While Isaac Florentine has a death grip on the title of "best direct-to-video action director," Jesse V. Johnson is definitely a runner-up. More restrained than Florentine, Johnson displays a particular aptitude for character development and storytelling, and in no instance more so than the vehicle crafted for star Eric Roberts. While not the action-packed extravaganza that I had been hoping for, it is an excellent crime-thriller that proves the cinematic experience is possible on a small budget.

The story: Double-crossed by the underworld syndicate employing him, a washed-up debt collector (Roberts) strikes back by stealing a multimillion dollar take.

With a 113-minute runtime, THE BUTCHER is a longer-than-average low budgeteer, but makes it worth it by building up its characters and allowing the actors to amply show their acting chops. This investment, in turn, is made worth it by the seriously good cast. Cult star Eric Roberts has the same natural charisma as David Carradine or Lance Henriksen, making any scene he appears in entertaining by default. Villain Robert Davi is in a similar league and for all the seems like he was gearing up for a BOARDWALK EMPIRE audition. Also in the credits are the spectacular Irina Bjoerklund, Keith David, Geoffrey Lewis, Bokeem Woodbine, and Michael Ironside – occupying roles of varying sizes but all working towards my general impression of "Wow, I forgot that movies like this could have good acting in them!" The story they perform is a slow burner, sometimes too slow for my liking, but the atmosphere it creates along the way is excellent and its avoidance of cliché is welcome.

The one bad thing about the story is that it comes at the expense of the action, which – despite the claims of the DVD case – is not evident "from start to finish." Uncharacteristically for the director's movies, there is very little hand-to-hand content, which is disappointing considering the supporting cast's inclusion of Dominquie Vandenberg, Dan Southworth, and Jerry Trimble (who gives a surprisingly wicked dramatic performance). Its focus is on gunplay, but you'll have to wait until the second half to see anything substantial. There are three big shootouts, and while most of them lack overall creativity, each features at least a couple moments of cool absurdity. Roberts shoots through a brick wall with a shotgun to dispatch an enemy, and later grabs a decorative Browning machinegun to take on a club. The final shootout in a bar makes up for a lot with its hyper-violent choreography; it's worth waiting for.

When I think of "bad" B-movies of the pre-2000s, I think of poorly-made shlock. When I think of "bad" B-movies of the 2000s and beyond, I imagine well-made but dramatically vapid shlock. It's nice to come across a movie that makes such a point of avoiding both pitfalls, and it's good to know that there are indeed filmmakers out there who take this particular tier of filmmaking seriously. While I really wish there had been more action, THE BUTCHER is worth at least the price of a rental.

Eric Roberts is Hench, a henchman for a crime boss played by Robert Davi. After several loyal years to Davi's character, things go wrong when Hench gets ambushed during a shakedown. Unlike most movies, however, Hench ends up with some big money and a girl (the beautiful Irina Bjorklund),and plots his bullet-riddled revenge against Davi and the men who crossed him.

"The Butcher" was pretty sweet. You can tell that the films director, the up and coming Jesse V. Johnson, is experienced behind the camera. He knows what an audience (in this case mostly male) wants to see; Action. And that's what you get with The Butcher, Eric Roberts shooting his way out of a life he's tired of squandering. The action is terrific, the sets are cool, and the overall effect is a nicely done action piece.

Roberts does a great job, convincingly playing a cool, badass henchman. For once he doesn't overplay the role, instead he's cool as can be, even when the bullets fly. Irina Bjorklund is a great up and comer as well. Davi fills a great performance as the film's antagonist, a major crime boss who's about to go down. Keith David, Bokeem Woodbine, and a small appearance by Michael Ironside round out the cast, all in terrific performances.

Overall a very cool action movie.

Jesse Johnson writes and directs THE BUTCHER, a crime drama starring Eric Roberts as Merle Hench nicknamed 'The Butcher' in his younger days as a promising prize fighter. For the last twenty years, he has been a mob enforcer. His boss(Robert Dayl)figures its about time for Merle to slow down a bit, maybe retire from the business. Merle is set up to take the fall for a botched heist worth millions to a rival mob boss. The Butcher's instincts tell him something is very wrong and instead of disappearing, he decides its time to fight back in return for being put in the trap.

Roberts seems to play it too cool. His character definitely has faith in himself. His love interest is played by the winsome Irina Bjorklund. In support are: Geoffrey Lewis, Paul Dillon, Jerry Trimble and Michael Ironside. Not a bad choice for a lazy day.