Icon (2005)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Must See Movie...

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

I haven't read the book Icon, but I understand it's quite different from the film. One of the reasons may be because it was a TV movie and didn't have a budget for the grand finale that was described in one of the reviews; another reason may be because most TV movies are not written to the same level as feature films. Given some feature films I've seen, that's pretty scary, but there we are.Icon is the story of a retired US Operative, Jason Monk (Patrick Swayze) who comes out of retirement to return to Russia and bring to justice Komarov (Patrick Bergin), an enemy responsible for the death of Monk's fellow operatives years earlier.Komarov is now running for President in the new Russia. Working with a member of the Russian police force (Annika Peterson), he discovers Komarov's true agenda, which includes wiping out ethnic groups using biological warfare.Monk has an additional reason for returning to Russia - he has a daughter there and has learned that his wife died of cancer. He hasn't seen his daughter since she was a little girl; she's now 17.This was a solid, if not overwhelmingly thrilling, miniseries that held my interest. And the cast was solid: Barry Morse, who was something like 88 when he did this miniseries; Ben Cross, Jeff Fahey whom I always think of as my elevator buddy; and Michael York.Now, why do I call Jeff Fahey my elevator buddy? About 30 years ago, when he was on One Life to Live, we were on an elevator together. Around 2000, I went to an opening of some kind, and as I walked onto the elevator to leave, Jeff Fahey entered.Anyway, this was pretty good. Sad to see Patrick Swayze, gone too soon.

We read the Reader's Digest condensed version, and quickly put the DVD in the 1st spot slot of our NetFlix queue. Had dinner, then sat down and got ready for the movie. Three hours long. I honestly believe that this waste of film belongs in the top ten list of Mystery Science Theater 3000!!! I ad libed just as MST3K would have throughout this video. Delightfully entertaining my wife who responded with peals of laughter. It had the tension, action, and suspense of a cheese stick!As a party popper, one could play it and amaze everyone with the 'psychic demonstrations' of telling what will happen next with accuracy. The sound track was as genuine as one of a porn film.After this, we may dare to watch "Dirty Dancing" and groan for Patrick The author also wrote: Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File and The Dogs of War. PLEASE tell me that Hallmark didn't produce these!

I am still hanging on there for Patrick Swayze. A huge fan, always have been and always will be even if it's just hanging on to the hope that Johnny Castle will get another great role and if it's straight to video for him than so be it...I still think he's great. Icon is an absolute B movie if not because of the budget for any other reason. It must be rated with the fact that it is a "B" movie in mind. That being said Icon is a decent little flick with some definite highs and some definite lows. I am quite confident that with a different director and a different screen writer (perhaps Frederick Forsyth himself) this film could have been done very very well. If nothing else Icon is a great Russian film. I have not seen any other film that embraces modern day Russia with a great respect and treats it as good as a political thriller in the US would treat America. The story is good enough although a little confusing at times with some scenes that are unnecessary and a little complex, most notably the opening scene which I am still a little confused about.Patrick Swayze takes the lead role as Jason Monk, an under cover operative, who is former CIA and is coaxed back into Russia with the promise of being reunited with his estranged daughter who he hasn't seen she was a little girl. It still pains me to see Swayze look so old in the face but the guy can still move, he is in great shape and plays the action role just fine. His acting is a little campy at times but it really is the writing and the film that is at best B quality. He certainly shines in the role (I thought) and I think Jason Monk is a marketable character for sequels but they have a lot to change. The supporting cast in the film is also quite notable. Joss Ackland as the reclusive Presidential candidate General Nikolayev is good in his scenes and very convincing as a Russian dignitary, Patrick Bergin is fantastic as the evil "Icon" of Russia who wants the Presidency and is behind the plot to poison different races of Russians in Hitler style. He's cold and calculating but very personable and believable. Steven Spiers is also great as Swayze's friend and partner Viktor. He's lovable and you are drawn to him but he's kind of underused in the sidekick role. Michael York, who unfortunately is best known as Austin Powers' boss Basil plays Swayze's boss and you can't help but remember him as Basil which kind of ruins his role. Jeff Fahey also does a great job as the sleazy America Political spinner who helps Komarov get elected. Annika Peterson plays the main female lead Sonija Astrov and she does a good job too, as good as Swayze does. She handles action well and her and Swayze have decent chemistry. All of them play Russian quite well and I know many complain about the cheesy accents and the fact that barely anyone actually speaks Russian when they would in reality but it's a movie that has to be done in English so to me it was just a matter of assuming they would be speaking Russian normally but in order for us to watch the movie without subtitles...it's English. The cast is absolutely not the issues with the film but rather the reason to watch it. The film style of the film immediately reminded me of another low budget series which I have really enjoyed the "Left Behind" series which coincidentally enough director Charles Martin Smith played a part in the third installment. He wasn't right for this film and I don't think he knew how to properly piece together the story. There was no need for the film to be in two parts or to be as long as it was. Much of the story could have been cut down. Sometimes the sound editing was dead awful as well. Watching characters' mouths move and be out of sync with the words was annoying at times...annoying enough for me to mention it. Or it's the fault of screenplay writer Adam Armus who has a tendency to drag out films (ie: King Solomon's Mines...also a Swayze masterpiece.) When it's all said and done it's not so bad. It's worth watching, maybe not all at once, but a little at a time but it's put together with a very low budget. The special effects and stunts aren't bad but it seemed like the production of the film and the DVD got some poorly budgeted effects which does effect your experience. It's a shame it wasn't better handled because the ideas and possibilities are there. Just not fully realized. 6/10

Fans of the novel will more than likely be disappointed. But if you are interested in seeing a decent spy thriller, I recommend this. The cast is good and its got high production values.The cast is a good one. Patrick Swayze fits the role of Jason Monk perfectly and bares quite a resemblance to the character in the novel. Patrick Bergin and Ben Cross are excellent as the villains. But the best acted part in the film has to go to Micael York for his role of Sir Nigel Irvine. Joss Ackland also gives a good performance as the underused Russian General turned presidential candidate.Also on the plus side,the production values are high. The action sequences are good and exciting. The locations look real and are obviously not faked and the score is one of the best i've heard recently for TV movies.Ont he downside, the film's plot and its length are a downside. Most of the novel is scrapped and the great Black Manifesto is replaced (for the most part) by a virus. The addition of Monk's daughter and the female FSB agent are also added on to the novel's plot and are often irrelevant to the main part of the story. The plot is highly unbelievable and the duologue come in the tons in this film and winds it down several times.SPOILER! : The biggest flaw is the ending. The novel featured Komarov's and his army launching an attack on Moscow leading to a battle that would have been great on screen Instead it is replaced by simply having Komarov chased out by protesters and being shot by monk. An anti-climactic ending if there ever was one.Despite these flaws, Icon is still watchable and, while not faithful to the novel, is a decent spy thriller.