The Killing Machine, Dolph Lundgren kills in Vancouver

In 2010 (the year this film was made), the population of Vancouver must have decreased.  In "The Killing Machine," Dolph Lundgren kills 30 bad guys, and 13 more are mowed down by other characters.  If you have had a day when the entire population seems bent on annoying the snot out of you, this film is the perfect remedy.  Averaging a kill every two minutes, very few of the casualties are characters we sympathize for. One rule in B Movies, every 18th person on this planet is a highly trained and capable international assassin.  Also known as "Icarus," this movie is a perfect elixir if your spouse or date made you endure "The Fault in Our Stars."

Eddie, a salesman of corporate real estate (yeah right), is rich, divorced from Joey (Stefanie von Pfetten), has a small daughter, and a beautiful girlfriend, April (Lindsay Maxwell, see photo below).  No one knows that he was a killer for the KGB, and when the USSR fell apart, he did the same for the Russian mob. However, for the past five years, he has lived a double life, as killer and businessman.  As the movie opens he mows down several Hong Kong mobsters in rescuing an unfortunate Russian mobster.  Immediately back home to April, who adores him.  Then he gets a mysterious visitor to his real estate office, a slimy spook named Graham (David Lewis) who indicates that Eddie's cover is blown.  This is confirmed as violent attempts on Eddie's life commence, usually resulting in the death of entire teams of assassins.  Talk about inconveniences....Joey calls Eddie and lets him know it is his week-end with the daughter.  Not wanting to blow his cover to his clueless ex, Eddie says "no problem."  

Putting his daughter first, he leaves her with April and heads off to Miami to do a hit.  On the way to the airport, he is engaged by a road construction crew with assault rifles....Dolph Lundgren wins.  April isn't as fortunate as she is blown to pieces by another team of killers.  By a stroke of luck, his daughter gets away and he is able to deliver her to the CIA for protection.  He then finds Joey, who is enjoying the week-end with her new beau (a lawyer).  When another team kills the lawyer, Eddie brings his wife to the CIA, as well. With April dead (very sad), and the lawyer too, Joey and Eddie fall back in love and Eddie tells her everything.  Try this at home....go up to your wife or husband of many years and say, "Dear, I need to level with you, my real name is Icarus and I used to kill for Russian mobsters."  Amazingly, Joey takes this news well and is even more devoted to Eddie than ever.  She even kills for him.

As the movie winds to a whirling conclusion, Eddie realizes that the CIA team protecting his family may be behind the attempts on his life.  He is also forced by his CIA peeps to find and kill Vadim, who has taken over the syndicate in Hong Kong.  The CIA apparently ran protection for the previous crime lords.  To make matters more complicated, Vadim (Bo Svenson) has been a devoted comrade of Eddie's for decades. Will Eddie waste his best friend to save his family?  Is Joey's new attraction to Eddie a metaphor for what today's women are looking for in their men?  This movie is a lot of fun. The acting is terrific, especially Lundgren and Svenson as former Soviet KGB (both these actors are Swedes).  See "The Killing Machine," and regain your manhood...or for you women, regain your "edge."