Review: Ridiculous political thriller ‘Kill Ratio’ does Eastern Europe on the cheap

Set in a fictional Eastern European country (actually played by Ireland, with the telltale brogue seeping into many of the character accents), “Kill Ratio” is a laughably inept political thriller that would have been right at home on the USA Network lineup circa 1990.

Allegedly in town for a business conference, American telecommunications salesman James Henderson (British actor Tom Hopper of TV’s “Merlin”) is forced to reveal his true identity as some sort of covert CIA operative when the hotel hosting him is at the center of a military coup.

The noticeably buff Henderson quickly swaps his name badge for a license to kill in order to protect the fledgling democracy’s new president, Tania Petrenko (Irish actress Lacy Moore), from the evil old guard, with assistance from his befuddled colleague Gabrielle (Dublin-born Amy Huberman).

The events that follow give rise to a bunch of cheesy special effects, terrified female hotel guests in their underwear and heavily-accented heavies snarling threatening things like, “Democracy will make cowards of you all!” as the bombastic score thunders on approvingly.

While director Paul Tanter, who divides his time between TV series and feature genre pieces, is obviously working within a tight budget given that most of Steven Palmer Peterson’s script takes place within the confines of that one former Irish hotel, this Van Damme/Norris/Lundgren knockoff qualifies as an especially flimsy bunch of malarkey.

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‘Kill Ratio’

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 27 minutes

Playing: Arena Cinelounge, Hollywood

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