he too becomes fueled with revenge. Cary Haya Tagawawa co stars as a another corrupt force and we see a familiar Asian face, at the start, we've seen in too many of these movies, again playing a low down pimp. Skin Trade is exciting action entertainment, a few notches better than others in this weathered slave trade/genre. Don't snub it just cause of it's stereotypical appearance.

Here we have a 90-minute (without credits) movie from last year that got its wide release in 2015. It stars Scandinavion action hero Dolph Lundgren and Tony Jaa who you may or may not have seen in the "Ong Bak" films. I personally thought the first half of this film was the best part, even if it just some kind of prologue with Lundgren's character almost being killed before he goes on his revenge path. Afterward, every cliché is somewhat included. Corrupt cops, ruthless revenge, Asisnas fighting in martial arts, the Asian and the Scandinavion guy fighting side-by-side after initially going against each other.For me, the best part was probably Ron Perlman, but I am a bit biased here. I hope we will get a 3rd Hellboy film one day. "Skin Trade" ended a bit on a cliffhanger, so maybe they will make a sequel at some point where he keeps looking for his daughter. I am not so sure if I will watch it though. Perlman's character is gone and I will probably only give it a go if they include another great villain that I like, Mel Gibson for example. Four people worked on the screenplay (including Lundgren himself for the first time in 5 years) and it is a bit generic and uncreative for that I have to say. Also I did not like the final message displayed about human trafficking, which somehow implies that the movie takes itself far more seriously than it should. Hands down, this could never have turned out as a quality drama or thriller movie, so this felt a bit unwarranted. Still, it's not a totally bad watch by any means. It has its moments for sure. But not enough of these to let me recommend it. The second half of the film drifts too deep into action sequences with fighting and shooting etc. and the story is hurt by it. Not recommended.