Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Countdown Blu-ray Movie Review

He's here to show the world that he can act.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 4, 2016

WWE Studios has worked hard to carve out a niche of mid grade direct-to-video Action movies, and a few more comedic and dramatic entries, that serve as promotional vehicles for the brand's top in-ring performers. Headlined by both The Marine (starring John Cena, Ted DiBiase, and The Miz) and 12 Rounds (starring John Cena [again], Randy Orton, and Dean Ambrose) franchises, the films vary a bit in quality but always manage to impress with the performances of the lead actors, who are actors in their "day jobs" on Monday, Thursday (really Tuesday), and Sunday nights. And they're all naturals for the screen, each of them gifted with the looks, the size, and enough speaking talent to rise to the top of a rather demanding public image and performance business. The studio's latest film is Countdown, a tidy and fun, albeit cliché-riddled, tale of a rogue cop on the search for a little boy who's going to blow up in a few hours time. The film stars "The Showoff" Dolph Ziggler, arguably the WWE's top mid-card talent, in the lead role.

It's too bad...he's too good.

Detective Ray Thompson (Dolph Ziggler) has been forced to turn in his badge and his gun after shooting his partner to maintain cover during an arms bust. But he's quickly called back in when he's mentioned by name in a video, password protected by the name of his dead son, that shows a young boy strapped to a bomb. The bad guys will detonate if they don't get their money. Teamed with the person who took his badge (Katharine Isabelle) and forced into a race against time to save an innocent life, Thompson finds himself working the shadiest corners of Seattle's criminal underground before time expires and another dead boy haunts his memories forever.

Creativity isn't this film's strong suit, not action creativity and not dramatic creativity. The film finds its place by way of its face, by the allure of watching another WWE Superstar leave the comfortable confines of the ring and step into another role that might actually be less demanding than sweating it out with other superstars on Monday nights. Ziggler holds his own for the duration. He looks the part and never lets himself, or his supporting cast, down. He may lack the more pure acting skills and unmissable charisma The Miz has on display in his films, but Ziggler manages to carry the movie on his back, aided, no doubt, by a less-than-demanding script that requires some dramatic range but nothing out of the ordinary. His most difficult scene comes when he remembers his dead son, reading aloud while sitting on the boy's bed. Of course, it's more a plot point of convenience that helps drive the character in his quest to save another child, but Ziggler handles the emotion of the moment well enough, though he and the character usually allow the adrenaline of the action, not deeply held pains, to drive the character and the narrative forward. Mammoth WWE Superstar Kane and Katharine Isabelle are fine in support roles.

Countdown favors predictability and a straightforward approach. It's little more than "heroes run around the city and piece together clues by knocking a nugget of information out of someone who is in some way in-the-know." This leads to several key action scenes, all of which are professionally crafted but hardly memorable. That's OK. The movie works well enough as escapist entertainment catered to a certain crowd, a crowd that will be more drawn to the cast list than the generalized action and adventure bits that run through the movie. Countdown smartly incorporates a fair bit of added fan service to the mix that doesn't elevate the movie but provides it with an interesting backdrop for at least part of its middle act. Ziggler's character is tasked with transporting a suitcase full of ransom cash to a WWE event where fans are greeted to partially seeing and partially hearing the introductions of what is supposedly a three-team tag match between The New Day, The Ascension, and The Lucha Dragons. The best moment, however, comes when Ziggler runs into old rival Rusev backstage, resulting in a hilarious line from Lana, who is now married to Rusev in real life but who "dated" Ziggler in kayfabe for a time. It would have been more fun had the entire movie, or at least most of the movie, taken place inside the arena during the WWE event, kind of putting a wrestling angle on the Sudden Death formula, particularly if it had involved Ziggler fighting/wrestling the bad guy in the ring at the end and hitting his ZigZag finisher to top it off. Alas, wrestling fans will have to settle for a few snippets, but they're at least fun snippets that try and break the movie out of routine.

Countdown Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Countdown's digitally photographed source material satisfies, but never stands apart. Lionsgate's transfer reveals a good, clean image, one that has no trouble showcasing accurate and intimate details with relative ease. Facial features make an impact in close-ups, as do clothes, whether Ziggler's casual attire or more crisply ironed police uniforms. The movie's color palette favors a basic neutrality, neither emphasizing nor deemphasizing any shade. Primaries present with adequate pop. Bright outdoor scenes shine, but even moderately lower light interiors, such as the stadium or the blue-gray dominant police station interior, find enough balance to maintain an effortless look. Black levels hold up well enough, and flesh tones never stray from natural. Trace aliasing and modest noise interfere, with the latter only making any real impact on the presentation. Overall, the transfer gets the job done with few technical hiccups.

Countdown Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Countdown features a rather straightforward, few-frills DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's technically sound, but its sound design is not particularly up to top Action movie standards. Gunfire, for example, never quite receives the sort of aggressive pop and push it deservers. General action -- car chases, scrums in a police building, backstage at a WWE event -- find modest aggression and fair clarity across the basic details. Music is largely impressive, with a nice, heavy throttle Hard Rock beat to start the movie and enough vigor and spread for the duration. The WWE event offers a pretty nice sense of place. Audiences can hear some intro music in the background, sounding a little muddled but in a natural, location-specific way. Ditto in-ring announcements introducing the wrestlers. Dialogue delivery is tidy and center focused with only a couple of brief instances of mush mouth, notably in an early scene when Ray meets Julia. On the whole, the track is nothing special, but it's never really poor, either, outside of lackadaisical gunfire.

Countdown Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Countdown contains two movie-related extras. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Dolph Ziggler: From Superstar to Action Star (1080i, 4:57): Cast and crew praise Ziggler and the piece moves on to look at making a key stunt and the difference between a slam in the WWE and on the movie set.
• An Explosive Escape (1080i, 5:14): A closer look at making one of the movie's major action sequences.
• Also From Lionsgate (1080p): Previews.

Countdown Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Countdown won't leave viewers counting down the time to the credits, but neither will it be remembered as a go-to genre classic. It's a solid enough, though certainly flawed, middle-of-the-road genre film that's as much missed potential as it is agreeable romp. Ziggler is fine in the lead and deserves another movie down the line. Lionsgate's Blu-ray delivers a couple of throwaway extras. Video and audio are fine, though hardly noteworthy. Recommended to WWE fans who will unquestionably get the most out of the movie. Non-wrestling fans will likely be best served with a slow-day rental.