Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever

2002 Action/Adventure

Two former government agents square off as they search for the most deadly new weapon on Earth in this white-knuckle thriller. Sever (Lucy Liu) was once a top agent with the Defense Intelligence Agency, but she quit when her son was killed in a bungled raid organized by Gant (Gregg Henry), and has sworn to take vengeance against him and his colleagues. When Sever learns that Gant and his team are in possession of a remarkable new weapon -- a microscopic device injected into the victim's bloodstream which is benign until triggered, then kills immediately without leaving a trace -- she is determined to get her hands on it, whatever the cost. However, Gant has turned rogue, and FBI agent Julio Martin (Miguel Sandoval) has been ordered to find him and recover his new weapon. Martin needs the best man he can find for the job, and calls upon Jeremiah Ecks (Antonio Banderas), a former FBI tracker, to do the job. Ecks quit the Bureau when his wife was killed, but Martin informs Ecks that his spouse is actually alive and in hiding, and if he can bring in Gant, she will be returned to him. But Ecks has to face the most formidable adversary of his life in Sever, a master of mayhem bent on revenge. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever was the first English-language feature from Thai filmmaker Wych Kaosayananda (aka Kaos), whose first feature Fah was a box-office blockbuster in his homeland. more..

Director: Wych Kaosayananda

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Lucy Liu, Gregg Henry, Ray Park, Talisa Soto

Reviews

  • There's no defense for movies like these, but neither do they warrant apology; they're irresistibly watchable, like car wrecks.

    Manohla Dargis - Los Angeles Times

    29 November 2012

  • Kaos was apparently aiming for a coolly stylized, straight-faced take on ''Spy vs. Spy.'' As Maxwell Smart used to say, ''Missed it by that much.''

    Bruce Fretts - Entertainment Weekly

    29 November 2012

  • This is a movie in which you rarely know where you are or who's doing what to the next person.

    Mike Clark - USA Today

    29 November 2012

  • The movie is a chaotic mess, overloaded with special effects and explosions, light on continuity, sanity and coherence.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    29 November 2012

  • Banderas slums through this dollar-bin action flick wearing the same look of wiped-out exasperation that Danny Glover's Sergeant Murtaugh sports in each installment of ''Lethal Weapon.'' And like Murtaugh, Banderas might be too old for this, too.

    Wesley Morris - The Boston Globe

    29 November 2012

Awards

  • Best High Work

    World Stunt Awards (2003)