Main Cast: Antonio Banderas, Lucy Liu, Gregg Henry, Ray Park, Talisa Soto
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 91 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Two former government agents square off as they search for the most deadly new weapon on Earth in this white-knuckle thriller. Sever (Lucy Liu) was once a top agent with the Defense Intelligence Agency, but she quit when her son was killed in a bungled raid organized by Gant (Gregg Henry), and has sworn to take vengeance against him and his colleagues. When Sever learns that Gant and his team are in possession of a remarkable new weapon -- a microscopic device injected into the victim's bloodstream which is benign until triggered, then kills immediately without leaving a trace -- she is determined to get her hands on it, whatever the cost. However, Gant has turned rogue, and FBI agent Julio Martin (Miguel Sandoval) has been ordered to find him and recover his new weapon. Martin needs the best man he can find for the job, and calls upon Jeremiah Ecks (Antonio Banderas), a former FBI tracker, to do the job. Ecks quit the Bureau when his wife was killed, but Martin informs Ecks that his spouse is actually alive and in hiding, and if he can bring in Gant, she will be returned to him. But Ecks has to face the most formidable adversary of his life in Sever, a master of mayhem bent on revenge. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever was the first English-language feature from Thai filmmaker Wych Kaosayananda (aka Kaos), whose first feature Fah was a box-office blockbuster in his homeland. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Miguel Sandoval - Julio Martin; Terry Chen - Harry; Roger R. Cross - Zane; Sandrine Holt - Agent Bennett; Steve Bacic - Agent Fleming; Aidan Drummond - Michael; David Palffy - Sleazy Man; Joel Kramer - Bus Driver; Scott Leva - Lone Sniper; David Parker - Dark Suit #1; John De Santis - Bus Guard #2; Brian Drummond - VPD Officer (Sc. 116); Eric Breker - Agent Curtis; Tony Alcantar - Edgar Moore; Josephine Jacob - Pretty Girl; David Allan Pearson - VPD Officer (Sc. 73); John McConnach - Escort Agent (Sc. 111); Norm Sherry - Ross Sniper; Ashley Kobayashi - Mali; Lenora Wong - Harry's Wife; Mike Dopud - DIA Agent (Sc. 36, 154); Jim Filippone - DIA Pilot; Charles Andre - Agent Addis
Credit
Lawrence Pevec - Art Director, Dawn Miller - Associate Producer, Greg Frankovich - Associate Producer, Wolfgang Schamburg - Associate Producer, Ernst August Schneider - Associate Producer, Jeff Gerrard - Casting, Peter M. Lenkov - Co-producer, James Holt - Co-producer, Magali Guidasci - Costume Designer, Albert M. Shapiro - First Assistant Director, Kaos - Director, Caroline Ross - Editor, Jay Cassidy - Editor, Andrew Stevens - Executive Producer, Tarak Ben Ammar - Executive Producer, Tracee Stanley - Executive Producer, Oliver Hengst - Executive Producer, Philip Tan - Fights Choreographer, Don Davis - Composer (Music Score), Michael Lloyd - Musical Direction/Supervision, Gary Viola - Camera Operator, Michael Wale - Camera Operator, Douglas Higgins - Production Designer, Julio Macat - Cinematographer, Andrew Stevens - Producer, Elie Samaha - Producer, Chris Lee - Producer, Kaos - Producer, David Birdsall - Set Designer, Timothy Joyce - Set Designer, Michael Williamson - Sound/Sound Designer, Richard King - Sound/Sound Designer, Joel Kramer - Stunts Coordinator, Alan B. McElroy - Screenwriter, Joel Kramer - Additional Cinematography, Cy Peck Jr. - Production Assistant, Joan Collins Carey - Visual Effects Supervisor, Marcus James - First Assistant Camera, Simon Jori - First Assistant Camera, W. Scott Keates - First Assistant Camera, R. Bruce Steinheimer - Special Effects Coordinator, Richard King - Supervising Sound Editor, Rick R Sparr - Visual Effects Producer, Christopher Carlson - Electrician, Saubrie Mohamed - Electrician, Tim Heller - Electrician, Nina Jones - Electrician, Dereck Saari - Electrician, Julian Andraus - First Assistant Editor, Clayton Bachynsky - Second Assistant Camera, Jos Oman - Second Assistant Camera, Richard Sinclair - Second Assistant Camera, Digital Dimension - Visual Effects, Pacific Title & Art Studio - Visual Effects, Zen Kitty - Visual Effects, Kimberly Harris - ADR Supervisor, Background Players - ADR Voice Casting, Al Silverman - ADR Voice Casting, William Unrau - Cable Person, John Lee Beatty - Construction Foreman, Mary Jo Lang - Foley Mixer, Carolyn Tapp - Foley Recordist, Patricia Libenson - Foley Supervisor, Bruno Huber - Generator Operator, Kevin O'Leary - Generator Operator, Gary Burritt - Negative Cutter, Emily Coutts - Set Medic/First Aid, Debra Derkach - Set Medic/First Aid, Shelly Kennedy - Set Medic/First Aid, Marina Alstad - Third Assistant Director, David R. Baron - Third Assistant Director, Adrian Diepold - Third Assistant Director, Clint Paglaro - Video Assist, Mike Sanchez - Video Assist, Blair Walters - Video Assist, Liz Shelton - Graphic Design, Andrew Block - Second Assistant Sound Editor, Frank Meyer - Standby Carpenter, Thomas Oates - Standby Carpenter, Tom Felcan - Armorer, Ron Blecker - Armorer, Lem Lemercier - Armorer
One of the more critically acclaimed titles of the Game Boy Advance's first generation of first-person shooters gets a sequel in this release. Coming to market around the same time as the feature film on which the first game was based, this second installment continues the storyline from a point when the former FBI agent Ecks and the ex-NSA operative Sever have joined forces to fight corruption around the globe.
Arms manufacturers have been spurring international conflicts, to keep weapons sales up. Worse, it appears they may be working with turncoat Secret Service agents who feed them information. Sever travels overseas to seek out suspected "sleeper groups," while Ecks investigates here at home. The two agents will need to rely on wit, luck, and skill, as well as each other, if they're going to stop the wicked plot before it escalates to a true nuclear cataclysm.
Artificial intelligence has been improved in this sequel, for enemies are designed to react realistically to the sights and sounds around them. Levels are set in real-world locations, with larger, more interactive environments. The single-player game offers over two dozen missions across a developing, narrative storyline. Two cartridge-equipped GBA gamers can play the multiplayer modes, which include Deathmatch, Assassination, Bomb Kit, Capture the Flag, and cooperative mission campaigns.
~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide
Roots & Influences
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever is Crawfish Interactive's sequel to Ecks vs. Sever and was released to coincide with the release of the feature film on which the first game is based.
~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide
Production Credits
Company 1: Franchise Pictures; Executive Producer: Elie Samaha; Producer: Leeza-Maria Elkhazen; World Wide Marketing: Lori Drazen; President of Development & Acquisitions: Tracee Stanley; Company 2: Crawfish Interactive; Head of Development: Mike Merren; Producer: Tim Mawson; Programmer: Greg Modern; Additional Programmer: James Birmingham; Game Designer: Jake May, Mark Frazer, Rob Stevens, Simon Handby, Will Greenough; Artist: Jeff Ferguson, Jon Trafford, Mark Frazer, John Taylor, Grant Arthur, Eoin Rogan; Sound Composition: Rockett Music; QA Manager: Steve Frazer; QA: Will Greenough, Jon Shearn; Script Writer: Jake May; Company 3: BAM! Entertainment; Producer: Jay Muggeridge, Tony Mott; Executive Producer: Marcus Fielding; Director of European Development: Joe Booth; Product Manager: John Merchant; Brand Manager: Ant Parkins; Director of European PR: Dawn Beasley; European PR Manager: Cat Channon; Test Manager: Erkan Kasap; Lead Tester: Stuart Bayliss; Testing: Martin Wiggins, Richard Wilson; Additional Testing: The Test Station; Company 4: BAM! Entertainment North America; VP of Development: Alain Tascan; Director of North American PR: Susan Kramer; PR Manager: Mika Kelly; Senior VP Worldwide Marketing: Jill Braff; Product Marketing Manager: Sean Bartlett; Test Manager: Robert Daly
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever is a 2002action film starring Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu. Liu and Banderas play opposing secret agents who are supposedly enemies, but team up during the movie. The film was universally panned by critics, who generally regarded it as having no redeeming features, not even the comedic value normally associated with bad films. It is often listed among the worst movies ever made. In March 2007, the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes ranked the film #1 among "The Worst of the Worst" movie list,[2] with 107 "rotten" reviews and no "fresh" ones. Financially, the film was also a box office failure, recouping just over $19.9 million of its $70 million budget.
The son of Robert Gant (Gregg Henry), director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), is kidnapped when he returns home from Berlin from a trip. Michael (Gant's son) is escorted by a heavilly armed DIA escort. On the way they are ambushed by a hooded figure, Sever (Lucy Liu). Sever then kidnaps Michael. Former FBI agent Jeremiah Ecks (Antonio Banderas) is asked by his old boss to investigate the case. He discovers that the kidnapper must be one of the Chinese girls the DIA adopts and trains as agents. He also discovers that Gant stole a dangerous nanobot assassin, which operates in the human circulatory system. Gant had placed the nanobot in his son's body in order to smuggle it to North America.
Robert Gant is married to Vinn (Talisa Soto), who was previously married to Ecks. Gant separated Vinn and Ecks by staging the death (by car bomb) of each of them to the other; Vinn was officially declared dead and had a closed-casket funeral attended by Ecks. Also, Gant killed the husband and child of his colleague Sever (Lucy Liu), who subsequently kidnapped Gant's son to avenge herself. It turns out that it is not Gant but Ecks who is the father of the child.
A final battle happens near an old railroad station. There Ross (Ray Park) and Gant confront with Ecks and Sever. Gant tries to bargain with Sever but then Sever is sure that it is too late. A long gunfight follows with Ecks and Sever blasting DIA agents and SWAT teams. Ecks and Sever manage to beat the SWAT teams and swarms of agents. Sever then gets in a one-on-one fight with Ross. She eventually wins the fight and kills Gant too. After Local Police and FBI agents arrive they find no evidence of Sever being there.
The film was a massive box office failure, grossing less than 30% of its budget at the box office. Rotten Tomatoes ranked Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever number 1 on its "The 100 Worst Reviewed Films of All Time" list.[3] All of the 105 available reviews gave the film negative ratings. The film was ranked number one worst movie of the decade.[4]
Among the most obvious plot holes noted by critics of the film is the fact that the FBI - an organization intended to work within the United States - is somehow working in Vancouver, Canada.
Soundtrack
A score composed by Don Davis was released but a soundtrack was not.
A Game Boy Advancefirst-person shooter, Ecks vs. Sever, was based on a very early version of the film script and, story wise, is almost nothing like the final rewrite. It was released in 2001, before the film. It was considered an impressive technological feat on the GBA and was accepted more than the film itself.[5] A second game created after the premiere, Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, which follows the plot-line from the film, is considered a sequel to the first game. It got very positive reviews and received a 9/10 on IGN.
