One in the Chamber

This film can be characterized very easily - Dolph Lundgren in full form. This guy absolutely enjoys the role of a great killer. His character is like steel, his face like stone. When he smiles, you know someone will end up badly. He is a tough guy in the true sense, and when he hits, it really hurts. He got more space than in the first movie "The Expendables", which is a good thing. This action movie literally stole the show for itself, even though it has little space here, at least compared to Cuba Gooding Jr., who is also a hitman, who came to the Czech Republic to solve certain problems in the Russian mafia. He is a cleaner, as he admits at the beginning. But besides dealing with the mobsters and coming out of it with a clean slate, his paths also cross with Lundgren. Their confrontation is excellent and you feel that the huge Swede is more than just an ordinary action hero. He really acts. I know, let's not exaggerate, he still acts only within the genre, but it's good, really good. In white pants, a Hawaiian shirt and a hat, he is memorably great, he is one of those characters that would deserve even more movies, which will not happen, but I'm still glad I saw this particular film. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/09/rebelka-perfect-sense-sprosty-holky.html (27.02.2013)

After the excellent Sinners & Saints, William Kaufman merely proves to be a capable craftsman with One in the Chamber, but he is far from having sufficient resources to in any way elevate this cheap Eastern European production. If, however, the subject matter had found its way into the splendour of, say, Europa Corp. (at the time of its greatest creative glory, i.e. at the time when there was still room for mid-budget action films on DVD and, to some extent, in cinemas), itcould have not only come up with a better screenplay, but would also have given it more adequate production and performers. Kaufman tries to do as much as he can, but with such a low budget and collection of Eastern European faces, he simply cannot work miracles. One in the Chamber lacks that which made Sinners & Saints a revelation – elaborate action scenes and the time and resources to shoot them. Dolf Lundgren goes through the motions, though with his charisma he easily upstages everyone else, while Cuba Gooding, Jr. confirms his status as the Steven Seagal of the new millennium – although he has better acting skills than the man marked for death, he still remains the walking question mark at the end of the question “Who bet with whom in Hollywood that he could be turned into an action star?” (05.01.2020)