Tactical Force is awful on every conceivable level

Steve Austin has all the charisma of a broken toenail – something which would actually be preferable to the experience of sitting through Tactical Force.

Steve Austin in Tactical Force.

Tactical Force
Director: Adamo P Cultraro
Starring: Steve Austin, Michael Shanks, Michael Jai White
*

We may live in an age in which the wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson enjoys a thriving Hollywood career, but his WWE cohort "Stone Cold" Steve Austin is unlikely to be joining him at the top any time soon if this inept and objectionable film is anything to go by.

Johnson's range may be limited, but few can doubt his charisma and knack for self-mockery. Austin, however, has all the charisma of a broken toenail – something which would actually be preferable to the experience of sitting through Tactical Force. Released straight to DVD in the US, the low-budget film introduces us to an LAPD Swat team during a hostage situation in a grocery store.

The gung-ho display by Tate (Austin) and his cohorts is enough to make anyone lose faith in the police for good, as they shoot and body-slam their way through criminals with precious little regard for human life. After receiving a dressing down from their chief, the numbskulls are sent on a training exercise in an abandoned hangar, where – by preposterous coincidence – a pair of rival gangs are already having a shoot-out.

The film manages to be awful on every conceivable level; from its thoroughly unlikeable "heroes" with their inane banter, to its stereotyping of Europeans and its threadbare, televisual style. Austin is cast here simply to tempt wrestling fans to part with their cash, but by proving himself to be one of the worst action stars of all time, it's unlikely he'll be a draw for much longer.