• Wide Release
• Director: Brent Huff
• Written by: Alexander Nevsky, Alexander Izotov
• Running Time: 95 minutes
• Language: English
• MPAA Rating: PG-13 - Parents Strongly Cautioned
• Cast: Alexander Nevsky, Steven Brand, David Carradine, Sherilyn Fenn, Robert Madrid, Andrew Divoff, William Shockley, Albert Filozov, Maksim Konovalov, Ekaterina Ryndenkova, Igor Yasulovich, Roman Radov, Alexander Izotov, Elena Polyakova, Yuriy Popov, Ekaterina Ribachuk, Olga Rodionova, Eldar Romanov, Artur Verzunov, Pavel Yashin, Viktoriya Zimenkova

Having seen, reviewed and somewhat enjoyed Alexander Nevsky’s “Moscow Heat”, something I learned after the fact was the largest independently produced film Russia had ever released; I was quite looking forward to the Moscow-born body-builder’s latest magnum opus “Treasure Raiders”. In name alone, it conjured up thoughts of a majestic cinematic adventure in much the same spirit as Angelina Jolie’s “Tomb Raider” and Nicholas Cage’s “National Treasure”, only on about half the budget as those two Hollywood bulldozers. Give me indie or give me death, is my motto, so I sat down one Saturday night, bowl of popcorn and bottle of the finest Russian Vodka in hand, and proceeded to watch the film. Sadly, it didn’t take long to realize that I was on a very different kind of adventure than I had originally anticipated, and, let me tells ya, it’s one that I probably would have steered clear like a drag racer avoiding a mob of cops, had I to do over again.

“Treasure Raiders” suffers from a sort-of cinematic Dissociative Identity Disorder, in that it has far too many plot strands, each of which flow suitably in their own distinct universe but none of which seem to connect believably. From here, the lasting impression of "Treasure Raiders" is one ineptitude and disorganization on a grand scale. Without trying to sound harsh, I believe much of the blame for this mystifying mess falls squarely in the lap of the writers, Alexander Nevsky and Alexander Izotov. After having screened two of their films, I’m honestly beginning to wonder if either of these guys has an original thought in their head. Seriously, guys, put down the remote. It ain’t working. Aspects of “The Fast and The Furious”, “The DaVinci Code”, “The Borne Supremacy” and the two films mentioned in the first paragraph, and probably twenty more flicks I’m not even aware of, are boosted outright and dropped into the cauldron of never fully realized ideas that is “Treasure Raiders”. A guy like Quentin Tarantino has made his bread and butter ripping off movies, however, he has the good sense to wrap a thoughtful narrative around the various thefts, melding them into the flow of the story in such a way as that they enhance the experience rather than take away, or, in the case of Nevsky and Izotov, befuddle.

While on a teaching assignment in Moscow, an American professor/archaeologist Michael Nazzaro (Steven Brand) finds himself drawn into a treacherous booty quest, after obtaining a book written by a sixteenth century Russian historian. Sudden attention from a noted treasure hunter and author, Pierre Samonon (David Carradine), who has recently arrived in town and is buzzing about asking questions, suggests that within the recently acquired tome lie the clues to something of great importance, namely, maybe, the treasure of the Order of the Knights Templar. Helping to fund his various archaeological expeditions, the prim and proper Nazzaro moonlights as an illegal street racer, a plot strand that isn’t even remotely believable no matter how many Vodka shots I down. And it is through his unlawful off-hours activity that the professor comes into contact with an ex-mercenary turned best damn street racer in all of Russia, Wolf (Alexander Nevsky). Think Vin Diesel, only with a better grasp of the English language… and more hair. Intrigued by the antique, over-sized amulet hanging around Wolf’s neck, the professor strikes up a friendship with the muscular brute, who, as it turns out, has some side-hobbies of his own, namely ripping off some very dangerous drug dealers. As it turns out, the amulet holds a special significance to Nazzaro, in that it might very well be a puzzle piece to help locate the Templar treasure trove. Talk about a lucky coincidence. Ug!

With all the basics taken care of, Wolf and Nazzaro spend much of the film’s final thirty minutes perusing around Moscow uncovering clues to the “mystery”, while fighting off some very laughable hostage attempts from a local drug dealer that Wolf ripped off, known as The Beekeeper (William Shockley). Oh, and then there’s “The Wishmaster” himself, Andrew Divoff, in a bit part, as Colonel Cronin, who only has three months before he retires and is heading up a police task force investigating apparently everyone and everything. Yes, this is one of those movies where the peripheral characters (in this case, the cops) remain strangely one step ahead of everyone, even managing to arrive mere seconds before the credits to save the protagonists who are in typical fashion, always standing on the wrong side of a gun. There are a couple of big twists, including, not one, but two big Scooby Do-like reveals where the bad guy is symbolically unmasked for the audience. If you haven’t figured out who the villains are within five minutes of them appearing on screen then, well, you shouldn’t be watching movies. Granted, one of the villains, a Columbian environmentalist, is so inconsequential to the story that when he is revealed, it barely registers. Another thing weighting down the proceedings was the disjointed dialogue, delivered by a whole bunch of people who for which English is not their first language. It is because of this that many of the scenes arrive as choppy, hard to follow chatter-sessions. Only Carradine, Shockley, Fenn and Brand are able to take something of the script and make it sound, at least somewhat, decipherable.

Now that I’ve shit on the movie, let me mention some stuff that I did enjoy. The action, for one, is superb. Some of the car chase sequences, of which there are many, are particularly exciting considering that they are being shot right in downtown Moscow. Mindful of the balls to the wall climactic cabbie-cop car chase in “The Borne Supremacy”, “Raiders”, for sure, does have its moments. Although none of them reach the heights set by Greengrass, they still remain gratifying if only because Brent Huff, the director, shies away from using crappy computer generated effects. Love it or hate it, whatever, at least Huff and company, like Greengrass before them, are attempting to keep it real. I’ll take that over CGI any day. Another thing that I truly enjoyed about “Treasure Raiders” was that it was filmed entirely in and around Moscow. Staging scenes against various Moscow landmarks, including the Saviour Cathedral, makes for some truly exquisite visuals, indeed.

As far as the acting goes, none of them, minus Kansas born actor, William Shockley (1989’s “Howling V: The Rebirth”), really stood out for me. Even though he has spent much of his career typecast in the bad guy part, Shockley shows up to this production with both guns blazing. Doling out a believable Russian accent alongside a heaping helping of badass, this guy rocked. Alexander Nevsky (2002’s “Undisputed”) is still as rigid and imposing as he was in “Moscow Heat”, although his English does appear to be improving. Nevsky seems to suffer from many of the same problems which ailed another well-known body-builder turned actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, when he was attempting to break into the mainstream. His inability to fully express himself in English, is possibly the sole thing hindering his transition into pure leading man. Thankfully, Nevsky, like A-nuld, has a good-natured persona and it comes through in whatever role he takes. In a few years, if he stays at it, I suspect Nevsky will at least be a recognizable name in North America. Scottish born actor, Steven Brand (2002’s “The Scorpion King”), proved himself at least capable here in the central role. He has an assuring smile, and a genuine confidence, which makes him tick as a leading man. Though, the notion of a guy his age (and with his professional background) playing hooky as a delinquent street racer, a diversion generally practiced by those much younger, is laughable, and doesn’t jive with the rest of the film or what we come to know about his character. This is one of those instances I mentioned where Nevsky and Izotov are trying to blend two very different pieces of two very different movies together. You can have “National Treasure” or you can have “The Fast and The Furious” but you can’t have them both, not if both strands run together into the same narrative. It doesn’t work. Jack Hill they are not.

Some lesser players who deserve acknowledgement include Sherilyn Fenn (2003’s “The United States of Leland”), as Wolf’s cheery but tough love-interest. Probably best known as Johnny Depp’s former girlfriend, Fenn still looks great and it was a real treat to see her here after all these years of inactivety. Andrew Divoff (2008’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”) is one of those actors I just love to see in a movie, regardless of what he’s doing. Intense as always, Divoff, in only a handful of scenes manages to sell his bold head cop part. Lastly, and I hate to end things on a sad key but it’s a matter of note that “Treasure Raiders” will probably forever be remembered as one of the last films to feature legendary actor David Carradine (2008’s “Crank: High Voltage”) who died on June 3, 2009. If anything, David seemed to be having a great time in his smaller role as a sly fox archaeologist and descendant of William de Nogaret.

Not a great film, however, it will surely be of interest to those who want to see an Americanized action film set in Moscow, or, maybe, those curious about what David Carradine was doing in the last years of his life.