The Minion

THE MINION (1998)

Directed by: Jean-Marc Piche
Screenplay: Matt Roe & Ripley Highsmith
Starring: Dolph Lundgren

A distinctly average effort from the Swedish Oak, The Minion is a hokey mix of action and Knights Templar mumbo jumbo. Lundgren is a modern day priest charged with keeping Satan locked up in some kind of cellar (or something!). But a bunch of demon possessed bad dudes are out to set him free by nicking the key that unlocks the cellar. So Lundgren goes on the run with said key and a foxy babe in tow and looks as bored as one will probably be watching this flick.

It’s not the worst flick Lundgren has made, though it does kinda lean towards that way, and there is enjoyment to be had if you dig all this Knights Templar stuff. However, setting it in modern day Canada, I mean New York, dilutes any kind of mysteriousness and renders everything kind of silly and lame looking. The bad guys ham it up into the stratosphere and the body swapping demon soon becomes tiresome. While the production values aren’t bad, the director has a slipshod approach some scenes working well thanks to groovy camerawork and others sloppy as hell. The action ain’t much better, badly shot and put together with no tension and only a big shootout in a police station ala The Terminator providing any real thrills.

On top of this Lundgren himself looks bored or maybe just really tired and seems disinterested in anything that is going on. He usually tries his best and keeps you watching even in some of his worst films but just can’t muster any oomph here. This is a shame. Best to stick to his recent outings where he stars and directs, such as The Defender or The Mechanik, as those films provide much more action fun than The Minion.