VENDETTA (2015) **

Dean Cain stars as a detective who arrests a notorious criminal played by WWE superstar Paul “Big Show” Wight.  Big Show gets out of jail and murders Cain’s pregnant wife and goes right back to prison.  Cain goes crazy and gets himself thrown in jail to get revenge on Big Show.  He soon learns Big Sexy is running his vast criminal empire out of prison with the help of dirty prison guards.  Before going through with his vendetta, Cain first dedicates himself to tearing down Big Show’s operation from the inside.  

Vendetta is a WWE movie from directors Jen and Sylvia (Dead Hooker in a Trunk) Soska.  This is actually their second go-round directing WWE flicks after helming the Kane horror sequel See No Evil 2.  There’s been a lot of talk lately about the need for more women directors.  I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment.  It’s just that the Soskas’ unique talents are wasted on this generic WWE actioner.  The Soskas trot out the usual prison clichés and handle all the brawls, riots, shivs, etc. efficiently enough and direct the action in a competent manner.  However, there’s nothing here that really grabs you either and you’ll probably find yourself forgetting most of it soon after you watch it.  

Cain does a fine job in the lead.  The former Superman does a decent slow burn.  He probably deserves better gigs than this and the occasional talking dog movie.  Big Show handles himself quite well.  He has considerable screen presence and makes for a formidable foe.  Ultimately, both men are let down by the no-frills screenplay, which never quite gets itself into gear.