''Deadly Impact'' ( also known by the

working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

s ''Angelmaker'' and ''To Live and Die'') is a 2009

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

crime

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

written by Alexander Vesha and directed by

Robert Kurtzman Robert Kurtzman (born November 25, 1964) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and special effects makeup artist. Career Kurtzman began his career in 1984 when he moved from his hometown of Crestline, Ohio, to Hollywood, Cali ...

. The film stars

Sean Patrick Flanery Sean Patrick Flanery (born October 11, 1965) is an American actor, author, and martial artist. He is known for playing Connor MacManus in '' The Boondock Saints'' (1999) and its sequel '' The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day'' (2009), Greg Sti ...

Joe Pantoliano Joseph Peter Pantoliano (born September 12, 1951) is an American character actor who has appeared in over 150 films, television and stage productions. After his early roles in the television series ''M*A*S*H'' and the 1983 comedy '' Risky Bus ...

Carmen Serano Carmen Serano (born Carmen Maria Robles; August 18, 1973) is an American actress. She played Assistant Principal Carmen Molina in the television series ''Breaking Bad''. She starred in the 2007 film '' Urban Justice'' alongside Steven Seagal, ...

, and

Greg Serano Greg Serano (born August 7, 1972) is an American actor. He is best known for his role of Pablo Betart on ''Wildfire'' and as Enrique Salvatore in ''Legally Blonde''. He played a role in ''Power'' as Agent Juan Julio Medina. Filmography Film *''B ...

Plot

Detective Tom (

) and his partner Ryan Alba (

) have spent the last three years unsuccessfully trying to locate the Lion (

), an international

hitman Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may b ...

that has always eluded their grasp. They believe that they've found his location via a tipster but instead find Tom's wife Kelly (Michelle Greathouse) tied up in a basement filled with explosives, surrounded by a black outline. The Lion calls Tom and commands him to kill Kelly or risk the entire house blowing up and killing everyone inside. Any attempt to evacuate the house or rescue Kelly will result in everyone getting blown up and the Lion will not accept any substitutions, as he wants Tom to suffer for messing up the Lion's network in the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...

. His only mercy is that Tom may turn out the lights in the basement. With no other option, Tom has the lights turned off and he shoots and kills Kelly. The film flashes forwards to eight years later to show a grieving Tom, who is now retired and living in Mexico. As he's had past experiences dealing with the Lion,

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

agent Isabel Ordonez (

) travels out to persuade him to help track down and capture the Lion. She shows him evidence that the Lion will be meeting associates at a nightclub. Tom refuses but secretly copies down the address so he can take his own revenge for Kelly's death. At the nightclub Tom is initially unsuccessful at tracking down the Lion as he does not know what the other man looks like, even as the Lion walks directly past him in order to meet with his associate. The Lion, who is aware of the presence of both Tom and the FBI agents, receives his requested materials from his associate before killing the associate and detonating a bomb to cover his escape. Tom quickly follows after the Lion and after an extended chase scene, the Lion manages to subdue Tom and is about to cut his throat when an unmarked police car enters the alley, forcing the Lion to abandon Tom and make his escape. The FBI agent driving the car, "Hops" (

David House Lieutenant General Sir David George House (8 August 1922 – 14 July 2012) was a British Army officer who was General Officer Commanding in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, and later held the office of Black Rod (similar to a serjeant-at ...

), mistakes Tom for one of the Lion's associates and tries to arrest him. Hops is later corrected on this and Tom is brought on to assist the FBI's talk force along with his old partner Ryan, who is now part of the FBI. The FBI believes that the Lion is targeting Senator Cordero (Fredrick Lopez), who used to be a DEA agent. As more bombs go off, the Lion's true identity is revealed (David Kaplow) and he kidnaps Ryan's daughter in an attempt to have Ryan assassinate Cordero in exchange for his daughter's safety. He's successful, as Ryan does as he's instructed, but Ryan is in turn shot and killed by Cordero's bodyguard. Eventually Kaplow makes his big move and bombs the FBI headquarters, during which time he kidnaps Ordonez. Tom makes his way to Ordonez's house, where he sees that Kaplow has tied her up and strapped a bomb to the agent. The two men fight and Kaplow manages to force Tom to handcuff himself. A policeman arrives on the scene but is killed by Kaplow, who is wounded in the process. Kaplow then escapes the house and detonates the bomb, believing that this is the end of Tom and Ordonez. However Kaplow then receives a call from Tom stating that they are not dead and that Kaplow's bullet proof vest is rigged to bombs. Finally, Tom detonates the bomb and Kaplow explodes inside the police car.

Principal cast

as Tom Armstrong *

as David Kaplow *

as Isabel Ordonez *

as Ryan Alba *

Amanda Wyss Amanda Louise Wyss (born November 24, 1960) is an American actress. She began her career in the early 1980s in teen-oriented roles such as Lisa in the coming-of-age comedy film ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), Tina Gray in the slasher f ...

as Julie Mulligan *

as Homeowner * David House as Special Agent William Hopter * Julianne Flores as Amy * Mike Miller as Hollis * Fredrick Lopez as Senator Juan Cordero * Kevin Wiggins as Captain Duvall * Michelle Greathouse as Kelly Armstrong * James Tarwater as Sam Skittles * Luce Rains as Red Tie * Mike Seal as Associate * Kieran Sequoia as Aide * Joel Bryant as FBI Agent * John Koyama as X-Ray Agent

Production

According to director Robert Kurtzman, the original script was entitled "Angelmaker", with the working title changed to "To Live and Die" before settling on "Deadly Impact". The director said that

Metro Goldwyn Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

let him make the film right away after seeing the script. The film was shot in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Parts of the film was shot in an abandoned courthouse, which was made to look more modern. The rest of the film was shot within a ten block radius of that area. The opening scene took around half of a day to shoot, and the entire shoot lasted from August 21, 2007 to September 20, 2007. The film completed on July 21, 2008.

Release

The film had limited theatrical release on December 31, 2009, and had its wide DVD premiere in the United States on April 20, 2010, followed by releases in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

on April 26, 2010,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

on July 6, 2010,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

on July 21, 2010,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

on August 6, 2010,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on September 27, 2010, and in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

on September 30, 2010. Produced under working titles of ''Angelmaker'' and ''To Live and Die'', the film was released in the US as ''Deadly Impact'', in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

as ''Impacto mortal'', in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

as ''Thanasimi sygrousi'', in

as ''Dühöngő halál'', in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

as ''Impacto Mortal'', and on

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

television as ''Impact mortel''.

Reception

Critical reception for ''Deadly Impact'' has been largely negative. Reviewers for ''

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

'' panned the film, with one writing "Rather uninspired and more than a little bit predictable, ''Deadly Impact'' doesn't really bring much of interest to a genre already riddled with clichés." ''

DVD Verdict DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose revi ...

'' also panned ''Deadly Impact'', cautioning readers that it was "one hell of a bomb" and to " otwaste any time on this dud". ''Beyond Hollywood'' was also critical in their review, stating that "''Deadly Impact'' is an almost painful experience to behold, even when compared to the stuff

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th- dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...

and

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with '' Top Secret!'' (1984) and '' Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action fil ...

are pumping out these days. After the film’s mildly intriguing opening number, the production promptly loses its cinematic footing and never recovers."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1082577, Deadly Impact
''Deadly Impact'' at Film Affinity

''Deadly Impact'' action thriller is scheduled for April 20 release at DVDTown.com

Q&A with ''Deadly Impact'' director Robert Kurtzman at Clevescene.com

Robert Kurtzman and David Greathouse Interview at Killer Reviews

Robert Kurtzman at Movie Hole
2009 films 2009 action thriller films 2009 direct-to-video films American crime thriller films Films directed by Robert Kurtzman Films set in New Mexico Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer direct-to-video films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films