It is impossible to judge The Condemned on the basis of anything more than what it is: cheap, mindless entertainment. It’s a hyperactive action film made by an unknown director, starring former wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and produced by the WWE. With low expectations to be a film of any value, it is surprisingly enjoyable. The key to the film’s success is that it doesn’t take itself at all seriously.

A television producer buys ten convicted murderers awaiting execution on death row. He brings them to an island in the middle of nowhere and unleashes them on each other. The last man standing wins his freedom. The producer films it as a reality television show and then broadcasts it on the Internet, getting higher ratings than the Super Bowl.

It sounds like a stupid concept, and it is, but the filmmakers acknowledge that as the film constantly makes fun of itself, with the characters smirking and winking at the audience the entire time. There are the obligatory action scenes, which are chaotically done with dizzying camera work. The film also tries to make lame social commentaries on the darkness of human nature and the perversion of the media.

The Condemned isn’t meant to be judged on the level of an intellectual film. It’s meant to be judged on the level of, say, a Michael Bay film: one people are ashamed to find they enjoy.