Heroes and Villains
Dolph Lundgren has played good guys and bad guys for 25 years. Now he's in a new movie about a Roman soldier investigating Christ's resurrection.
by Peter T. Chattaway | posted 2/19/2008
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Dolph Lundgren made a name for himself in the 1980s, as the villain in films like A View to a Kill, where he tangled with James Bond, and Rocky IV, where he played Russian boxer Ivan Drago. Then he switched to playing heroes in films like Masters of the Universe and the original version of The Punisher.
His films since then have not been so high profile, but he has stayed busy, acting in a steady stream of movies and even directing a few. His newest film as an actor, The Final Inquiry, is a remake of a 1986 film about a Roman soldier who is sent to Palestine to investigate claims that Jesus came back from the dead. Lundgren plays Brixos, a Nordic slave who serves as the Roman tribune's bodyguard.
Lundgren spoke with CT Movies by phone, in anticipation of the film's DVD release today.
How close is this new film to the 1986 original? Is your character in that one, as well?
Lundgren: I don't believe so. I saw the previous one many years ago. I think the original was with Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine, right? It was good, but it was very different. Not as much action, not as much adventure. It was a little more philosophical, dialogue based, I think.
Why do you think there is such an emphasis on action and adventure in this new film?
Lundgren: Well, the same producer [Fulvio Lucisano] did both. He's one of the big producers in Italy. I suppose he wanted to reach out to a bigger audience, and make it more exciting, make it more accessible to more people.
There was a rumor that the film might be re-cut for the United States. Do you know if they've toned down the violence or anything like that?
Lundgren: I haven't seen the re-cut. I'm not directing the picture, so I don't know all the ins and outs of what was done, but I think there was a concern for it to not get too violent. So I would think maybe that was one of the concerns.
Would you say that this is a "family film"?
Lundgren: I would think so. Because it doesn't have much profanity—none, I don't think—and like I said, the violence isn't brutal. It does give you a history lesson of what happened, around that time in history when this new religion was born. It was a very violent time, of course. People were cut in pieces right and left and fed to wild animals, or killed in as many ways as you can think of. It was interesting to me, the historical aspect of exactly what happened, and the fact that this film is based on these letters that were sent from the tribune to the Emperor in Rome.
Lundgren in the role of Brisox
What drew you to this film?
Lundgren: A number of factors. I thought it was an interesting story about the fact that the Roman tribune is sent down to investigate the death and so-called resurrection of some criminal or rabble-rouser who was crucified. And the fact that there were some good actors attached, like F. Murray Abraham [who plays the father of Tabitha] and my own countryman, Max von Sydow [who plays the Emperor Tiberius]. So I thought, Yeah, why not? It will be an interesting job.
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