Reviews of bad, good, and straight to DVD action movies
Dir: Sylvester Stallone Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Graham McTavish Run time: 91 minutes The fourth entry into the Rambo canon had an interesting production history. For years, Sylvester Stallone was hesitant to return to the character. There was also the matter of the series' original studio Carolco closing its doors after the third film … Continue reading Rambo movie review
Dir: George P. Cosmatos Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Charles Napier, Steven Berkoft Run time: 96 Minutes I recently finished David Morrell's novel First Blood, the story that gave birth to the Rambo character. It's a dark, meticulously crafted tale of survival against tremendous odds. It also dives headfirst into the murky topic of post-Vietnam … Continue reading Rambo: First Blood Part II movie review
Dir: Paul Verhoeven Starring: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O' Herlihy, Kurtwood Smith Run time: 102 minutes One of the grandmasters of action cinema, it's hard to truly quantify how influential Robocop has been to movies in general. Paul Verhoeven's satire of corporate greed is what happens when a director is allowed to pursue a … Continue reading Robocop movie review
Warning: this article contains a major spoiler for Fight Club. The action movie genre is wide and diverse. Just look at the many cultures and ethnicities represented on screen, the numerous forms of martial arts showcased and the sheer breadth of action stories being told by film industries around the world. Hell, you don't need … Continue reading Celebrating action scenes in non-action movies (Episode One)
Dir: Chad Stahelski Starring: Keanu Reeves, Common, Laurence Fishburne, Ricardo Scamarcio, Ruby Rose, Ian McShane Run time: 122 minutes The first John Wick came out quietly and quickly gained mainstream success thanks to word of mouth and critical hype. What would happen to the lean, mean Wick formula if it had a higher budget and … Continue reading John Wick: Chapter 2 Review
Dir: Adam Wingard Starring: Dan Stevens, Maika Monroe, Leland Orser Run time: 100 minutes How do you reboot the Terminator for the synth-wave millennial generation? Well actually, I'm not sure and as a (at the time of writing) 35-year-old millennial myself I don't think you can go far wrong than The Guest, penned by Simon … Continue reading The Guest movie review
Dir: Wilson Yip Starring: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Lynn Hung, Fan Siu-Wong, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi Run Time: 108 minutes In real life, martial arts teacher Ip Man is credited as Bruce Lee's mentor, a fact that's proudly emblazoned on the front of the DVD case. I didn't know much more about him, and was keen to … Continue reading Ip Man Movie Review
Dir: Sam Firstenberg Starring: Michael Dudikoff, Guich Koock, Judie Aronson, Steve James Run time: 95 minutes Initially released by Cannon Films in 1985, American Ninja is a curious expedition into the depths of ultra cheesy action cinema. Pinballing between total shite and deeply entertaining, this melting pot of genres and ideas is a must-see for … Continue reading American Ninja movie review
Dir: Isaac Florentine Starring: Michael Jai White, Scott Adkins Run time: 98 minutes I never saw the first Undisputed, but I dived right into the sequel after I read that you could enjoy it comfortably without seeing the first movie. Most notably, it stars two 'undisputed' legends of the straight-to-dvd action circuit - Michael Jai … Continue reading Undisputed II: Last Man Standing Movie Review
Dir: John Carpenter Starring: Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer Run time: 91 minutes The siege movie was arguably born in the days of westerns. The idea of gunslingers, holed up in a fort or saloon, pinned down by unrelenting gunfire is instantly recognisable to anyone who has brushed with the genre. With Assault on … Continue reading Assault on Precinct 13 review
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