Roger's Rating:

Justin Slayer has a large and devoted fan base who love his movies. Even they can't be expecting what we're about to see though. This is a full blown feature with dialog, action scenes and an opening sequence that is as mainstream and tight as anything I have seen from the adult industry in a long time. Merc is a slick gangster movie with a distinctly urban flavor. It employs a combination of voice over and person to person dialog to weave a tale that is interesting enough to stick around for yet not overbearing. It stars Slayer as well as Roxy Reynolds. While Roxy doesn't really have much to say in the movie, she carries it sexually and that is a wise choice. If any of you haven't seen Roxy, she is one of the hottest women in the industry with one of the best asses around. Given Slayer's reputation for booty shots, you can be sure that he will know how to show off Roxy's obvious charms in a very eye pleasing manner. As someone who has been critical of Slayer's projects in the past, I am very curious to see how he will handle this obvious departure from what he normally does. In a day and age where even the great feature directors are throwing up their hands and shooting all sex, I have to give Slayer huge points right off the bat for trying something new, different and ultimately difficult.

This opening scene is a sex tape that Justin is shooting with a girl from around the block. It serves to kick off the story and also gives us a good reason to have a gonzo-style sex scene in a feature. Slayer shoots her in an extensive tease and POV blowjob that is pretty good. They stick with the black and white "camcorder" view a little longer than they probably should have, but it sure beats the typical random sex scene that they throw in to start most features. Thankfully the action starts over a bit when we go to full color. Millan gives his big cock the once over with her tongue, showing better oral skills than most of the celebrity sex tapes she is imitating. Once the sex starts, we kind of have to lose the idea that it's a home made sex tape in since the camera is moving even as he fucks her. There is some camerawork that is painfully reminiscent of Slayer's other projects during this scene. The lighting and camera angles aren't what we might hope, but the raw energy between these two performers makes it work.

Fast forward a few months and Millan has helped hook Slayer up with a connection. Looks like he is doing fine hooking his dick up with new hotties. There is a brief blowjob scene with a girl who fills her jeans well. Then we move on to Roxy who is just stunning. She's the boss's wife and the key to the big robbery that is central to the plot of this flick. Even though she looks great, this scene ends up looking a bit like a huge mess. I get what they are going for, but the splashes of light, the out of focus footage and the generally shaky camera work just hurts the heat tremendously. Roxy looks amazing and is doing one hell of a hot scene. She has her back arched, her ass sticking and is just working that dick. Watching this on the big screen is almost painful to the eyes with the hot spots and soft focus. That kind of look definitely doesn't go with the great sexual heat being generated here. I'm just not sure Slayer got as much out of this scene as he could have.

This same style is in place during the tease into the next scene. Roxy has her body shaking and quaking to the beat. See it doesn't bother me so much here. I just hope they keep shooting things straight on as Roxy gets her mouth around some dick. There are still some focus issues, but once again we are seeing a very sexy woman show off her skills beautifully. That fantastic ass is nicely show off during some doggy and even with the fuzzy focus there is better heat. He rolls her over and she shakes that beautiful booty for us to enjoy. It could probably still be hotter, but this is definitely worth checking out.

The action moves towards an orgy finish, but first Justin gets his shot at Melrose in the bathroom. In the cramped quarters they are limited quite a bit, but still work up some heat. When they move into the bedroom, the focus question has to be asked again. Are people really looking for sex scene that are so out of focus that they look all glossy and soft? There are some great moments here, including some great ass shots of course.

After a long bout of ass tease, the foursome finally get together. The cameras stay glued to the glutes as the girls ride hard rod. This might be the best overall sex scene not because of the girls, but because the style of the film finally takes a back seat to the action. With both girls in reverse cowgirl, we get plenty of great cheek waves. These young women seriously work some great curves. The side by side doggy is really easy on the eyes and the sexual heat is high. We are finally allowed to see the action without hot spots or questionable focus. If every scene in the movie were shot like this, then we really would be talking about this flick as a contender for movie of the year.

The bonus disc has a BTS, interviews, extended tease footage and 46 trailers for other Justin Slayer movies. It's a solid collection of bonus material to be sure.

This really is a tale of two movies. On the one hand, it is a nicely put together feature with voice over dialog that is pretty close to excellent. It has a mainstream look and feel without being stiff. The voice overs allow everyone to deliver dialog that is manageable and flows better than it might have otherwise. Some of you may be shocked, but I liked the music. It wasn't overbearing and gave the movie a very solid feel. I don't want to say that the sex is bad in this movie because it isn't. There are some very, very solid sex scenes here. It isn't a question of sexual energy or intensity. The problems come from the lighting and camerawork. Some of this is intentional and it comes down to a matter of style. I liked the way the first scene was set up as a home sex tape. That fit the shaky style and made the scene work. In the other scenes, we're back to style getting in the way of sex. That isn't something that is unique to this movie though. We see it in features all the time. What is odd about the sex in Merc is that there is such obvious intensity. Slayer and Roxy hook up for a scene that looks downright fucking awesome. The lighting just gets in the way of the heat. There is a good chance that a lot of people are going to love the look and feel of this movie. It's very artfully done at times. At other moments, the hot spots are just horrible distractions from great sex. I still like the overall look and feel of the movie, but think that we got shortchanged on the sex just a bit. Had they eased back a little and show every scene like the last one then Merc would be one of my top three choices for feature of the in 2007. As is, it is still a solid top ten effort overall. Very nice work from Slayer. I just hope next time he lets us see the sexual intensity without anything getting in the way.

Copyright © Roger T. Pipe

Posted By Roger, www.excaliburfilms.com | 10/5/06 1:58 PM