THE CUTTER (2005)

Directed by William Tannen. Starring Chuck Norris, Joanna Pacula, Daniel Bernhardt, Bernie Kopell. Action.  Synopsis: A private detective is hired by a woman to find her missing elderly uncle, who is an expert diamond cutter with a hidden past. The search for him leads to a confrontation with some international jewel thieves who are in the   possession of diamonds that are priceless, dating back to the days of the Old Testament.

I have to admit that, although I like Chuck Norris, I have never been a big fan and have never even seen his popular TV show. I wanted to check this one out because I hadn't seen a Chuck Norris film in a long time, and I was curious as to how a 65 year old action hero looks on film. Answer: pretty good. Amazing, in fact. Listen, we all know Chuck Norris is not the greatest actor, nor does he pretend to be. He does, however, bring energy and effort to his role, which is more than I can say for some other AARP-eligible action heroes. And, Chuck is not the only 50+ actor in the film that looks fantastic. Tracy Scroggins looks as good as she has in years, which is saying something, and also atones for her appearance in the horrid Mr. Hell. 

The Cutter is a pretty decent story, weaving in international intrigue and jewelry thieves with a missing persons case in Spokane, Washington. The story starts with the movie bad guy, Dirk (Daniel Bernhardt) surprising a group of archaelogists in the Sinai who have just found the remains of a mummy that seems to be adorned with jewels. Suffice it to say that the opening scene shows us the first, but not the last, double cross in the film, and Dirk is the only one that walks out.(Suspend your disbelief a little as to how Dirk managed to hang glide into the desert and arrive at just the right moment when the mummy was found) We then go to Spokane and, of course, you will be wondering how this all ties together. Well, it does, surprisingly well.

Joanna Paculaa plays Elizabeth Teller, a woman who wants to hire private eye Shepherd (Chuck Norris) to find her missing uncle, Isaac (Bernie Kopell) an elderly diamond cutter who haes been missing for all of one day. Shepherd is skeptical at first, but an unsuccessful sneak attack on he and Elizabeth within minutes of her visit to him show that, hey, there might be something to this case.

The acting is not great, and the story flows a little awkwardly at times, but it does well overall and keeps your interest. We find out that, years before, Isaac was a prisoner at Auschwitz, and was forced to cut diamonds for the Nazis. Well, it seems that one of those old Nazis, believe it or not, is still alive and kicking and in the possession of some diamonds that are believed to have been worn by Aaron, older brother of Moses. And guess who he wants to cut these diamonds? So, there we have it, international mystery, despicable bad guys, revenge, and a little bit of a history lesson to boot. What does it all add up to? Plenty of chances for Chuck to kick butt, that's what. And he does. There are plenty of fight scenes and, although some of the lead ins to the fight scenes are a little on the cheesy side, Chuck keeps it real and you get your money's worth if your primary reason for watching this is to see some good martial arts. (I'm guessing that, if you are a Chuck Norris fan, you probably want to see some of this)

I can see why so many people like Chuck Norris. He seems like a genuine nice guy, with some vulnerability, who happens to be a martial arts expert. A little more Everyman than Van Damme, less enigmatic than Seagal, more intelligible than Schwarzenegger. The rest of the cast does well. Pacula does well, though you will be wondering some times why she doesn't pick up a knife or something and help Chuck while he's fighting instead of just watching (Not her fault, I know, the helpless damsel in distress theme is alive and well, even in the 21st century). Bernie Kopel might be a little unrecognizable to those who have not seen him since the Love Boat, I think he was made up to look much older than he really is, as Kopell in real life is too young for this role, as his character was an adult at Auschwitz and would have to be at least eighty years old. He does very well, especially in his reaction scenes to his Holocaust flashbacks.

Daniel Bernhardt is a wonderfully wicked bad guy and a believable match for Chuck in the fight scenes. Scroggins did not have much to do, except look good, and she did that very well.

I have to be honest, I didn't really expect to like this one, but I did.   Now, understand what I'm saying. You need to be realistic and understand that this is not Crash or Schindler's List. And it's not really trying to be. This is strictly direct to video action fare and, when you look at it for what it is, I really don't think it's possible to do a whole lot better, especially for fans of that genre. If you like this kind of stuff, you will like The Cutter.