The Marine 3: Homefront (2013) – Review

Where to watch The Marine 3: Homefront

1 Star

Sgt. Jake Carter (‘The Miz’) has returned home from active duty in the Marine Corps. He is reluctantly attempting to assimilated back into normal society with the help of his trouble prone sisters, Amanda and Lilly. While he has been away serving the country his younger female siblings have physically matured, and now Jake is concerned about the choices each are making in their personal and professional lives. Meanwhile the local bank has been held-up by a group of assailants that burn the cash on premise, rather than make off with the loot. The mastermind behind this rebellious act is Jonah Pope (Neal McDonough), a man intend on taking from the rich to even the class scales.

The Marine series has been a testing ground for new screen talent from the WWE factory. The original seems like ages ago now, but back in 2006 John Cena used the film to catapult himself into the cinematic ranks of Schwarzenegger and Stallone, if not Johnson and Hogan. That picture was by no means a classic in traditional terms but it is a guilty pleasure throwback action flick with energy, a likable leading man and some much appreciated self-deprecating humor. The follow-up titled The Marine 2, was an above average direct-to-DVD sequel that put second generation WWE star Ted DiBiase Jr. front and center. That film had the distinction for being helmed by genre ace Roel Reiné, arguably the strongest director of the entire trilogy. Now, comes the limp third installment The Marine 3: Homefront, the weakest of the series in every respect.

The previous stars have been replaced by the affable Mike ‘The Miz’ Mizanin, a former reality television star turned wrestler. He don’t have the earnest quality of Cena, or the country-boy charm of Dibiasi but he can deliver his silly lines with a straight face and looks nifty wielding a machine gun. This is not a series known for solid writing but even with lowered expectations the screenplay anemic and strands the talented Neal McDonough in a sea of absurdity. There is no real reason that this product needed to carry The Marine title, it is film-making by the numbers. Even the climactic battle scene isn’t as exciting as it should be, maybe because we havent invested anything in the story and we know with a certainty born over two previous films how it will turn out.

Director: Scott Wiper
Stars: Mike ‘The Miz’ Mizanin, Neal McDonough, Jared Keeso