The Mercenary is a brutal and gory version of a man who is burdened by his past deeds of violence and manages to redeem himself amidst such mayhem. The film is powerful in the sense that it is in your face reality in which Maxx as a character is a hardened legionnaire who just wants peace, but instead, he is dragged back into the violence to which he is so wanted to be free. His journey is desperately and emotionally touching and well described through the storyline as he goes through this inner conflict.
On the visuals, the movie used a dark and grim tone that underlines the violent world of Maxx. Cinematography and editing contribute to forming the tense, immersive atmosphere as well as in the scenes of action which may be both gut-wrenching and intense. This tone is complemented by the score that increases tension and makes the emotional stakes apparent. The subordinate characters, especially those that perform the roles as new friends of Maxx in the church, do strip off some humanistic and hopeful dimensions in the overall gloominess of the elements of war and revenge.
Nevertheless, sometimes, this plot is somehow predetermined, as the familiar plotlines of redemption and revenge are used. The script tends to fall into predictable patterns at times, and the rhythm is off at other times, as certain scenes are drawn out unnecessarily, whereas certain important details are flown through. And yet these weaknesses do not diminish the overall effect that The Mercenary has–a sheer force of contemplation on how much violence can cost us, and how there is still, no matter how unlikely, a chance to be saved. This is in-your-guts level movie, the movie which touches your feelings with its presentation of the man not only in the battle with those who are against him, but the one with inner demons.
