The Specialist Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
The government taught him to kill. Now he's using his skills to help a woman seek revenge against the Miami underworld.
Ray Quick is an ex-CIA bomb expert now living as an high-tech outsider somewhere in Miami, Florida. May Munro has heard of his skills and tries over and over to convince Ray to bomb the guys who killed her parents once. Ray begins to overshadow May. He is interested in May's case, but still is of the opinion to never use his skills again. The situation changes dramatically when a former CIA comrade of Ray appears on the scene.
| Sylvester Stallone | Ray Quick |
| Sharon Stone | May Munro (aka Adrian Hastings) |
| James Woods | Ned Trent |
| Rod Steiger | Joe Leon |
| Eric Roberts | Tomas Leon |
| Mario Ernesto Sánchez | Charlie |
| Sergio Doré Jr. | Strongarm |
| Chase Randolph | Stan Munro, May's Dad |
| Jeana Bell | Alice Munro, May's Mom |
| Brittany Paige Bouck | Young May |
| Emilio Estefan Jr. | Piano Player |
| LaGaylia Frazier | Singer #1 |
| Ramón González Cuevas | Priest at Cemetery |
| Tony Munafo | Tony |
| Cheito Quinonez | Singer at Party |
| Luis Llosa |
4.70 out of 10 (7668 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Disappointed to say the Least
posted on 18 Aug 2009I am a huge fan of Stallone.. but this movie was ridiculously bad.. seriously.Like I said.. never question my allegiance to the Sly movies.. but this movie was terrible. Bad acting all around (accept for James Woods at parts) bad plot. bad writing. bad screen play. bad character development. bad SEX SCENE (INCREDIBLY long, drawn out and totally unnecessary!)I'm not gonna rip on stuff like how completely unlikely it is that someone (especially in 1994) would have as complex of devices as they had in this movie because lets face it, this isn't Stallone's first unrealistic movie nor is it probably his MOST unrealistic movie.I did get a laugh at the hotel/bomb/water scene though... no spoiler there :)Anyway, that's my opinion, take it or leave it.Fox-x
Where do I start?
posted on 07 Jun 2009Well, let's see. Just off the top of my head, here are some of the features of this turkey. Sly Stallone mumbles so badly that only about 5% of his dialogue is intelligible (though this is probably a plus, given the quality of the writing).Sharon Stone is nice to look at but her acting starts off bad and gets worse in a hurry. Her character is so unlikeable I cheered up when Woods slapped her around. Rod Steiger's accent, which I believe is supposed to be Cuban because he pronounces "you" as "chew" a la Scarface, comes and goes. James Woods plays a parody of himself (this was actually the most entertaining thing about the movie). They show Sly working out, and all he does are ballet-like stretches to show off his bod, and it was not a pretty sight. He is so over-pumped that there are alarmingly bulging veins on every inch of his body visible. Stone and Stallone (has a nice ring to it, huh?) have no chemistry--during their big sex scene, they look extremely bored instead of aroused, as if they are about to doze off but the only thing keeping them awake is to make sure their buff bodies are displayed carefully so they look their best on camera. Continuity is terrible-Sly's character adopts a fluffy grey kitty, which I guess is supposed to make him sensitive (I was just worried he'd crush it accidentally) but in a scene towards the end, the cat is dark brown. I give a grudging point towards the kitty not being killed by the Columbians or Woods--the one thing that I didn't see coming, because every time Sly came home looking for his cat I expected him to find it nailed to the wall or something equally hideous. Woods does have a great scene (a couple, really) where he does a little trick with a pen and some plastique to frighten his office staff. I also laughed at the way he'd constantly be yelling "Shut up!" to characters who hadn't even said anything yet.The movie is, I have to admit, one of those that is so bad, it would qualify as one of those 'love to hate it' movies that you sit around with your friends with to watch and make fun of. Worth renting if 1. you are a Woods fan and find him entertaining in any movie no matter how terrible it is or 2. you have a free rental coming at the video store (or both of the above, like me). If you can't stand all three of the principal stars, skip it by all means.
This was a comedy, right?
posted on 14 May 2009I enjoyed this movie in a comedic kind of way. Sly stomps around, trying to act suave. His voice gives him away in every situation as just a big dump retard. How could someone of such brain power perform such masterful bomb explosions? I guess is Sharon Stone wanted to get in bed with me, I would get stuff done that I don't have the first clue of how to do. Eric Roberts and James Woods in the same film is like dating two women at the same time.
It's fun, but sooner or later you will pay a price. Rod Steiger's racist accent should of had the latin community up in arms. The opening scene when we find out why Sly and James Woods part ways is very funny. Then we have Eric Roberts jumping out of his car because Sly is looking at him really hard. He pulls a switchblade on Sly and tells him he might lose an eye if he keeps looking at him in a sexual manner. We get to Sly and Stone naked sooner or later and it is a good steamy sex scene.
James Woods keeps wandering around acting crazy and like he knows what's going on. By the end, all of the white actors playing Cubans get their's.
Not to give away the ending, but we need a part 2. 4/10
Excellent movie. I loved it.
posted on 18 Mar 2009I'm really disappointed by the negative reviews some folks have given, but they're entitled to their opinions. Personally, I really enjoyed this film. Sylvester Stallone plays a former CIA explosives expert who quits after he's teamed with a psychopathic colleague (James Woods) and innocent children get killed in an operation. Working as a "freelance" he's hired by Sharon Stone to avenge the murder of her parents by a drug baron (Rod Steiger) and his son (Eric Roberts). The plot thickens as he falls in love with Stone and finds himself pitted against Woods, now hired by Steiger's crime cartel. To say any more would spoil the plot. The performances by ALL actors concerned was great, and don't l;isten to anyone who says otherwise. Stallone CAN act and really conveyed the angst of someone falling hopelessly in love while knowing his emotions are going against all his instincts. I was surprised by the 'depth' he showed in this movie. Eric Roberts was excellent as the vicious & narcissistic son of a drug daron. I've always considered him to be more talented than his fantastically lucky sister (Julia). However, the real star of The Specialist has to be James Woods. He was wonderful. He's only ever been better in Salvador and Casino in my opinion and should have been Oscar-nominated. He was that good. The scene where he humiliates a police bomb squad is electrifying. Sharon Stone was good too. All in all, it's well worth watching.
Subtle, high-tech, well-researched, reasonably acted
posted on 03 Mar 2009I like this movie for the scenery, the gadgets, five stars, good plot and reasonably good acting all round. People often put Sylvester Stallone down, but he played a more subtle role in this movie than the Rocky, Rambo, or Cobra - type of movies. Sharon Stone and James Woods pretty much reprised their roles in Casino, and I suspect both movies were made around the same time. Eric Roberts was OK as a spoiled little rich "bad" guy. Rod Steiger played a Godfather-like figure on a lesser scale but not detrimentally. The explosives scenes are well-done, the dialog is appropriate for that time period, and the gadgets are pretty advanced even by today's standards. Overall, the movie is an experiment using high-tech and star weight to compensate for less physical action. I recommend it for re-watching now and again. By the way, anybody know what type of pocket computer Stallone was using to connect with Sharon from the phone booth? I want one of those babies :)
James D Woods
posted on 16 Feb 2009What makes this flick for me is the performance of Woods. Convincing bad guy, great screen presence. To my surprise, no-one mentions one of his best lines (and there are many). When Woods is closing upon Stallone's hideout, using the suborned Miami cops - and the cops are falling into Stallone's booby traps, he walks towards the hideout through the smoke with the line "it's so hard to get good help these days".......Beauty! He makes the film.The concrete of the apartment - exploding with Stallone's bombs - falling into the water and into the camera - good. Rod Steiger with his Latino accent - good. Stone showing her figure - OKbut I still come back to Woods as the bad guy.......
If it were not for......
posted on 29 Jan 2009If it were not for the appearance of Sharon Stone's ample mammae, this movie wouldn't even be worth the cost of the match to burn it with. I would endeavor to guess that the main actors in this movie donated their time and talents gratis, because I cannot imagine anyone paying for the services of professional actors just to let their talents languish in the doldrums of obscurity, drivel and overall bad acting. There are so many gosh awful movies these days I believe that the moguls of Hollywood have merely capitulated and sold their souls to the gods of the "box office take". This movie could have been just as successful with simply, Sharon Stone, and the rest of the roles could have been filled with "B" actors. What a waste of "A" talent.
A terrible 'action' film that is more accidentally humorous than seriously suspenseful.
posted on 08 Jan 2009Although Stallone was already a big budget Hollywood star with many a title under his belt with Sharon Stone who also had a few films (most noticeably 'Basic Instinct') going for her and James Woods, again, with some reasonably successful outings (most notably in my opinion a 'Simpsons' episode), 'The Specialist' fails to live up to its talent hype and attempt as a film noir come action film.What struck me upon looking this film up after seeing it was the director. He'd had hardly any experience previous to this film and thinking back to the film itself; it's no wonder it really turned out the way it did. A big budget and a big cast with a screenplay that wasn't terrible probably demanded a bigger and better director. I could kick around a few names like 'John Woo' but I won't get too into that.Fatally, The Specialist doesn't do right what it's supposed to do right. The camera work is bad (I actually spotted one instance of camera shake in this film), the fight scenes are poorly choreographed and badly executed, the dialogue is a bit iffy at best and is rather clichéd at times and the stereotypes of Colombian drug lords are laughable. With the action scenes, the extras just sit up waiting to be hit and are poorly put together in a way that you can see Stallone's next move as he wins the punch-up from a beaten position. The dialogue put across via the recorded phone messages feels forced and they snap back at one another too quickly. The character played by Rod Stieger is a little too stereotypical and his pronunciation of the word 'you' like 'jew' can only be taken seriously for so long before a serious scene involving intense dialogue is broken up by a smirk here and there.What makes the film also rather cheesy is the editing at some points. Early on in the film, a character threatens Stallone at knife point and asks him a question. Cut to a reaction shot of a silent Stallone and immediately, the character asks the question again – not even giving Stallone the time it takes to blink to reply. This was very noticeable and good editing, as they say, is un-noticeable. One other incident is where Stallone sneaks up on a pistol wielding guard during a hotel evacuation and knocks him out from behind in the lobby area. We keep on the same camera and pan as he runs away. From this, we see that for the entire time, people (extras) have been running right past, merely feet from the assault and don't even batter an eyelid at what just happened as Stallone runs off in the OPPOSITE direction.Every action film has its effects and this films' was poor. The blatant blue screen effect of the water getting closer and closer via the window as the suite breaks off the side of the hotel and falls to the sea as a guy waves frantically at the camera crashing towards him without trying to get away really brought out a long shake of the head from me. The fact when one of the bombs went off in the room, one guy fell down before the other was also laughable. These are the action scenes of the film and should be suspenseful and nerve-wracking – not humorous, instead.If you're looking for a decent Stallone action-based film from the mid-nineties, avoid this and see 'Assassins' instead. That film's particularly large cast rivals this one and the direction and script are a lot better.
What a stinker
posted on 21 Nov 2008Apart from the wooden acting, the heavy-handed direction, the vapid dialogue, farcical 'action' scenes and the incredulous plot, this movie was the worst film I've seen in a long, long time. Given a choice between stabbing myself repeatedly with a pen and watching this movie again, I'll take the pen.
James Woods: Just wind him up and watch him go!
posted on 24 Jul 2008As others have mentioned, James Woods is the only really entertaining asset this film has. Even a good dosage of Sharon Stone in the nude cannot elevate this film above the level of crappola.The plot isn't worth commenting on. You just have a vengeful woman (Stone) hiring Sly Stallone to blow up a crime family who killed her parents when she was a child. By the way, does anyone else find it totally ridiculous that Stone's character is a child when her parents are killed by Eric Roberts & co., but now she's supposed to be all grown up and he still looks the same? Totally laughable.Anyway, just watch James Woods do what he does best. He goes way over the top with his portrayal of a former colleague of Stallone (in the CIA I think) now trying to help mob boss Rod Steiger hunt him down. Woods easily steals every scene he's in. He looks like he's having a blast with the corny dialogue.My favorite scene:Woods and some hit men are on their way up to Sly's hotel room to waste him. About four of them jump on an elevator, and just before the door is about to close, a couple of senior citizens try to get on with them. The man is wearing a god-awful brightly colored shirt, and woods not only tells him and his wife to get lost, but also insults him about his shirt! You can just tell Woods ad-libbed the line about the shirt just as the doors were closing on the old couple. Truly hilarious!The rest of the film besides Woods is terrible. Stallone never knew how to say no to a bad film, and that is why his career has bottomed out. Stone bounced back with a big role in Casino the following year. Woods is also in that one, and once again, he steals every scene. At least Casino was good, though!The Specialist is worth about 4 of 10 stars.So sayeth the Hound.
A NO BRAINER
posted on 15 Jul 2008Once again we can watch a typical Hollywood action movie, this time with a Stallone as a lead actor. Is it any better than others?NO. Well, with a few exceptions. There are some positive aspects such as acting of Eric Roberts a.k.a. Tomass and James Woods a.k.a agent Ned. They are undoubtfully the better part of the movie. O.k. not to forget Sharon, who is just to good to act in this kind of movies. And hey, i must not forget some black humor scenes, for instance a bye-bye signal and Ned remarks (...The elevator is full, and buy yourself another shirt...).And that's about it...there's too many things missing in this movie, to cope with other actions movies, and that's why this movie will soon be forgotten. I would rate this movie lower, if there wasn't pluses which i mentioned above, and that's why a low grade of4 out of 10.
"Their my problem now... & I'm theirs." Terrible big budget action flick.
posted on 03 Jun 2008The Specialist starts as May Munro (Sharon Stone) contacts hired assassin Ray Quick (Sylvester Stallone) & ask's him to kill the three men who murdered her parents & the man who ordered it, being a helpful kind of chap Ray agrees. Things become complicated when Ray's old CIA buddy turned baddie Ned Trent (James Woods) show's up wanting to kill Ray because he hurt Ned's feelings back in 1984 & that's it basically.This Peruvian American co-production was directed by Luis Llosa which is a name I instantly recognised as this is the guy responsible for one of the worst big budget horror flicks of the 90's, namely Anaconda (1997) which is a film I hate with a passion & guess what? I also hate The Specialist as well, luckily after both this & Anaconda tanked at the box-office & were critically torn to pieces Llosa hasn't been allowed to make an American film since, there is a god after all... Anyway, the script by Alexandra Seros which takes itself far too seriously was 'suggested' by the Specialist novels by John Shirley & is terrible, for a start there's barely any action in it & the scene set on the bus where Stallone beats up some thugs is so pointless & utterly irrelevant to the plot it sticks out like a sore thumb & smacks of a re-shoot in an attempt to up the action quota. In fact all The Specialist offers in terms of action are a couple of exploding vehicles & some large explosions at the end otherwise this is one of the least action packed big budget Stallone flicks I've ever seen. The character's are awful, the dialogue is awful, the story is utterly predictable & pedestrian with virtually no reason given why Ned wants to kill Ray at this point or no reason why May's parents were originally murdered & at nearly two hours long it's a real chore to sit through. I really, really dislike The Specialist & would call it more of a thriller than an action flick although I'm betting the trailer makes it look like it's full of explosions & action scenes but just don't be fooled because it isn't.Director Llosa is an awful director & it's no surprise no respectable studio has let him go anywhere near a film camera since this & Anaconda, there are so many scenes in The Specialist which are played straight & meant to generate tension & excitement but are so poorly & ineptly handled they come across as laughable. The opening scene where trained assassin Stallone suddenly develops a conscience is stupid, the scene in the police station where James Woods threatens an entire room of cops with a homemade bomb is ridiculous as the cops would have shot his head off, the sex scene between Stallone & Stone is one of the most unerotic & frankly ugly pieces of film I've ever seen & James Woods losing it in front of all those cops & telling them all to shut up is just hilarious & his character comes across like some sort of clown rather than the hard as nails bad guy he should have. Apart from when Stallone beats some punks up on a bus there's no fights, there's no shooting, there's no car chases & the only explosions worth mentioning are right at the very end if you can make it that far.With a supposed budget of about $45,000,000 The Specialist was a well funded film although I struggled to see where the money went although Stallone was paid $15,000,000 to be in it so I guess there's my answer. Apparently Steven Seagal only wanted $9,000,000 to star & direct so why didn't Warner Bros. go with him? Well they didn't want to pay him that much so they went to Stallone who only wanted an extra $6,000,000 anyway... To be honest this feels like a low budget straight to video Seagal flick, it really does. The acting is terrible from all involved, Stallone is even more wooden than usual, Stone is just plain awful & not particularly good looking in this while the usually superb James Woods is left trying to make the best of a terrible script & a rubbish character but even he ends up looking somewhat embarrassed.The Specialist is a terrible film which I hated when I saw it back in the 90's & still hate now when I saw it but a few hours ago, there's nothing much more I can say other than I personally think it's complete rubbish except some decent explosions at the end which aren't worth waiting for.
Not all that special
posted on 19 May 2008This has to be one of the most pointless movies to ever make it onto cinema screens. Whether that's a good or bad thing will ultimately be up to the viewer, but there is a good chance for big disappointment.The plot and the acting, and pretty much everything about this movie puts it on par with direct-to-video action movies. The only thing better are the the special effects, mainly comprising of juicy slow motion explosions, including a hilariously exploding hotel room. Now there is nothing inherently wrong with B-grade action movies, they can be entertaining in their own way, but the thing is when they are viewed they are picked up to be watched, you know what you're getting. The ultimate undoing of this film is that it was not released as a B-movie, but a big studio action film and that's where it is going to disappoint. With all that money you'd think that they'd produce something a few notches better than this.There are a few pluses here: the many explosions, James Woods in a decent crazy villain role, and a shower scene with the two attractive stars, but still - something's missing. Maybe the film could have been a bit shorter and thus brisker. Or maybe a more satisfying final confrontation between hero and villain. Or maybe even both. --- 4/10BsCDb Classification: 13+ --- violence, sexual content
See this film only if you're a James Woods fan. Even then, stay away!
posted on 28 Feb 2008James Woods is the best thing about this really dumb film. He chews the scenery and he is about the only thing that is enjoyable in it. Stallone was much better in the lively Demolition Man, and Rod Steiger is drop dead funny with that really, really bad Cuban accent. "Chew are a good God." he says at one point. I'm just lucky that I didn't pay full price for this turkey.
Disaster Area
posted on 20 Jan 2008Never has the one film made so many past and future Oscar nominees and winners look so stupid. Even the brilliant James Woods, who fights hard but even he can't save this junk. A note to Sylvester Stallone: Why is it that you have to tediously play the same role in every film, even when it doesn't fit? He's always the decent 'good' man who is wronged by everyone else and who always does the right thing. WAKE UP! Your character in this film was a government assassin. AN EVIL, EVIL man who blew people up for money. So, having him suddenly discover a conscience because a young girl is in the car they're about to zap is especially puke-worthy. It's not like he didn't know what he's been doing all these years. This problem is all the more so in that crap-fest Assassins, where he also killed people for money. So, in this film and that one especially, why didn't you play it as such and drop all the really sickening moralising O.K?
Pretty good
posted on 30 Dec 2007It certainly isn't as bad as the critics said. "The Specialist" offers nothing special, but it's solid action entertainment. The stunts are really cool, especially the hotel scene involving the room collapsing into the water. James Woods seems to be having the time of his life as the villain, and let's face it--you can never get enough of watching him play the hot-tempered villain. The late Rod Steiger gave a fine performance, donning a convincing Cuban accent. I like the seductive score, and I can't get enough of Gloria Estefan's rendition of "Turn the Beat Around." The film doesn't have any surprising plot twists or turns, but I still enjoyed it and will give it a recommendation. Come on, there's much much much worse films out there! My score: 7 (out of 10)
Caliente!
posted on 24 Dec 2007Ray Quick (Sylvester Stallone) is an ex-CIA agent that is contacted by May (Sharon Stone) for a simple job. She wants him to kill the men responsible for the death of her parents, which she witnessed as a child. Quick is the specialist of explosives and uses them to his advantage. But what Quick doesn't know is that his fellow comrade (James Woods)is working for the very people that he's trying to kill. The movie turns into an explosive game of cat and mouse, with May being the possible pawn.There are lots of clever explosions through the film (A section of a hotel, a bomb in a coffee cup, centered explosions), and lots of steamy moves from Stallone and Stone (If they were ever a couple, you wouldn't have trouble combining their names. Just say Stallone!)As usual, Woods steals the show. Stallone and Stone actually have some heat and Eric Roberts and Rod Steiger are just there for the fireworks.
Unremarkable but enjoyable fare
posted on 09 Dec 2007I liked this film. People often criticise Sly Stallone who turns in pretty much his usual character performance - solid action with a tender heart deep down.Stallone isn't a bad actor - he might not be Olivier but for me is convincing for the roles he plays.James Woods had some dodgy lines in this, as did Sly but enjoyable hokum. Seems that efforts were made - despite this being a solid Stallone actioner - to avoid the usual fist-fights and guns. Sharon Stone was surely hired for box office appeal (to boost the film given Sly's is fading) and she turns in a credible performance. Perhaps any starlet could have done the job but Stone's popularity must have helped sell the film, which without her might have been another Stallone flop (which would have been undeserved).
Good film.
Not much on action. But more on emotion.
posted on 27 Nov 2007This film was'nt that bad. Anybody would call this movie a pointless action movie, really did'nt see it. If you ask me it was Sylvester Stallone's best film in years. He tried to pull of some good acting, he does okay in a few scenes. Sharon Stone is also great has a women who hires Stallone to eliminate three gangsters who murdered her parents, But Stallone is not your usually hitman, instead of a gun, he bombs his victims. They really go with a bang. James Woods is also good has Stallone's former partner turned enemy, he was really good at being bad. And for Stallone fans, if your looking for pointless action movies, look for Judge Dredd and Assassins.
Incoherent pastiche
posted on 21 Aug 2009I had the strange feeling after watching this film, that I had seen all
the parts somewhere else, like Miami Vice, or a Vanilla Ice film, all bright sunlight, schmoozy parties, and tough talk. In short, it's a day out for the SFX team, and a waste of the multi-purpose Specialist title. Stranger too, because Sharon Stone is not a useless actress, nor Stallone, when he puts his mind to it, nor Woods. The film was a money trap only, I suggest, and viewers wanting substance shouldn't bother. One Star for the sheer gall.