The Specialist

Explosive actioner starring Sylvester Stallone as a former bomb expert for the CIA hired by beautiful Sharon Stone to kill the Miami mobsters who murdered her family. As Stallone starts his assault, he discovers that unpredictable former associate James Woods is working for the hoods. Eric Roberts and Rod Steiger co-star; features steamy Stallone-Stone sex scenes. 110 min. Standard and Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital Surround stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital Surround stereo; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; theatrical trailer.

Just awful enough to qualify as someone's guilty pleasure, this convoluted thriller was supposed to cash in on the supposedly sexy teaming of Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone (then hot from her ample exposure in iBasic Instinct/i), but their naked groping in a shower provides one of the film's unintentionally funny highlights. Ray Quick (Stallone) is a former CIA bomb expert whose former colleague (James Woods) is now in cahoots with a Miami drug cartel led by kingpin Joe Leon (Rod Steiger), who chews the scenery while his son Tomas (Eric Roberts) proceeds with a greedy hidden agenda. May Munro (Stone) hires Quick to kill off Roberts. iThe Specialist/i, featuring lots of explosions and redeemed by a dandy role for James Woods, is best suited for ardent Stallone and Stone fans. i--Jeff Shannon/i