My main critique of this film is twofold: 1) 80's/90's action films like this tended to be reactionary in some way, but the message this one hammers home even silly for its genre, and 2) Jeff Speakman, while a good martial artist, is a charisma vacuum as an actor. First, however, what the film does have in its favor. As previously stated, Jeff Speakman is quite convincing as a martial artist and, in general, as a physical presence. I certainly wouldn't want to mess with him in real life (contrary to whatever Steven Seagal's beef with him was). The plot is also quite efficient, if rudimentary, in the way it sets up the characters and moves the action forward. The first scene in particular establishes Speakman's character as the no-bs "expert" that the title indicated he would be. The action scenes were also well-choreographed and there was some decent camera-work in the slower portions of the film. I also thought that James Brolin and Jim Varney (in a one-scene cameo) did respectable acting work. However, just about everyone else, Speakman included, was halfway decent at best. The writing also wasn't anything to be proud of either. My biggest issue with the film is the "message," if one can call it that. THE EXPERT delivers yet another right-wing fantasy about a lone "hero" who takes on an ineffectual justice system by doling out his own version of justice against the violent criminal who killed his sister. Of course violent criminals should be punished, but the negative way it portrays a female psychologist involved with the case very unsubtly clues the viewer onto what the film's stance is. Not that a film shouldn't take a stance on anything, but I happen to think the stance wasn't very fair. Aside from that, the score was overblown and there were a few pacing issues in the middle portion, where the main character barely gets any screen time. I know I shouldn't have expected too much, considering Jeff Speakman was a third-tier action star at best, but the obvious message-making made it a little bit of a chore to sit through.
Review of The Expert
