I'll say this much for "The Marine"...it's exactly what you think it's gonna be, the latest fun-but-dumb action flick calculated to turn a WWE wrestler into a movie star. While said-wrestler John Cena displays a tenth of the personality of The Rock, this low-rent film certainly caters to his abilities, and despite the fact the story offers no surprises whatsoever, "The Marine" manages to be a fairly fun way to kill 90 minutes.

Big & meaty John Cena plays John Triton (an action hero name if there ever was one), who is discharched from the Marines for disobeying a direct order (never mind the fact that it resulted in the rescue of several P.O.W.s). While trying in vain to adapt to civilian life, his ultra-hot wife, Kate (Kelly Carlson), is kidnaped by jewel thieves, led by Rome (Robert Patrick), who is attempting to escape after a recent heist with the usual assortment of 'colorful' henchmen in tow. This leads to a chase through the swamps of South Carolina, in which Triton single-handedly dispatches the bad guys one-by-one in order to save Kate. That ain't really giving anything away. Anyone who's seen any action movie since "Die Hard" already knows the story, and seasoned viewers will be able to predict virtually everything that's gonna happen long before it actually does. While there's nothing original about the movie, "The Marine" isn't without its merits. The action scenes, of which there are plenty, are depicted with the usual MTV-style gusto by director John Bonito, and feature enough gratuitous explosions to sate even the most die-hard pyromaniac. The story also features several awkward attempts at humor, mostly involving a guy with serious issues involving rock candy. Despite the bland story, I gotta admit I appreciated the creative (and unexpected) death scene involving one of Rome's cronies and a Greyhound bus. As for Cena, his overly-buffed appearance and non-acting renders him more a cartoon character than anything else, but he's likable enough to pull off this fairly undemanding role. The movie, however, is totally stolen by Patrick. As Rome, he's amusing, campy and menacing, and gets off some pretty funny one-liners while doing his dirty work. Regarding the "UNRATED' moniker: this is another one of those movies that uses the tag to sell discs. Aside from maybe a few F-Bombs thrown about, there is little to differentiate this cut from the PG-13 version which appeared in theaters.

Presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, "The Marine" more-or-less delivers in the visual department. The color tones are accurate and lines are sharp. The sound may not be the most creatively balanced, but it's suitable loud and clean when it needs to be.

Both the PG-13 and unrated cuts of the movie are included. There isn't an audio commentary for either, and in fact, most of the extras features have less to do with the behind-the-scenes production of the movie than with its star, John Cena. There are numerous 'featurettes', but many are of the promotional variety (such as the movie's premiere at a Marine base), and include lots of footage from the movie itself. Fans of Cena will certainly enjoy them, but for movie fans, the short making-of featurette included will probably be of the most value (and it does include some amusing behind-the-scenes footage).

If nothing else, "The Marine" delivers what it promises....lots of mindless, large-scale action, explosions and chases. Cena has his work cut out for him if he wants to compete with the likes of other A-list action heroes, but I suppose this movie is as good a start as any (much like "Conan" was for Arnold). The movie is loud, dumb and predictable, but at least it's not boring. For those reasons, it's recommended for those with low expectations. Useless Trivia: This movie's theatrical release was actually delayed several times before finally being released in October of 2006. It was also originally planned to be a vehicle for "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.