It's been several years since I first received The Third Society in the mail. I had eagerly awaited it and popped it into my VCR the day I got it. So why have I taken so long in writing a review for it? Because the screener was more or less unwatchable. A timestamp and a chunk of text saying, "PROPERTY OF WARRIOR ENTERTAINMENT" were emblazoned across the top of the film and made it difficult for me to pay attention to the movie. I put it on one of my movie shelves and it's been collecting dust ever since, however fate has recently intervened. About two months ago, writer/producer/director/grip truck driver/editor/star Jacquelyn Ruffner e-mailed me and asked if I'd review her film. Instead of taking advantage of her forgetfulness, I told Jacque that she had previously sent me a screener on VHS that I hadn't gotten around to reviewing yet. She didn't seem to mind and within a week had sent me, not only a brand new DVD of The Third Society, but also it's awesome soundtrack! (With music by the oh so lovely Emily O'Neary, lead singer of the aptly named "Emily O'Neary Band.")

Now I had fully expected to be writing a bad review of this film, and berating Ms. Ruffner for making one of the worst movies I have ever seen! That is, until I popped the DVD into my player and started watching it. This couldn't be the same movie I reluctantly sat through so long ago, could it?! The picture is clear; damn near perfect, and there's no annoying text or a timestamp! (Truthfully, that alone helped jack up my rating for this movie.) As it turned out, The Third Society turned out to be a rather fun and entertaining action cheese-fest! The film opens with the death of Janine Reynolds, the mother of Erica and Cassandra. Young Cassandra watches (in slow-motion) as her mother is gunned down. After this incident, both girls were put into the witness protection program and their last names were changed to Jones. Fast forward twenty-five years and Jones (played by Jacquelyn Ruffner) is now a bad ass cop and a total loner who doesn't play by the rules.

When we first see Jones, it's during one of the many montages in the film. She's giving herself a good workout by jogging, mountain-climbing and doing some shadow kickboxing. And this is supposed to be her vacation?! (This particular montage was filmed in beautiful Queensland, Australia... I think.) Jones' vacation is cut short when she's called back to L.A. Dragon, the man that killed Jones' mother, has found and kidnaped her sister, Erica. You see, Jones busted up a huge drug deal a while back and it cost Dragon roughly one-billion dollars! Dragon wants his money back, and for some reason, Erica is the only one capable of electronically transferring the billion dollars into Dragon's bank account. Now it's up to Jones and an FBI agent named Michael to save Erica and take down Dragon. And that's the entire setup; the rest of the film chronicles Jones' quest in killing the bad guys, refusing to do paperwork, and saving her sister. So as you can see, the movie's strong point is not its plot, but it makes up for it with a good number of action scenes.

For an independent film, The Third Society has a polished look and the action scenes are fairly well done. Probably the biggest part of the film is Jones' siege at an airport where she chases Chan and his henchmen (and henchwomen) on her Honda motorcycle. The baddies manage to escape with Erica on a plane, so Jones' chases the remaining thugs and even commandeers a helicopter to continue the pursuit. The chase eventually ends and Jones takes on a half-dozen heavily armed criminals (including Chan). Jones kneels down in the open and takes out most of her attackers without even being shot once! (Part of the action hero/heroine invisible bullet shield phenomenon, which was pioneered by the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.) Then she goes toe-to-toe with Chan and kills him! (And here I thought he was merely knocked out!) To fill out the rest of the movie, there are several lengthy montages interspersed between the action scenes. Some of these represent flashbacks while others are just lengthy shots of Jones training and preparing to kick some "Third Society" ass!

And speaking of which, there's no mention of any "Third Society" in this film, save for its title. Was a "Third Society" going to be a major plot point in the original script and cut due to budget constraints, or is there a special meaning surrounding it? It seems that the film's original title was going to be "Triad," but eventually changed due to major changes in the script. (Said changes were made because the script was deemed as "too ethnic" by development executives!) Eventually Jones works her way to the top and has her inevitable showdown with Dragon. Then something very unexpected happens; the film ends with one of the most anticlimactic confrontations I have ever seen! Both characters stand on opposite ends of a dock and aim their guns at each other. Jones and Dragon fire their guns at the same time and they both fall over, The End. Wait what?! There's no hand-to-hand fight scene where Dragon taunts Jones with the death of her mother? There's isn't an "Oh no, Dragon's going to win" moment, followed by a sudden turning point where Jones gains the upper hand and defeats her would-be killer?! Nope, they just shoot each other and die. Or does Jones really die? (A question posed by McGregor, who narrates a good chunk of the movie.)

The Third Society went through pre-production hell before Jacquelyn took over the entire creative process, and I think she did remarkably well! The movie contains some fantastic cinematography, and Jacquelyn Ruffner utilizes her location shots to great effect that helps bolster the film's look. Some of the best shots are of Jones jogging through a heavily forested area and under a gorgeous waterfall. Personally I would've shot more of the film there, including the final showdown. The fight choreography in the film is fairly decent (though there's a few moments where the punches and kicks clearly don't connect) and Ms. Ruffner handles herself well. This comes as no surprise because she is actually adept in Muay Thai kickboxing. (I'd also like to note that Jacquelyn Ruffner's motorcyle attire in this film is closely mirrored in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 1. Is this a coincidence?!) The music in this film is awesome and most of the songs you will hear are performed by the Emily O'Neary band. (Even as I type out this review, I'm listening to the music and I'm really enjoying it.) However, while the music is good, it's not necessarily used at the appropriate moments in the film. I had a few good laughs during the movie because the music just didn't fit certain scenes, thus adding to The Third Society's cheese level.

The movie's main downfall is in its choice of cast members. Namely... god I hate to say this... Jacquelyn Ruffner herself. She delivers her lines in a dry and uninterested tone most of the time. I can forgive her for that though because this is her first feature length film. The rest of the cast performs well, especially Shannon Clay who plays Erica. She does a great job of being a witty, overly sarcastic, and intelligent blonde. (There's an oxymoron for you... an intelligent blonde. Before you send me hatemail about this joke, just remember that it's just that: A joke!) Another thing that could have used a little more work in The Third Society was the way the story was told. Had the editing been a little better, and some of the flashback photo montages been cut, I think the movie would run a lot better. Again, this is just all my own personal opinion and I'm not trying to discourage anyone from watching this movie. In fact, I want people to see this movie, especially fans of independent films and aspiring film makers.

If you're interested in watching The Third Society, is now available on DVD and it looks and sounds great! I've compared it to the screener I received a few years back and there is a huge difference. The disc itself has a good number of extras including the movie's trailer, two music videos (featuring the Emily O'Neary Band), chapter stops, and a Behind the Scenes short. The twenty-minute long "Behind the Scenes" extra shows Ms. Ruffner and one of the film's Asian stars talking about the making of the movie as they celebrate its ultimate completion and distribution on DVD. Currently, Jacquelyn Ruffner and the rest of her production staff are working on some new projects: A documentary called Dive the Deep Blue and a new feature film called Black Tide. For more information on these upcoming films and The Third Society, visit Warrior Entertainment.