Don Johnson was one of the most famous faces on screen in the 1980s, best known for playing James Crockett in Miami Vice. He also starred in several action movies of the era, such as Cease Fire and Dead Bang.
Johnson may not be one of the world’s best-known products of Hollywood, but he’s arguably been one of the busiest. Outside of acting, the 72-year-old has made music and become a successful card shark in the blackjack scene.
Well-Known Blackjack Enthusiast
Many of today’s filmgoers would probably recognize Johnson’s face thanks to his recent roles in pictures like Knives Out and Django Unchained. However, it’s unlikely that he’s high on the list of favorite actors among the younger generations. There’s a chance that these people would form a more positive opinion of Johnson if they knew about his blackjack exploits, though.
Indeed, blackjack is one of the world’s most popular games thanks to the rise of online casinos and the plethora of options for players. When playing blackjack online, card fanatics are now faced with so many choices, from Blackjack Multi-Hand to One Blackjack. Many of these games come with live dealers as well, transmitting the real-world table experience to players in their homes. Despite being invented over 100 years ago, the game is still world-famous and loved by many.
For anyone interested in blackjack, it’s good to have role models to look up to. Johnson is certainly someone who fits that bill. The actor famously cleaned out the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City when he made more than $15 million playing the card game there.
Turn as a Singer
Johnson’s bow has many strings to it, and some people know him best as a singer. As he was making a name for himself as a household actor in the 1980s, the Miami Vice star capitalized on this fame and pursued a music career. He released two pop albums in the decade and was reasonably successful.
Johnson’s first release was Heartbeat in 1986, and this was followed by Let it Roll in 1989. Some of his best-known tracks included the single “Heartbeat”, and a duet with Barbra Streisand entitled “Till I Loved You”.
Best Johnson Movies of the 1980s
For anyone wanting to get a crash course in Johnson’s best roles from the 1980s, Dead Bang is a good place to start. In John Frankenheimer’s picture, Johnson played the lead role of LASD Detective Jerry Beck and had to take down a group of white supremacists.
G.I. Joe: The Movie, is another great one to watch. Johnson played Lieutenant Vincent R. Falcone in Don Jurwich’s film, which was released at the height of the G.I. Joe craze.
Johnson didn’t stop at acting, singing, and card playing. One of the most surprising things about his career is that he was once a professional powerboat racer. In 1986 he won a 1,100-mile race up the Mississippi River. It’s hard to think of many 1980s action stars who have done as much as the Missouri-born star.
Ranking the best ACTION films from the one true God himself — Keanu Reeves!
Keanu Reeves emerged in the 1990s as a new kind of action hero. Gone were the days of the topless, muscle-flexing behemoths who were shooting machine guns from the hip. A slim guy, with a calm and often melancholic demeanor, he brought a different type of character to the genre, and his down-to-earth attitude enabled audiences to identify more easily with him.
What he has in common with the heroes of old is that in his films he typically is a man of few words, and also piles up massive body counts in several of his classics. In this list we compiled Keanu Reeves’s 10 best action flicks, with more to be added in the years to come for sure!
Special Mention: Bill & Ted Trilogy (1989 – 2020)
Maybe they are not action movies in the traditional sense, but the time-traveling, rock-infused adventures of Bill & Ted are filled to the brim with excitement and adventure. The two friends embark on a quest to become the band that creates a harmonic utopia for mankind in the future. Their first obstacle is to pass their high-school history exam, but a phone-booth-turned time machine comes to the rescue, leading to many excellent encounters with legends of history.
Bill (Alex Winters) and Ted (Reeves) are just as likable and charming as they are clueless and fearless. They hook up with medieval princesses, start a band with the Grim Reaper, and have a friendly chat with Sigmund Freud. Humanity was graced two equally cheerful and creative films in 1989 and 1992, and a glorious return in 2020 that marked the conclusion of the trilogy. Party on, dudes!
47 Ronin is based on a historical epic of 18th Century Japan, and multiple films about it were made in its country of origin before Hollywood waltzed in. Kai (Reeves) sees his master Asano driven to suicide by the ruthless Shogun Tsunayoshi. Kai and Asano’s samurai are banished from the land and need to survive in a monster-infested wilderness, while plotting their revenge.
The film is an interesting experiment mixing a Japanese medieval setting and characters with monsters and samurai action. It all works together reasonably well, and the movie is a feast for the eyes with colorful costumes and lavish locations. Reeves does what he does best, kicking lots of ass with a stoical attitude. 47 Ronin ends up being a tad too generic to be a memorable fantasy actioner, but there is enough charm to this slightly nonsensical affair to keep you watching.
With Man of Tai-Chi Reeves tried two new things: playing a villain and directing a film. Rich scumbag Donaka (Reeves) organizes deadly fight tournaments. He invites Tiger Chen (played by Tiger Chen), a talented Tai Chi disciple, to join his fight club. Tiger, who is in dire need of money to save his master’s temple, reluctantly agrees, and gets trapped in a spiral of violence and rage.
Tai Chi can’t be used for fighting, you say? Man of Tai-Chi says otherwise! With the combined talent of Tiger Chen in front of the camera and legendary choreographer Woo-Ping Yuen behind it, the film delivers martial arts battles of the highest caliber. They are not as intense and spectacular as other classics that came out in Asia around that time, but they all look pretty awesome. Reeves hams it up splendidly, and his first venture into the directing business became a full success!
Street Kings is another great entry to the urban cop thriller genre. Undercover cop Ludlow’s (Reeves) former partner is killed, and Ludlow becomes a suspect. He starts his own murder investigation, and stirs up a hornet’s nest of corruption and organized crime. Police thriller expert David Ayer switched from the writer’s desk (Training Day, Dark Blue) to the director’s chair, and he was able to elevate the average script with brutal action and hard-boiled characters.
Reeves as trigger-happy, alcoholic cynic delivers one of the most intense performances in his career. What Street Kings shows us has all been done before, but Ayer created a nice package that never fails to entertain, and is guaranteed to have you at the edge of your seat!
Director Andrew Davis delivered another banger in the vein of his masterpiece The Fugitive. Eddie (Reeves) works as technician for a University project that aims to produce free and clean energy from hydrogen. The experiments are successful, but the laboratory explodes. Eddie is framed as the prime suspect, and discovers a massive conspiracy while on the run.
Chain Reaction is an action-packed advertisement for green hydrogen that is surprisingly relevant for our time, even though the science doesn’t fully check out. Reeves does a fine job as technician-turned action hero, and he is such a nice guy in this film, a genuinely caring human being. While not breaking new ground apart from its premise, Chain Reaction is a clever film that delivers plenty of thrills and spectacle with a good chunk of explosions and wrecked vehicles.
Johnny Mnemonic may well well be the ultimate cyberpunk movie (unless you are in favor of entry #4 on our list), not least because cult author William Gibson wrote the script for this Sci-Fi action extravaganza. In the near future, people suffer from the Nerve Attenuation Syndrome that is caused by an overexposure to digital technology. Johnny carries a chip in his brain that has the cure for the disease on it, and becomes the target of multiple factions going after the data.
Johnny Mnemonic pulls of the impressive feat of being silly and thoughtful at the same time. There’s cheesy dialogues and acting (including Reeves), psychedelic cyberspace sequences, and a cyborg dolphin, but also commentary on humanity’s enslavement to technology, a post-democratic world order, and problems with Big Pharma. Johnny Mnemonic hits viewers with the intensity of a tornado, and is one of the most fun version of a cyberpunk world on celluloid.
In 2005, it was time again for Reeves to shine as an action hero, this time as the disillusioned and cursed demon hunter John Constantine. He stumbles upon an apparent suicide case, but when he is repeatedly attacks by hordes of monsters, Constantine discovers the devil’s entire army is on the verge of entering the human world. Based on a comic book series, Constantine is more than just The Exorcist as an action flick, and the most insane exorcism in movie history just marks the start of a film never relents.
John Constantine has an impressive arsenal of biblical weapons at his disposal: blessed knuckles, a holy shotgun and a flamethrower with dragon fire. But the film has a lot more offer than goofy gadgets. The pacing is perfect, the neo-noir visuals create a grim ambiance, and the many spectacular action sequences hit like a train. Constantine is a fantasy horror classic, and one of the best comic book flicks ever made.
Many people identify Keanu Reeves mostly with his character Neo. The Matrix gave us one of the most iconic action heroes, and so much more. Computer programmer Thomas is drawn into a war between cyber-terrorists and government agents. After meeting terrorist leader Morpheus reality literally crumbles before Thomas’ eyes and he begins to understand his role in the war to save the human race.
The Matrix effortlessly combines deep philosophical themes with bullet-laden exchanges, and each of the Hongkong-style inspired action sequences is a spectacular warping of reality with an almost obscene amount of magazines being emptied. Few movies provide an experience as singular as The Matrix, an action blockbuster and a piece of art. The film was followed by three unnecessary and astonishingly mediocre sequels, so you can better watch the original film three more times instead.
John Wick is the sapling in the barren desert that action cinema on the big screen increasingly became since the 2010s. The film catapulted Reeves back into superstardom, and it’s totally justified. Former mob enforcer John Wick receives a dog as a post-mortem gift from his wife. When the dog is killed by the son of a Russian mob boss, Wick embarks on a blood-drenched revenge crusade against New York’s criminal underworld. Reeves is cool and menacing, and his John Wick became one of the most bad-ass action heroes in cinema history.
With energetic and unapologetically brutal action sequences, director Chad Stahelski created action movie perfection in every frame, and delivered spectacularly choreographed gun fu, the likes we’ve not seen since John Woo’s classics. The first film is the best, but part 2 and 3 – which expanded significantly on the world-building – are almost as great. And with the fourth part on the horizon as of this writing, we hope the franchise keeps going for at least another decade!
Director Kathryn Bigelow landed several masterpieces already early on in her career, and Point Break has become a legendary entry to the action genre. FBI graduate Johnny Utah (Reeves) joins the LA bank robbery task force. The most notorious gang of bank robbers is suspected to be found among surfers. Johnny goes undercover, and gets drawn into the free-spirited lifestyle of the surfing community, that is led by the charismatic master surfer Bodhi (Patrick Swayze).
Bigelow sketches surfers and cops as two groups who couldn’t be further away from each other with their ideas for how a good life should be lived. Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze represent the respective lifestyles, and both deliver some of the best performances of their career. The numerous action sequences are exciting, filmed masterfully, and don’t need bullet storms or giant explosions to hit hard. And the surfing sequences are so beautiful! Every action fan will be enthralled by this incredibly atmospheric and captivating ride, one of the greatest off-beat actioners of all time.
Fasten your seat belts, this bus will never stop! A terrorist places a bomb under a bus, that will explode if the vehicle’s speed drops below 50 mph. Bomb squad specialist Jack Traven gets on the bus, and tries to prevent the catastrophe. Around this simple but ingenious premise director Jan De Bont constructed a series of some of the most insane action sequences ever created.
The many obstacles for the unstoppable bus are the perfect recipe for plenty of thrills, and in line with theme of unstoppable vehicles, De Bont wraps the bus chase in a nerve-wrecking prologue featuring a sabotaged elevator, and the grand finale in a subway train without brakes. Reeves is at the absolute top of his game, radiating coolness combined with a healthy dose of recklessness. Speed is the very definition of non-stop action, an all-time action classic that holds up perfectly to this day.
If there’s one consistent theme from the wide array of different genre films at Fantastic Fest each year it’s that every new film you see is going to find a way to one-up the last. And with the South Korean sci-fi action thriller Project Wolf Hunting on the docket for this year’s fest, I’m happy to report that it did not disappoint in this outrageous trend.
Telling a story which is basically just “Con Air, but on a boat” charting a trip from the Philippines to South Korea, our blood ensemble actioner gets more gruesome and outlandish by the minute as we eventually venture into supernatural elements used to unleash maximum carnage.
So, if you love finding new flavors of genre action (and don’t mind an exploding head or two), then Project Wolf Hunting is probably going to be for you. But read our full review to get a better gist.
Not being an actual expert of South Korean action cinema myself per se, I wasn’t quite sure what I’d be getting into for this film. The “Korean Con Air” line from the teaser review was all that I needed to put it on my list though and from a direct correlation perspective, the comparison was certainly apt.
What wasn’t quite the same — and a hunch I had going in — was that Project Wolf Hunting was going to be much more violent, bloody, and satisfyingly brutal than the 1997 Nicolas Cage actioner. In fact, save for a few scenes early on of the prisoners boarding the doomed water vessel and their fun-loving criminal comrade, the film quickly diverges into something completely different.
Without giving away any spoilers too in-depth, there’s more to this criminal-carrying ship that might meet the eye. We’re introduced pretty early in the film to an additional piece of cargo on the ship which has origins outside of your normal action film.
And while, as you can imagine, the criminals aren’t solely confined to their cabins for the entire voyage, any internal uprising and violent ruckus fight scenes are only a teaser into the amount of carnage that awaits the crew below deck.
To be honest though, I was certainly enjoying the film from the original premise though. A new Con Air feels like a pretty good idea today and with a whole new cast of South Korean actors and budding action stars lined up, the film appears to set the stage for a solid by-the-numbers action drama.
However, once things get that extra kick, it’s hard to but the genie back into the bottle so to speak.
That’s really the question here because the film does a great job of cross-genres early and often. There are supernatural horror elements (and deep backstories) along with some classic action tropes, as well as plenty of just balls-to-the-walls set pieces akin to your latest John Wick films.
It’s really the bloody violence which makes Project Wolf Hunting standout though. Unlike Wick films which seem to bloody up their characters a bit, this film goes into full fantastical slasher territory where throats are slit and spew like fire hydrants and heads are crushed and exploded like cantaloupes.
Honestly, it’s a different element but it serves the film well as it becomes a fun game itself to see just which character is “gonna get ‘ploded” in an even more gruesome manner next.
Not for the faint of heart if you’re squeamish for brutality, but Project Wolf Hunting does enough with its premise and story at the beginning to just let it turn into a “turn your brain off” action bloodbath that is more than your standard action fare, but also not as slow as some recent horror films or reboots.
Even hardened action fans need a film with a hopeful and uplifting vibe every once in a while…
After his impressive performance in American Samurai the time had come for Mark Dacascos to take on his first lead role in an action film. He joined forces with Sheldon Lettich who made a name for himself in the genre with movies like Lionheart (director) and Bloodsport (writer). With Only the Strong, Lettich and Dacascos put a huge spotlight on the beautiful Brazilian martial art of Capoeira, and the film remains to this day the best advertisement for it ever put on celluloid.
Ex-Green Beret Louis returns to his old high school. After beating up a gang of drug dealers in the school yard he is hired as a gym teacher and starts a Capoeira class for the school’s biggest misfits. He earns the respect of the kids, but there is trouble on the horizon. Silvario, leader of a street gang, has different plans for his cousin Orlando, who is training with Louis.
We Will Channel Their Hyperactive Hormon-Driven Energy Into Something Constructive
Films like The Principal and The Substitute featured school teachers that used a more authoritarian approach to straighten out the students. Dacascos’ Louis is a lot more laid back. He only needs to show off some impressive moves and give a pep talk to earn the attention and eventually the trust of his class. We don’t learn much about the circumstances the teenagers are growing up in, and Louis’ instant success with them contains a lots of wishful thinking. But a structured physical activity like taking a martial arts class can be one of many steps to turn around a life, and thus what the film shows us has at least some roots in reality.
Dacascos is one of the greatest action heroes of our time with jaw-dropping martial arts skills. His natural charm and charisma also enable him to simply smile away any flaws he may have in the acting department. And let’s not forget this was his first big role, an overall totally commendable effort, especially if we compare it to the debuts of a Jean-Claude Van Damme or Dolph Lundgren in lead performances.
There are no big sets or special effects, but Only The Strong is not a cheap movie by any means. Lettich selected a couple of atmospheric locations to capture the vibe of a tough (but not overly depressive) neighborhood. There’s plenty of cheesy emotional moments, a half-baked love story, and together with traditional Brazilian music that is mixed with hard beats, we get ourselves the ingredients for a perfect family-friendly action drama.
To me Capoeira seems like a martial art that was not created to beat the living daylights out of your opponent, but to have each contest look like a dance between the two fighters. And there’s a lot of Capoeira action happening, with a bunch of training sequences in the first half of the film, and more serious encounters after Silvario shows up on the screen. This unmistakable cigar-smoking bad guy, who sports a ponytail and all-black street wear, is a mighty Capoeira master himself.
After his first clash with Louis things escalate rapidly, and their adversity culminates in an epic finale where Dacascos pulls off some crazy moves. Lettich utilizes a calm and fluent cinematography that captures the intensity of the fights and the talent of the martial artists really well, and the action sequences in Only the Strong are easily the best he ever created.
We all know it takes more than a few martial arts lessons to turn a rough life around, but we should embrace the romantic idea, and simply enjoy this action fairy tale. Even hardened action fans need a film like Only The Strong with its hopeful and uplifting vibe every once in a while, something that has become exceedingly rare in the genre.
One of the surprising standouts of The Marine series…
A fatal drive-by-shooting leaves the leader of a biker gang riddled with bullets. The assailants manage to escape, but not without retaliation from the rest of the gang. No one escaped unscathed, not even the driver. With all of this happening in the first ten minutes, it’s clear that The Marine 5: Battleground won’t waste your time. As director, James Nunn makes each minute better than the last. Ultimately, he makes one of the best films in the series.
To no surprise, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin is back as Jake Carter, but this time around he is working his first shift as an EMT. After unsuccessfully saving a wounded woman from a car wreck, things quickly go from bad to worse. He and his partner Zoe (Anna Van Hooft, Noelle) get caught between a deadly biker gang led by Alonzo (Bo Dallas) and wounded getaway driver Cole (Nathan Mitchell, The Boys). The groups find themselves in a vicious game of cat and mouse within a parking garage. With no escape in sight, Carter is once again thrown back into the fray with only his wit and undying will.
It’s impossible to continue without mentioning how much Mizanin has grown as an actor. It might have been John Cena (Peacemaker) who began the franchise on the big screen, but his departure allowed Mizanin to prove himself as a believable dtv action hero. It’s even clearer to see Mizanin’s talent among the several WWE stars in the film. He’s sharing the screen with Curtis Axel, Heath Slater, Naomi, and the aforementioned Bo Dallas. But, the degree of acting talent varies throughout the cast. But Mizanin clearly rises above the rest with his charisma and devotion to the role.
Marine 5 doesn’t bring us the rambo-esque one-man army Jake Carter from the fourth film. It gives us more of the reluctant hero in the vein of Die Hard’s John McClane. With that said, Bo Dallas’ Alonzo is no Hans Gruber. However, what he lacks dramatically he makes up for in physical presence. When he is in his full costume for the character, he emanates a threatening aura.
Mizanin’s bruising performance would be all for nothing if there wasn’t a good director guiding everyone. Director James Nunn should be familiar to fans of action cinema. Last year, he garnered a lot of attention from his Scott Adkins led one-take-actioner One Shot. The film was a highlight of 2021 and was met with great reception from action lovers. It would be an understatement to say the man has a great understanding of action on screen. Comparatively, Marine 5 is a much smaller film, but that doesn’t stop Nunn from pushing the budget to the fullest. Through Nunn’s composition, the parking garage is an ever evolving trap. Each layer and space welcomes a new challenge for Carter and Cole to overcome, and it doesn’t stop there. The parking garage siege morphs into a mad dash through an amusement park.
Nunn’s action is clear and punishing. Fight choreographer Andrew Chin (Arrow, Deadpool 2) worked some wrestling techniques into the choreography and it pays off when the wrestlers fight on screen. There’s a welcome variety to all the fight scenes, each one brings something different. When it comes to gunplay, Nunn might not deliver the highly tactical shootouts of the fourth film, but like his fights, he composes them with the same sense of excitement. It’s difficult not to enjoy Carter running through an amusement park spraying a submachine gun as carousels and popcorn machines become vantage points and bullet sponges.
The Marine 5: Battleground delivers everything you would want from a dtv action film. Anchored by the durable Mike Mizanin, the film sprints to each set-piece. And each set-piece brings more reasons why Nunn is one of the best working direct-to-video directors out there. It’s easy to state that Marine 5 is one of the best in the franchise because it pushes its restraints to the limit by always going that extra mile while providing over the top thrills. In the end, whether you watch it within the franchise or independently, it won’t disappoint.
Article By: Cameron Levins is a filmmaker, comic book lover and fight scene enthusiast. Ever since his dad showed him Bruce Lee as a kid, he became obsessed with action films. In his free time he’s either day dreaming about an action scene or researching fight choreographers. Follow Cameron on Twitter here.
A preview of the most ultimate looking action flicks at this year’s Fantastic Fest.
Howdy y’all! It’s that most wonderful time of the year again here in Austin, Texas as we’re on the precipice of another Fantastic Fest. Back in full swing and in-person at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar in Austin, we’re excited to dive into the usual diverse mix of genre horror, sci-fi and action which Fantastic Fest is known for.
Speaking of action though, this year’s lineup looks to be quite explosive (or at least powder keggy) indeed. Let’s take a look at some of the choice nugs which we’ll be checking out this year!
PROJECT WOLF HUNTING
121 minutes | South Korea | 2022
A passel of Korea’s most heinous criminals have been under lock and key in the Philippines, but the time has come for them to be extradited back home. The last time such a transfer took place, pandemonium broke out when a man out for revenge turned a public arrivals hall into a scene of carnage. Rather than make the headlines for all the wrong reasons again, this time they will be transported via cargo ship under heavily armed guard. But it’s a long way between Manila and Busan.
A few minutes into PROJECT WOLF HUNTING, the phrase “Korean CON AIR on a boat” may come to mind, but while it hits some of the same pleasing notes early on, this unhinged slice of genre mayhem quickly turns into a very different beast. The narrative economy allows the knives and guns to come out early, and once the bodies start dropping, they never stop.
A midnight delight with more than a few giddily deranged aces stuffed up its bleeding sleeves, this action-packed at-sea gorefest is here to entertain. And entertain it does, as grimacing and bloodthirsty characters, each as colorful as the ship’s many containers, tear each other apart in the labyrinthine belly of a floating hellscape from which there is no escape. (PIERCE CONRAN)
BAD CITY
118 minutes | Japan | 2022
Fans of Japan’s bountiful direct-to-video V-Cinema industry will be no strangers to the grizzled features and ultra-cool charisma of Hitoshi Ozawa. A regular fixture in the films of Takashi Miike, Ozawa just turned 60, but has lost none of his speed, agility, or skill for taking out swathes of yakuza goons with a single bloodied fist.
Writer and star of BAD CITY, Ozawa tears through the underworld of Kaiko City, as disgraced Detective Torada, wrongfully imprisoned for murder but now given temporary parole to lead a special off-the-books unit. Pulling together an elite squad of trustworthy cops, Torada goes after Lily Franky’s slippery businessman, Gojo, who announces his intentions to run for mayor. Gojo’s underworld associations with both the yakuza and the Korean mafia trigger a bloody turf war that descends into a series of deadly street brawls, with Torada and his team slap band in the middle.
Helmed by veteran stunt coordinator Kensuke Sonomura, who has choreographed action for John Woo, Donnie Yen, Mamoru Oshii, and Yudai Yamaguchi, to name just a few, BAD CITY opens as a swaggering gangster saga bristling with high-level corruption, but soon escalates into an endless series of breathless fistfights that rank with the very best the genre has to offer. Eagle-eyed viewers will spy Fantastic Fest veteran Tak Sakiguchi (VERSUS, YAKUZA WEAPON) as a silent but deadly assassin, but the true star of the show is undeniably Ozawa, who even now, as a bus pass wielding senior citizen, explodes off the screen like a junkyard pit bull of untethered ferocity. (JAMES MARSH)
H4Z4RD
86 minutes | Belgium | 2022
Noah Hazard has the dopest ride in all of Antwerp. His prized gold Lexus is dipped, detailed, and immaculate. The custom vanity plates — H4Z4RD — announce the self-proclaimed “driver” as a professional who will safely get you wherever you want to go.
When Noah accepts a job from his wayward cousin, Carlos, who casually drops that they are picking up an old buddy from jail, he isn’t expecting to be drawn into a murderous drug war. The greasy fingerprints that Carlos’ cellmate wipes on the pristine leather seats are the least of Noah’s worries as he and Carlos frantically speed through the streets of Antwerp, trying to hunt down a mystery drug that the bumbling ex-cons foolishly swiped from a mysterious sharpshooter. Things go from bad to worse as the cousins face run-ins with grenade-toting teenage hoodlums, determined mall cops, an urban werewolf, and a security guard with sexual hang-ups straight out of TITANE.
H4Z4RD is full of hilariously memorable surprises and will have audiences talking long after the credits roll. Anchored by the chemistry between straight man Noah (Dimitri Thivaios) and scene stealer Carlos (Jeroen Perceval), it’s a perfect midnight buddy movie with a distinctly European flair. (LORI DONNELLY)
Paired with short CRUISE Dir. Sam Rudykoff
HUNT
125 minutes | South Korea | 2022
Against the tense Korean backdrop of the 1980s, when passionate student protests threatened to topple an oppressive political regime, two rival intelligence agents have been tasked with the same mission — to ferret out a North Korean mole within the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA).
Bursting onto the global scene last fall, Lee Jung-jae became a household name as contestant #456 in the global Netflix smash SQUID GAME. However, back in Korea, he’s been a huge star since the 1990s. This year, his storied screen career entered a new chapter as he marched up the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival with the explosive and endlessly twisty period spy yarn HUNT, his debut film as a director.
Lee does double duty here as he also plays Pyong-ho, the head of the foreign intelligence unit who faces off against the domestic intelligence chief Jung-do, played by fellow superstar and Lee’s real-life bestie Jung Woo-sung (ASURA: THE CITY OF MADNESS). The action comes thick and fast in this slick and densely plotted thriller that teems with double-crosses and crackling crossfire. The film proves to be a confident transition to the director’s chair for Lee, who gives his all both in front of and behind the camera. (PIERCE CONRAN)
KIDS VS. ALIENS
75 minutes | USA | 2022
As local authorities busy themselves with the disappearance of three fishermen on the same night that an unexplained fiery object appears in the sky, Gary and his best buds busy themselves with finishing their latest kickass movie about a group of dino-sorcerers vying for world domination and staying clear of neighborhood toughs led by head bully Billy.
Much to his chagrin, his older sister, Samantha, finds herself charmed by Billy and agrees to host a Halloween party while their parents are out of town. Angered by the intrusion, Gary seeks some adolescent payback at Billy’s expense, and as the tension between the feuding groups comes to a head, a bright light heralds the arrival of a much more powerful and terrifying enemy. Now Samantha must battle these blood-seeking extraterrestrials to get Gary and his crew back while still dealing with all the baggage that only a two-timing teenage punk like Billy brings to the table.
Canuxploitation favorite Jason Eisener is back with his feature-length followup to the newly minted classic, HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN. Utilizing elements from Spielberg and Donner’s templates, Eisener crafts a nostalgic homage to timeless childhood favorites like THE GOONIES and MONSTER SQUAD, but spices them up with foul-mouthed dialogue and gallons of gore. A thrill-ride that doesn’t take itself too seriously, KIDS VS. ALIENS is a fun take on the STRANGER THINGS formula from our friends in the north. (LORI DONNELLY)
Paired with short KICKSTART MY HEART Dir Kelsey Bollig
LEONOR WILL NEVER DIE
99 minutes | Philippines | 2022
Leonor hasn’t directed a movie in a long while, not since a tragic incident on one of her sets, and now her family is struggling to make ends meet. After a newspaper ad prompts the director to start working on a new screenplay, Leonor dreams up a story where her deceased son is on the run from gangsters. When a falling television set sends Leonor into a coma, she finds herself in the middle of her new action movie full of fistfights and stunts.
LEONOR WILL NEVER DIE pays homage to Filipino action movies of the ‘70s and ‘80s and celebrates the contributions of women to the conventionally masculine genre. Leonor dodges gunfire and fights villains while crafting a new cinematic life for the son she’s lost. Featuring wonderful stunts and visual effects, this movie examines an artist’s relationship to genre and craft while simultaneously making a really fun action movie. A metatextual narrative shows an incredible effect or stunt, and then takes the time to show how a filmmaker pulls it off. Much of the wonder of this film comes from the way it reveals the process, impressing you with the skill practical effects require.
Consistently upending expectations, LEONOR WILL NEVER DIE is a showcase for an incredible lead performance from Sheila Francisco, who gets to be an action hero despite being a woman of a certain age. Francisco takes Leonor’s fierceness and commitment to her craft as directives to fight a group of men intent on killing her while embracing her love of film. As real life and Leonor’s movie weave together, the director and her family see how art can heal and help process grief, even in the face of a cheesy villain. (AUSTIN KING)
SHIN ULTRAMAN
113 minutes | Japan | 2022
There’s never a dull day on Japan’s newly established SSSP kaiju defense taskforce, led by Kimio Tamura, played by DRIVE MY CAR’s Hidetoshi Nishijima. After a particularly challenging encounter, a giant silver robot descends from the sky to rescue the country. Dubbed Ultraman, this robot’s identity and purpose are a mystery. SHIN ULTRAMAN is a delightful reimagining of one of Japan’s classic superheroes, full of cosmic twists, campy villains, and giants of all species.
Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi’s Shin franchise began with Fantastic Fest favorite SHIN GODZILLA, which updated the lizard’s nuclear metaphor for the 21st Century. Now their second film, SHIN ULTRAMAN, transports an episode of the original TV show into 2022 — complete with cheesy beam effects and villains who spell out their entire plan to the hero. Higuchi directs while Anno takes on the daunting task of writer, editor, and embodying Japan’s large silver protector as Ultraman’s motion capture performer. Be prepared for fast cuts, cool monsters, and more proper noun labels than a kaiju defense force government budget can successfully itemize.
As a big fan of kaiju movies, and SHIN GODZILLA specifically, I have been anticipating this film for years. I am delighted that, in addition to being a celebration of one of my favorite characters, SHIN ULTRAMAN explores how the optimistic retro-futurism of the ‘60s television show could inspire change and combat a slide into militarism and extremism in a modern age. There are plenty of city-destroying battles as well as discussions around the role of government protection and the moral obligation to defy higher authority. Even without all of this, SHIN ULTRAMAN still basks in the joy of seeing giants walk around Japan. (AUSTIN KING)
ULTRAMAN (4K EDITION)
101 minutes | Japan | 1966
In conjunction with the feature SHIN ULTRAMAN, we are presenting the brand new 4k restoration of four episodes of the original Ultraman television series.
SOLOMON KING
85 minutes | USA | 1974
When Solomon King’s princess girlfriend is assassinated, it’s up to him to solve the case. Trained by the CIA, Solomon King is ready to take on anything and anyone… and to do it in style. What follows is a dynamic, action-packed, and frequently humorous revenge tale, as Solomon King comes up against a variety of villains, from the henchmen of an oil kingpin to corrupt agents, always coming out on top.
Propelled by a fabulous funk soundtrack, SOLOMON KING is not only wildly entertaining but an important piece of Black film history. A time capsule of Oakland in the 1970s, SOLOMON KING showcases the hard work and dedication of Sal Watts, who not only directed the film, but also wrote, produced, and starred in it. Watts leveraged his pre-filmmaking success, shooting much of the film in businesses he owned and supplied a majority of the disco-ready wardrobe from his own clothing stores.
Fantastic Fest is proud to present the world premiere of this fascinating piece of lost film history. Our friends at Deaf Crocodile have done a phenomenal job restoring the film, working closely with Watts’s widow, Belinda Burton-Watts, who not only appears in the film briefly, but also stored the original soundtrack elements in her closet for decades. Fans of innovative, independent filmmaking will be bowled over by the ingenuity, heart, and hard work that went into crafting SOLOMON KING. (LISA DREYER)
The kooky thematic sequel to Point Break we never knew we wanted!
1994 was the year in movie history that put a big spotlight on skydiving, when Terminal Velocity and Drop Zone were released. You should watch both, of course, but Drop Zone crosses the finish line with a small margin compared to its peer, not least thanks to Wesley Snipes’ participation. Director John Badham created a couple of minor action classics in the 1980s and 1990s that put fast-paced spectacle above logic and consistency, and he also applied this recipe successfully to Drop Zone.
When U.S. Marshal Pete Nessip (Snipes) escorts convicted hacker Leedy on a flight, the plane is hijacked. The kidnappers escape with Leedy by jumping off the plane in mid-air, and Pete’s brother gets killed in the chaos. He goes undercover into the skydiving scene to track down the criminals who plan on combining their skydiving skills with Leedy’s hacking talent to steal sensitive data from government computer networks.
Drop Zone is a Point Blank rip-off of sorts, but it takes a different direction than Kathryn Bigelow’s atmospheric action masterpiece, and impresses with a slightly kooky plot and impossible action sequences. The insane overture of a plane hijacked by skydivers sets the tone, and I recommend you don’t dwell too much on anything that happens, but just enjoy the craziness of it all.
Also, if you’re like me, and not part of the skydiving community, you’ll never know if the attitude and rituals shown in the film are rooted in reality. It all looks convincing enough, though, and gives a nice sense of credibility to the characters.
Snipes is in his prime as a jacked and charming macho cop. He showed again that he embodied the best of both worlds, being a great martial artist and a very good actor. When push comes to shove Pete goes about his action hero business, but he is also frequently humbled by the impressive feats of the skydivers who have taken him in.
The villain team is is led by Gary Busey. In Drop Zone he was still at the peak of his diabolical phase, and he goes all in the first minute he shows up on screen. The rest of the cast does a great job as well, with a whole bunch of sympathetic and quirky characters. Special mention goes to Michael Jeter who gives the most energetic performance of the entire cast as hacker Leedy. He even did his own skydiving stunts, unlike the rest of the cast.
“You bit off my finger!” “You still have nine good ones!”
The movie features a different kind of action compared to the usual suite of shootouts, car chases and explosions, and the numerous skydiving sequences are the undisputed highlights of the film. Some insane stunts and a beautiful choreography are guaranteed you give you an adrenaline rush. Each scene is a thrill ride that is filmed spectacularly with stunning intensity. The only point of criticism is that the final showdown does not feature even more spectacular skydiving, but is a rather conventional Die Hard-like sequence.
Director Badham moves the film at a swift pace with no fillers, and well-crafted action sequences. Just as in his previous works he created an entertaining movie that felt just a bit fresher than most of its peers at the time. Drop Zone may not be top of the shelf material, but it’s one of those films where everything falls nicely into place, and I never grow tired of revisiting it every once in a while.
Here’s everything we know about Scott Adkins latest action flick.
It’s finally here! After a long wait, we finally have a trailer for “Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday”!! Approximately a month before initial release, we have our first look into the madness that cultivates the next chapter in the life of Mike Fallon.
Synopsis: The Accident Man, is back and this time he must best the top assassins in the world, to protect the ungrateful son of a mafia boss, save the life of his only friend and rekindle his relationship with his maniacal father figure.
The trailer sees Mike Fallon living large in Malta after living England following the events form the first film. While there, he is found by Finnicky Fred who offers to help him create new accidents for his trade. After being shocked unconscious, Fred and Mike are held hostage by a mafia queen, whose son has a bounty on his head. Mike is tasked with protecting her son, while “a gaggle of assassins” is on the way to collect the bounty.
In the new wave of colorful assassins, we see Wong Siu-Ling “The Screaming Banshee” (Sarah Chang), Yendi “The Vampire” (Faisal Mohammed), Silas “The San Francisco Strangler (Peter Lee Thomas), Poco “The Killer Clown” (Beau Fowler), Oyumi “The Ninja” (Andy Long), and returning from the first film is Big Ray “The Guv’nor” (Ray Stevenson).
The trailer shows an immense amount of action from Mike vs. the Clown to Mike facing off against The Ninja and everything in between. The film is slated to be released in select theaters, on demand and digital on October 14th with a physical released to be announced at a later date.
I for one will be watching this on its premiere and supporting it through whatever official means I can. For now, to keep up with all things Accident Man and Scott Adkins, keep it locked and loaded right here on UAMC for all your action film needs!!!!!
A first look at the first teaser trailer for a new indie actioner!
What started as a dream 2 years ago is now finally coming true. We now have our official first look at my indie action film “Double Cross”. This is the first feature produced by my production banner, TKO Productions.
Double Cross First Look
Synopsis: Two brothers, mercenaries, have a difference of opinion when a new employer wants to split up the team only to discover he’s responsible for their fathers disappearance.
This film has been a passion project since November 2020 when it was conceived. After a long Pre-Production period and a number of cast changes, we finally have enough footage to show what we have been cooking up. We will be dedicating this film to the memory of our beloved friend and brother, Master Louie Cruz, who was originally slated to play the role of Mr. Rodriguez.
Double Cross stars myself, Blake Longshore, Temre K. Morgan, Ethic Dejaun, Amielynn Woodall, and Craig Blacklock. It is directed by David H. Ferguson and produced by Myself, my wife Dayna, and co-contributor Robb Antequera. Keep it locked and load here on UAMC for all things Double Cross and TKO Productions.
Ranking the best Mel Gibson action films from Lethal Weapon to Mad Max.
Mel Gibson became one of the megastars in Hollywood during the 1980s and 1990s, and I think it is fair to say he is one of the most charismatic actors of our time. He moved seemingly without effort between genres both as an actor and a director, but here at the Ultimate Action Movie Club we love him most for his action flicks, of course. So let’s check out his ultimate Top 10 action films!
The first major battle of the Vietnam war is the stage for this war actioner that follows Colonel Moore (Mel Gibson) and his battalion in their heroic fight against the overwhelming North Vietnamese Army. We Were Soldiers was part of the new wave of hyper-realistic war movies. It may be well the goriest of the whole bunch, the camera never shies away from the even the most horrifying scenes.
And yet the soldiers and their camaraderie persevere even in the most dire of circumstances. This overdose of pathos and a fairly one-sided account of the Vietnam war may require some patience from viewers in some scenes. We Were Soldiers delivers ultra-violent and ultra-heroic immersion into the battlefield.
An Australian and a German made one of the most American movies to come out in the 2000s. Gibson and director Roland Emmerich teamed up for what is almost a Braveheart remake set during the American revolution. Former war hero Benjamin Martin’s peaceful life is turned upside down when violent conflicts erupt between colonists and the British army. After witnessing the brutality of a British regiment he digs up his old weapon stash and the war is on!
Just as in Braveheart, tragedy strikes during an unruly time in a land under British occupation, but this time the battles are fought with muskets, cannonballs and a tomahawk! Emmerich creates epic pre-CGI battle sequences of a massive scale, which are the best part of the film. The occasionally tedious pathos and a dubious portrayal of slavery are not, on the other hand. It all balances out in the end, though, and The Patriot becomes an action-packed period piece that stages the American revolution as popcorn cinema.
Blood Father is the closure of Gibson’s unofficial rage and revenge trilogy that started with Payback. Ex-con Link and his estranged daughter Lydia need to flee from a gang of Mexican drug dealers she got involved with. A father and daughter who have both fallen on hard times reunite involuntarily. It’s another great performance by Gibson who is as intense as ever, and his melancholy turns into blind rage when the life of his daughter is put on the line.
Frantic chase sequences alternate with reconciliation attempts of a troubled relationship between two stubborn characters. Link takes it up against the Mexican mob and other unsavory folks, and the various shootouts and brawls are pretty brutal. Blood Father is a gritty road chase movie, and a great example for a modern action film done right.
Romantic comedy and action are two genres that only sometimes mix well, and Bird on a Wire shows how it can be done successfully. Rick (Gibson) has been living in secret identities in a witness protection program, and runs into his old sweetheart Marianne (Goldie Hawn) by chance. When his former criminal associates show up at the same time to take him out, Rick and Marianne embark on an explosive and emotive journey through the country.
Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn have a terrific on-screen chemistry, and magnificently oscillate between witty banter and silly slapstick. Director John Badham moves the film at breakneck speed with a ton of awesome set pieces. Plenty of ground and air vehicles go up in flames during the wild chases. The icing on the cake is a ridiculously fun finale with Marianne and Rick taking it up against a whole squad of villains and a dozen wild animals in a zoo. Fast, funny, and sexy, Bird On A Wire is the perfect choice for action movie date night.
The dream team of Mel Gibson and director Richard Donner took a break from the Lethal Weapon franchise and turned their attention to the Western genre. The remake of the classic TV show features professional gambler and con-man Bret Maverick who seeks to enter a poker tournament with the best players in the country. Scraping together the entry fee is just one of his obstacles, when he faces an array of tricksters like him.
The film looks fantastic, and recreates that old-school Western vibe with top notch production values. It’s also not short on action with brawls, family-friendly gunplay and exciting poker matches. Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner (the original Maverick) form a terrific trio of grifters who play a light-hearted game of double-crossing. Maverick is a humorous and exciting action adventure, perfect family entertainment!
Get the Gringo feels like a spiritual sequel to Gibson’s classic Payback. The film chooses the slightly bizarre setting of a Mexican prison that is self-organized by the inmates, and becomes a microcosmos of the most dangerous kind. An American bank robber (Gibson) gets thrown into the jail. He develops a plan for his escape, working his way from the bottom of the food chain all the way up to the sinister prison director.
Gibson reprises his Payback character, a charming, witty scumbag who leaves a pile of bodies in his trail as a result of his clever machinations. The film is not short on action and also does not fail in some emotional moments. Get the Gringo is a fantastic throwback to the action classics of old, where bloody violence and sarcastic humor went hand in hand.
Payback is a perfect upgrade of the film noir for modern times with hard-boiled gangsters, crooked cops, and a despicable yet charming anti-hero as main character. After a heist Porter is shot by his accomplice Val, who takes his share of 70k and leaves him for dead. Porter survives, and goes after Val and an entire crime cartel.
Gibson throws all of his charisma into this role. His Porter does so many nasty things to people (not only to those who deserve it) but you’ll forgive him instantly, and we can’t wait to see how it all plays out for him. Quirky characters, black humor and high-octance action sequences make Payback an action thriller masterpiece.
With Braveheart, Gibson re-imagined the medieval history film as epic action drama. The story of William Wallace who leads the uprising of the Scots against the English occupation became the first modern medieval battle epic. The movie has it all, romance, some humor, intrigues, but above all some of the greatest battle sequences ever put on screen!
Its immersive and ferocious mass fights influenced many films that followed, from Saving Private Ryan to Gladiator. The movie is pretty much perfect in every respect, and it’s emotional power will even make hardened action fans secretly wipe away a tear. Braveheart delivers epic and bombastic entertainment, and is the kind of films that Hollywood was created for.
The Lethal Weapon movie series is the only buddy cop franchise we ever needed (together with 48 Hrs.), a masterful combination of humor, action and thrills by director Richard Donner and writer Shane Black. Reckless cop Martin Riggs (Gibson) is paired with veteran detective Murtaugh (Danny Glover) to investigate an apparent suicide. After a lot of initial friction they overcome their differences and start an investigation that leads them deep into the criminal underworld.
Gibson and Glover play their parts with uncanny intensity, their characters are not just one-dimensional joke crackers, but both of them have a fascinating depth. The first part is one of the all-time action classics, but the three sequels held up the high quality. All four entries to the franchise are ultimate highlights of action cinema, so we decided to lump them all into our second place of this list.
Director George Miller and his lead actor Mel Gibson invented the post-apocalyptic action genre as we know it today. The barren wasteland with its savage characters also became the stage for a new kind of car action: the totally insane type. Gibson for the first time introduced his acting skills to a wider audience, and delivers a compelling portrayal of police officer Max Rockatansky who is turning to a cynical anti-hero.
The first film is a gritty low-budget affair, the second one is packed with some of the best car mayhem of all time, and the third created a more comic-like approach to the post-apocalyptic world. Every single one of them is a masterpiece. And for that reason, our top entry of Mel Gibson’s best action films is the entire Mad Max trilogy.
