Mark Dacascos has had a long and interesting career in the film business. Thirty years ago this year, he landed his first lead role in Only the Strong, written by Luis Esteban and Sheldon Lettich, with Lettich serving as director. It wasn’t a huge hit at the time of release, but it has grown to have a large, devoted following and was the first film to revolve around the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira. From there, his career took off, landing roles on television, DTV features, and even major blockbusters.
Some of his smaller films have yet to make their way to disc, but MVD Visual has finally brought one of the better DTV efforts he starred in, Sabotage (1996), to DVD. I’m not sure why there wasn’t a Blu-ray release, but I’ll take what I can get.
Michael Bishop (Mark Dacascos) is former Special Forces, having been honorably discharged after he failed to save some hostages. Four years later, he’s working as a bodyguard for hire, and his client is assassinated. The feds take jurisdiction over the case, leaving him to deal with the ambitious Special Agent Louise Castle (Carrie-Anne Moss). The two of them stumble upon a conspiracy, much bigger than they expected, never relenting until they’re able to win the game.
On paper, Sabotage is nothing more than a by-the-numbers action thriller from the ’90s. That being said, it’s actually done really well with really solid performances. Just three years before she swallowed the red pill and journeyed into The Matrix, Carrie-Anne Moss cut her teeth in modestly budgeted films. She’s such a class act even in this film, you can see the hunger that would later shoot her to stardom.
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Dacascos is one of the most charismatic action stars to ever grace a screen. He has a likability I don’t think any of the others have had. Tony Todd plays one of the main villains, and while we know he can be evil, this is a different type of character and a pleasant surprise.
The movie isn’t without flaws, but it’s a fun thriller with a couple of solid action set pieces that keep the story moving forward. Director Tibor Takacs has a long history in film and television and has always delivered entertaining popcorn fare.
MVD Visual has released this disc without any substantial special features but the VHS release was full frame and now Sabotage is available in a Widescreen presentation for the first time. It’s a massive step up from the previous release, though this is a title ripe for the MVD Rewind Collection. Maybe if it’s successful enough, we’ll see that, but if not, at least we have a proper DVD.
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