#Nikolai cherenko

[twenty-words-or-less]

The Mechanik

Summary: Nikolai "Nick" Cherenko (Dolph Lundgren) emigrates to the US after his family is killed by a Russian mob boss (Ivan Petrushinov). He reluctantly returns when rich widow Mary Abramoff (Levana Finkelstein) begs him to rescue her kidnapped daughter.

Look, I've seen 13 Lundgren films since March. Limited ways to say "it's fine". Although this is pretty decent.

Rating: 2.75/5

Photo credit: cinemagia

[komotionlessqueenmm]

Imagine # 916

Gif NOT mine.

If this gif is yours (or you know who's it is) please let me know, so I can give you/them credit.

Gif credit goes to - @dlonlyfan (Unless told otherwise.)

Year posted - 2022

Tag(s) - @joikima-joestar

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Frowning somberly Dolph dabbed the damp washcloth across (Y/n)'s burning forehead. He re-soaked the washcloth, before wringing it out and folding it appropriately, he then placed it on her forehead before pulling the blankets a little further up her body. "Are you comfortable?" Dolph asked in a soft tone, well aware of how sensitive her head was. "My toes are freezing." She muttered in a horse voice, trying to warm them by wiggling them under her blanket. Dolph smiled softly, before moving to sit at the foot of the bed. Carefully he pulled the blanket away from her bare feet, setting one in his lap he held the other foot in his hands. Gently he began massaging the foot, surprised by how cold her skin actually was. "You're running a serious fever, and somehow your toes are like ice." Dolph mused with a smile, his words making (Y/n) laugh, which sent her into a coughing fit. "Take it easy." Dolph frowned as he stood up and quickly offered her some water. Her coughing subsided and she graciously accepted the water, only taking small sips. "There you go." He smiled before setting the cup aside, and going back to his place at the foot of the bed, where he set back to work on trying to warm up her feet. "You spoil me." (Y/n) mused with a smile, her throat very sore, and nose stuffy. "I'm happy to." He hummed with a smile, gently patting her now warmer feet. "I'll get you a pair of socks, then I've gotta go check on your soup." Dolph explained before walking across the room, he retrieved a pair of socks from a drawer, then he made quick work of slipping them onto her feet. "I'll be back." Dolph promised before placing a kiss against the crown of her head. "Okay." She smiled with lidded eyes, sniffling a little. A little while later Dolph came back into the room with a warm bowl of soup in hand. A small chuckle left his lips when he noticed (Y/n) had finally fallen asleep, even if it was only for a little while. He sat the bowl on the nightstand, and carefully removed the washcloth from her forehead. Dolph then placed the back of his hand against her forehead, pleased to see her temperature was a lot cooler. She groaned softly as her eyes fluttered open, a small smile tugging at her lips when she looked up at Dolph. "Did I wake you?" He asked as he brushed his knuckles across her cheekbone. "No, I smelled food." (Y/n) chuckled softly, only falling into a small coughing fit. "Well that's good, you're getting your sense of smell back." Dolph smiled as he held her water out to her, brushing back her hair gently. "Hopefully I haven't gotten my sense of taste back yet." (Y/n) teased playfully. "My cooking is not that bad." Dolph played mock offense, as he sat the water aside. "If you say so." (Y/n) taunted with a grin, sitting up with Dolphs assistance. "Well regardless you're in luck, this is a canned soup so if it's bad it's not my fault." He joked as he grabbed the bowl, carefully spoon feeding her as he sat beside her on the bed.

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*I've currently got strep throat and covid, so I'm a total hot mess, and while I don't want to get anyone sick, I'd love to have someone take care of me.

[bmoviedragonsreloaded]

Review: The Russian Specialist (2005)

"Oh Christ, whoever you are, take whatever you want – I'm going to bed"

SOURCE

When Dolph Lundgren began directing his own vehicles in the mid-2000s, I thought it was a big deal. After Seagal and Van Damme fell short with their own directorial debuts a decade earlier, the Swedish Superman’s more economic outings in the video realm seemed like the stabler path for a western action hero to redefine himself as a filmmaker. I never assumed that Dolph would be our answer to Sammo Hung or Jackie Chan, but I still think that the surest way for the classic style of karate B-movies to survive the future is for the stars of yesterday today to become the filmmakers of tomorrow. Disappointingly, Lundgren’s sophomore outing is indistinguishable from the slew of already-undistinguished movies put out by the Nu Image film studio around this time. Expect cliches and limited action in a drab European setting, with some highlights.

The story: Former special forces agent Nikolai Cherenko (Lundgren) is hired to rescue a young woman (Olivia Lee) from the clutches of the same gangster who killed his family (Ivan Petrushinov).

I need to talk about Lundgren’s effort as a filmmaker before anything else. While his directorial debut (The Defender) happened by accident, The Russian Specialist seems to have been his project from the start. It was the first movie he wrote the story for, and there’s a general feeling of investment here not present in the features he’d recently done. That said, the film looks so very much like countless others the studio was producing that I suspect there was a lot of executive meddling afoot. Lundgren has a fair hand for interesting shots and artful cinematography, but they’re lost amid the cheap overexposure, senseless slow motion, and annoyingly sped-up footage. The Bulgarian shooting locations further stifle the originality, with everything looking colorless and boring. Say what you want about Seagal’s On Deadly Ground and JCVD’s The Quest, but at least they left an immediate impression.

Of course, taking a closer look at what may seem bland and unremarkable to others is what we do here at B-Movie Dragons, and sure enough, there are some things that make this one stand out. The best of these, without a doubt, is the casting of Ben Cross. He plays Nikolai’s contact and de facto partner, and darn if he isn’t better than this movie deserves. Cross is up there with Lance Henriksen and John Rhys-Davies as an actor possessing both talent and prestige yet who never fails to offer his time to smaller productions. You may know him for playing Spock’s father in the Star Trek reboot or starring in the Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire, but he also pops up in trash like Species: The Awakening and the odd Dolph Lundgren actioner. Here, at his best, he’s absolutely hilarious and certainly gets the best lines. (“From one old dog to another – shut the fuck up!” he admonishes a noisy German shepherd.) He’s got surprisingly good chemistry with the monosyllabic Lundgren, giving Nikolai’s stereotypical somberness some contrasted weight. Disappointingly, Cross is about it as far as standout performances go. Even though the cast includes several award-winning Bulgarian actors, these have either too little screentime or insufficient material to be memorable. Comedienne Olivia Lee feels particularly underutilized, her character having very little personality and she even less opportunity to express it. (There is an unintentionally funny moment where Nikolai’s handed a photo of her, and it’s the exact same headshot you can find on her IMDb page to this day.)

The action content is good enough that I’m disappointed there’s not more. It’s a decent mix of shootouts, vehicle stunts, and fighting. Lundgren was apprehensive to commit to hand-to-hand action scenes even before he started directing, and as a result, we only get a single match between him and a henchman in a strip club. It’s not even the lead henchman (Raicho Vasilev) – Ben Cross has to fight him during the climax. There’s a gnarly-looking crash into a fountain during a motorcycle chase, and a couple shootouts feature some well-executed choreography. If there were just a few more scenes like this, I would’ve been more satisfied. It’s understandable that Lundgren wasn’t nearly as flexible to shoot action scenes while he was directing all other scenes across multiple countries, but even the bandaid solution of giving his character a team of four mercenaries doesn’t help because they don’t do anything cool.

I’m not entirely sure what the point of the story is. Nikolai clearly must come to terms with his trauma and Lundgren delivers some respectable nonverbal acting to that end, but we don’t find out too much about his mental state and I’m not even convinced that he establishes genuine relationships with anyone. With the exception of one scene, Olivia Lee’s character is also unable to express her feelings. Ben Cross seemingly overcomes his alcoholism by the end, but I’m not sure how. The general thesis is likewise elusive. Lee’s character is being groomed as a sex slave and sex workers in general are protrayed sympathetically, but I’m not even convinced that the film stands behind the most basic notion of “sex trafficking is bad” because it still indulges in some masturbation fodder within the same context. I’m not saying the story sucks, just that it doesn’t commit to much.

Lundgren’s progress as a filmmaker was halted for a long time after he recaptured some of his old stardom with 2010’s The Expendables, but he seems to be returning to the director’s chair these days. If he remains free from the restrictions that made The Russian Specialist so unremarkable, he may yet become a valuable force in maintaining the gritty, physical style of action we know and love. As for this particular film, it’s probably best viewed as a decent but ultimately elementary exercise in the big guy’s movie-making education. Dolph’s biggest fans shouldn’t be without it, but it’s harder to recommend to more casual action devotees. Martial arts nuts like me shouldn’t even bother.

SOURCE

The Russian Specialist (AKA The Mechanik) (2005) Directed by Dolph Lundgren Written by Bryan Edward Hill (screenplay), Dolph Lundgren (story) Starring Dolph Lundgren, Ben Cross, Ivan Petrushinov (Longing for the Wide, Wide World), Olivia Lee (The Olivia Lee Show) Cool cast: Bulgarian stunt pro Raicho Vasilev (Spartacus) plays the lead henchmen. Action regulars Valeri Yordanov (Death Race 4) and Dejan Angelov (Leatherface) are mercenaries. Pop star Maria Ilieva plays the doomed, sympathetic sex worker Natalya. Second unit director Mark Roper was already a director proper, having helmed video and TV vehicles for Bryan Genesse, Joe Lara and Ralf Moeller. Fight consultant and karate master Barry Evans would henceforth be Dolph Lundgren’s personal choreograher for the next ten years. Content warning: Violence against women, child murder, sex trafficking, sexual assault, drug use, extreme violence and gore, alcoholism Title refers to: Both the title on the DVD case (The Russian Specialist) and the one in the movie (The Mechanik) refer to Dolph Lundgren’s character, who’s both a Russian specialist (i.e. special ops) and a mechanic. Cover accuracy: The classic cover, featuring a shotgun-toting Lundgren standing before the gangsters with Russian architecture in the background, is accurate and to the point. The newer cover with starker contrasts and a close-up of Lundgren is also accurate but conveys a comic book aesthetic that the movie doesn’t have. Number of full-length fight scenes: 2 Copyright Millennium Films / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment