# The Condemned
**The Condemned** is a 2007 American action thriller directed by Scott Wiper, in which death-row prisoner Jack Conrad, played by professional wrestler Steve Austin, is purchased by a wealthy television producer and taken to a desolate island to fight nine other condemned killers to the death in an illegal reality show broadcast live and uncensored over the Internet.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/condemned) It was the third feature film released under the WWE Films banner, following *[See No Evil](https://www.edgepedia.org/see-no-evil-2006-film)* and *The Marine*, and was produced by WWE Films and distributed by Lionsgate.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64200-THE-CONDEMNED) • [3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1091907/000095015207005185/l26674aexv99w1.htm)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Wide theatrical release April 27, 2007 by Lionsgate; Los Angeles and New York openings the same day[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Condemned-The) • [2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64200-THE-CONDEMNED) |
| Running time / rating | 113 minutes; MPAA rating R for pervasive strong brutal violence and language[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64200-THE-CONDEMNED) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Condemned-The) |
| Principal cast | Steve Austin (Conrad), Vinnie Jones (McStarley), Robert Mammone (Breckel), Manu Bennett (Paco), Madeleine West (Sarah Cavanaugh)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64200-THE-CONDEMNED) |
| Box office | Opening weekend $3,807,595 in 2,310 theaters; domestic total $7,371,706, with a 100% domestic share[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Condemned-The) |
| Financial aftermath | WWE recorded a $15.7 million impairment charge in June 2007 after re-evaluating the film's prospects[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1091907/000095015207005185/l26674aexv99w1.htm) |
| Critical reception | Metascore 23 from 24 critic reviews (79% negative); 16% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 99 reviews[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-condemned/) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/condemned) |
| Sequel | *The Condemned 2: Desert Prey* (working title), announced with Randy Orton starring and Roel Reiné directing[6](https://www.wwe.com/inside/overtheropes/wwestudios/the-condemned-2-randy-orton-lionsgate) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
Jack Conrad is a death-row inmate awaiting execution in a corrupt Central American prison when a wealthy television producer buys him and takes him to a remote island. There, Conrad and nine other condemned killers from around the world learn they must fight each other to the death, with freedom going to the sole survivor; the producer plans to stream the violence live and uncensored online to millions of viewers.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/condemned) • [7](https://www.tributemovies.com/movie/The-Condemned/14276/)
Director Scott Wiper described the film as a cautionary tale about violent entertainment. He said he had rented seasons of *Survivor* and *Fear Factor* while writing to educate himself on reality television, and framed the premise as taking that format "to the nth degree."[8](https://www.fatguysatthemovies.com/scott-wiper-interview/) In an interview with ComingSoon.net he acknowledged the tension in the project: "we've made a very violent movie, but on another level we've condemned violence."[9](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/20065-the-condemned-director-scott-wiper) Critics noted the same tension from the other side; the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's review called the film "a sloppy, indifferent action movie with a sadistic edge and a sour hypocrisy,"[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-condemned/) and a Rotten Tomatoes-cited review observed that the film's moral judgments about watching a fight to the death risked alienating the audience that came for exactly that.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/condemned)
### Sequel
In 2013, Lionsgate and [WWE Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/wwe-studios) announced *The Condemned 2: Desert Prey*, a working title extending the studios' partnership. Roel Reiné was set to direct with WWE Superstar Randy Orton attached to star, marking the second film for both after *12 Rounds 2: Reloaded*; Alan McElroy wrote the script, with principal photography scheduled in [New Mexico](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-mexico).[6](https://www.wwe.com/inside/overtheropes/wwestudios/the-condemned-2-randy-orton-lionsgate)
## Production
WWE and Lionsgate reached a distribution deal in April 2006, with shooting scheduled to begin May 15 in Australia.[10](https://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00003598.html) Wiper was brought onto an existing script written as a vehicle for Steve Austin; he rewrote it and directed, and cited the 1926 short story "The Most Dangerous Game" as a touchstone.[9](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/20065-the-condemned-director-scott-wiper) He cast [Vinnie Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/vinnie-jones) as the villain McStarley after reviewing actors online, reasoning that "action films can be made or broken on the villain."[9](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/20065-the-condemned-director-scott-wiper)
Wiper favored practical effects over computer-generated imagery, aiming to do as few visual effects shots as possible so the film would "feel authentic."[8](https://www.fatguysatthemovies.com/scott-wiper-interview/) The film passed the ratings board with an R on the first submission; Wiper attributed this to restraint in on-screen blood, keeping most deaths implied rather than shown with squibs.[9](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/20065-the-condemned-director-scott-wiper)
The screenplay credits Scott Wiper and Rob Hedden, with story credit shared by Wiper, Rob Hedden, and Andy Hedden; Joel Simon produced, Ross Emery was the cinematographer, and Graeme Revell composed the score.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64200-THE-CONDEMNED) A novelization by Rob Hedden, which expanded on the characters' back stories, went on sale April 2, 2007, before the theatrical release.[11](https://www.wwe.com/inside/thecondemned/exclusives/condemnedbook)
## Box office and financial outcome
The film opened wide on April 27, 2007 in 2,310 theaters, earning $3,807,595 on its first weekend, 51.7% of its eventual total. The gross fell 67% in the second weekend and the run ended at a domestic total of $7,371,706, with no international gross recorded by The Numbers.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Condemned-The) On June 19, 2007, World Wrestling Entertainment announced it had re-evaluated its expectations for the film and recorded an impairment charge of $15.7 million, reflecting revised long-term projections based on the $7.4 million in domestic receipts to that date.[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1091907/000095015207005185/l26674aexv99w1.htm)
[Home video](https://www.edgepedia.org/home-video) outperformed the theatrical run. Lionsgate Home Entertainment released the film on DVD on September 18, 2007, and estimated DVD sales reached $23,728,941, more than three times the domestic theatrical gross.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Condemned-The)
## Reception
Critical response was largely negative. The Metacritic Metascore of 23, labeled "Generally Unfavorable," was based on 24 critic reviews, of which 19 were negative, 4 mixed, and 1 positive.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-condemned/) Rotten Tomatoes recorded a 16% Tomatometer from 99 reviews, against a 58% audience score from more than 50,000 ratings; its critics consensus called the film "a morally ambiguous, exceedingly violent and mostly forgettable action film."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/condemned)
Reviewers repeatedly compared the premise to Kinji Fukasaku's 2000 Japanese film *Battle Royale*. Marc Bernardin of Entertainment Weekly, in the most positive review counted by Metacritic at 67, wrote that *The Condemned* was "pretty much the same thing with half the satirical wit and twice the number of wrestlers."[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-condemned/) Other criticisms targeted the film's self-seriousness and its lead's performance: James Berardinelli of ReelViews found stretches "tedious and insufferably self important" with a late scene that "turns preachy,"[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-condemned/) and TV Guide Magazine's Maitland McDonagh wrote that Austin was "conspicuously inarticulate and uncharismatic" while Vinnie Jones "acts rings around him."[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-condemned/) Audience response was warmer than the critics': the film holds a 6.0 rating from about 56,000 IMDb users, and [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) users gave it 68%.[12](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-condemned)
## References
1. [The Condemned, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/condemned)
2. [The Condemned (2007), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64200-THE-CONDEMNED)
3. [World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. updates expectations for its third feature film, "The Condemned" (SEC Exhibit 99.1, June 19, 2007)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1091907/000095015207005185/l26674aexv99w1.htm)
4. [The Condemned (2007), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Condemned-The)
5. [The Condemned Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-condemned/)
6. [WWE Studios and Lionsgate team up again on 'The Condemned 2: Desert Prey', WWE.com](https://www.wwe.com/inside/overtheropes/wwestudios/the-condemned-2-randy-orton-lionsgate)
7. [The Condemned (2007), Movie Plot and Synopsis, Tribute Movies](https://www.tributemovies.com/movie/The-Condemned/14276/)
8. [Scott Wiper Interview, Fat Guys at the Movies](https://www.fatguysatthemovies.com/scott-wiper-interview/)
9. [The Condemned Director Scott Wiper, ComingSoon.net (April 24, 2007)](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/20065-the-condemned-director-scott-wiper)
10. [WWE & Lionsgate Reach Deal Over "The Condemned", AceShowbiz (April 20, 2006)](https://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00003598.html)
11. ['The Condemned' book on sale now, WWE.com (April 2, 2007)](https://www.wwe.com/inside/thecondemned/exclusives/condemnedbook)
12. [The Condemned streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-condemned)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Action, thriller, and crime series film entries › Entries released in the 2000s › Released 2005 to 2009*
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