UAMC Revisits ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze’ (1991)

By
Emily Stephan
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But how does the water downed TMNT 2 live up against its ultimate live-action original?

Shortly after saving NYC from the Shredder’s underground tyranny, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (voiced by Brian Toshi, Robbie Rist, Adam Carl, and Laurie Faso) and their sensei Splinter (voiced by Kevin Clash) turn to their origins in their next adventure. The ooze that mutated them fifteen years ago has gotten out from the Techno Global Research Industries building, coming to the attention of the Foot Clan.

The Shredder (Francois Chau) has gotten his hands on a cannister of the mutagen and Dr. Jordan Perry (David Warner), a scientist affiliated with TGRI. Shredder creates new mutant creatures to oppose the turtles, Tokka and Rahzar (both voiced by voice actor extraordinaire Frank Welker).

With only their newscaster friend April O’Neil (Paige Turco) and pizza delivery boy/martial arts enthusiast Keno (Ernie Reyes, Jr., who also played Donatello’s stunt double in the first movie) to help them, can the Turtles avert another crisis?

Picking up Where TMNT Left Off

While the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie proved to be an action classic and smash hit, it garnered a lot of criticism from parents and moral watchdogs for being “too violent.” The studio took this complaint seriously, deciding the inevitable sequel would be more kid-friendly. They’d shut the parents up and make a box office killing. (Read our UAMC review of the original below…)

Turtle Power! UAMC Reviews Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

And boy, did they achieve this end, toning down not only the action but the dramatic stakes as well. Secret of the Ooze has more the feel of the 1980s TMNT cartoon show than the gritty yet still light-hearted tone of the original movie.

The plot is quite slight, to put it mildly, feeling more like a full-length episode of the 1980s TV series than a feature film. Performances from the human actors are way more exaggerated on the whole. The sets are even more cartoony.

Ultimate Action Watered Down

The Shredder is much less of a threat. In the first film, he was formidable and brutal, certainly no fool either. Here, the garbage crusher must have squeezed his head a bit too much, because he does some downright dumb things, like allowing the turtles to give drugged donuts to the simple-minded Tokka and Rahzar as part of a pre-battle “ritual.” He does half of the Turtles’ work for them, that’s how incompetent he is!

The weird thing is that there are moments where the film tries— and this is the best way I can put it—to get existential. Donatello frets about the reason the turtles were created and is saddened that mere chance is the reason they ever came into contact with the ooze. The turtles also mourn that they can never walk freely in the human world due to their mutant status. But none of this ever goes beyond pseudo-philosophical lip service, so I’m not so sure why the filmmakers bothered.

Where are the Turtles in Peril?

It doesn’t help that the story isn’t very compelling. The first movie had a simple story, true, but it had heart and a sense of real danger. The Shredder’s plan might not have been to take over the world, but he was a danger to the teenage misfits he enlisted, the public he victimized, and the turtles themselves. There was true investment amidst the awesome ninja action and wacky one-liners, which only increased the suspense when things got dangerous.

Here, there’s little urgency to stop the Shredder. Tokka and Rahzar are destructive, but they’re too dumb to be considered a big deal. Even the New Yorkers who see him tearing up the streets just shrug them off. I always believe that half of what makes an ultimate action movie work are true stakes and consequences, which we get so little of in Secret of the Ooze.

Turtles Slapsticking it Up

Nobody really gets into actual fights in this movie, at least not often and even then, there seems to be a big effort to make sure nothing is ever too violent. It’s more like the bad guys throw punches and the turtles dodge them, or they knock the bad guys over. They are more likely to use yo-yos and sausage links as weapons than nunchucks, swords, or sai (apparently, Donatello’s bo staff was less of an issue).

The main mode of attack seems to be slapstick antics. The first fight scene in the mall is a good taste of what the action is like: silly, exaggerated, and overall harmless, everything the parents wanted when they took their eight-year-olds to see a movie about giant, wisecracking turtles the first time around. Don’t expect Raphael to get knocked into a coma in this one, folks!

At Least they Look Turtle-y

I’ve heard from a lot of 80s and 90s kids that they enjoyed the first Turtles movie because the action was both spectacular and packed with consequence. The turtles were more heroic because they were able to face actual danger from competent, threatening villains.

But I can’t get too down on the movie: at least, it’s fun and the action scenes, if tamer, are still impressive feats of acrobatics from those guys in turtle costumes. They’re able to casually flip and jump as though they were not limited in any way. And the suits still look great (not the case by the time we get to the cinematic nightmare that is Turtles in Time).

Ninja Wrapping Things Up

And I will say, the rampant cheesiness is charming more often than not, the most memorable cornball moment being the part where the Turtles and their mutant enemies crash a Vanilla Ice concert. Inspired by this quartet of green muses, Ice breaks into an impromptu “Ninja Rap” while the crowd cheers. I don’t think any one scene in the movie nails its tone down more than that.

All of the Robocop Movies Ranked From Best to Worst

I’d say this movie is to the original TMNT trilogy what Robocop 2 was to the Robocop series: watered down certainly, but when the ultimate action breaks through, it’s good stuff. And just like the Robocop series, the “badness” doesn’t really kick in until the third installment.

What are your memories and thoughts on TMNT 2? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!

Watch Marvel’s ‘The Avengers’ as a ’90s Ultimate Action Movie!

By
Jourdan Aldredge
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The Avengers gets the fan-made retro trailer makeover to up its ultimateness 1990%!

We’ve gone through the debates on this before. One true Ultimate Action Movies need to be from the UAMC golden era predominantly focused on the 1980s and 90s. We’ve also debated if Marvel superhero movies like The Avengers: Endgame are even ultimate action movie worthy at all? (The consensus seems to be… not really.)

But what if we put it to you that there existed – in a parallel universe perhaps – a truly retro 1990s Avengers VHS-version? How would we react then? I mean, there were some UAMC-worthy superhero attempts in the 80s and 90s like Tim Burton’s Batman (which we compared against its ultimate knock-off here), Dolph Lundgren’s The Punisher and Masters of the Universe (as well as a long rumored Dolph Venom movie), and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Conan films (which he’s since teased rebooting).

Not to mention quasi-superheros like Robocop (read all of our reviews and rankings here), the Highlander series (don’t read our review of Highlander II – it’s awful) and even kids actioners like the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (that review, however, is great).

And who’s to say that pretty much every role Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, or Steven Seagal ever played couldn’t be considered to have at least some superhero martial arts, superhuman strength, or piercy eyed badass-ness powers!

It’s almost a shame this fan-made trailer below isn’t a reality, because if The Avengers did come out in the 90s, many of our favorite UAMC stars would have to had roles. Which becomes a pretty fun game of figuring out who would truly be Captain America and who would be the Hulk (JK – it’d be Stallone and Arnold respectively).

So, enjoy the manufactured nostalgia for a modern genre runamuck against its ultimate action movie legacy with this trailer below.


Which ultimate action movie stars would you cast in a ’90s version of The Avengers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page!

Jean-Claude Van Damme Finally Reveals Why He Left ‘Predator’

By
Jack Beresford
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The mystery of Van Damme’s reasons have finally be solved… Kinda.

Though it seems hard to fathom now, there was a time when John McTiernan’s 80s action sci-fi classic was set to pit Arnold Schwarzenegger and a young Jean-Claude Van Damme.

The Muscles from Brussels was originally casted at the titular alien only to suddenly depart the production with Kevin Peter Hall brought in in his place.

So, what exactly happened on the set of Predator? There are plenty of contrasting accounts, all of which have been summarised in Ultimate Action Movie Club’s feature on Van Damme’s short-lived stint as the Predator. (Which you can read below.)

UAMC Investigates: The Story of Jean-Claude Van Damme as the Original Predator

A Van Damme Mystery

Some suggested Van Damme was unhappy at the fact his face would be concealed for much of the filming, meaning little in the way of exposure for the up-and-coming action star.

Others indicated the decision was taken after the Predator costume underwent major revisions with director John McTiernan and producer Joel Silver deciding a larger actor was required for the role of the fearsome alien.

Now, speaking in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Van Damme revealed his side of the story, which appears to suggest both of the above may have been true.

Not His Best Suit

The problems began when he first tried on the original Predator suit and struggled to breathe.

“I like to breathe — and they’re gonna do my head and everything,” Van Damme said.

“They put in my mouth like a tube [to breathe through]. I was covered in that cast for at least 20 minutes. It was boiling hot. My friend told me, ‘If you cannot breathe, just [wiggle] your finger and I’ll pull that stuff away from you.’ And I did it. I started to panic. And they go, ‘No! Five more minutes!'”

Despite getting through the initial casting process, which required him to wear the suit, Van Damme hated

“My head was in the neck. My hands were in the forearms, and there were cables [attached to my fingers to move the creature’s head and jaws]. My feet were in his calves, so I was on [stilts]. It was a disgusting outfit,” he says.

The fact Van Damme was unable to deliver any of his signature high kicks was also an issue, given that was what had got him hired in the first place.

Deeming the suit unsafe and lacking the agility needed to effectively pull off the character effectively, Van Damme even recalls having to operate in the suit on stilts and that, because it was rubber, he ended up sweating profusely when wearing it.

Conflicting Reports

According to JCVD, things came to a head when Silver asked him to complete one stunt.

“When Joel asked me to jump, I knew it was gonna be a bad one. I said, ‘This is impossible, Joel. I think we’re gonna have a problem.,'” he said.

“The guy who did my stunt, something bad happened to him. Crack [makes snapping motion]. And then they stopped the film, and they did a new, more safe, outfit.”

At this point, Hall came in in place of Van Damme though there are holes in the Belgian’s account – namely that no one else can recall a stuntman getting injured on set.

Beau Marks, first assistant director on the film, even told THR: “Nobody broke their fucking leg.”

“When I was trying to explain what had happened [with the studio] and why we were not going to need him, he kept saying ‘But I am the Predator!’ I said, ‘Well, let’s go talk to Joel.’ Joel has a philosophy: Beg to begin with, and then you kill the person,” Marks added.

“Well, he got through begging real quickly. He started off as nice as anybody could possibly start off, and then he just ended where he told Claude that he wanted to take his fucking head, go out there, put it on the concrete and have one of those big fucking trucks run over his head 50-fucking-thousand times. That’s how it ended.” Cool.

This one looks set to rumble on. For the full story, check out our feature on Van Damme’s ill-fated spell as the Predator.

Who do you believe in this ultimate action movie debate? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!

UAMC Interview: Jean-Paul Ly on the Making of ‘Nightshooters’

By
Jack Beresford
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Jean-Paul Ly is going places in the world of action movies.

A stuntman and budding martial arts master, Jean-Paul Ly steals the show in his latest movie, Nightshooters, which serves as a brilliantly balls-to-the-wall fusion of Die Hard and The Raid by way of Shaun of the Dead. Read our full UAMC review below…

Shoot the Night with Jean-Paul Ly in the Action Packed NIGHTSHOOTERS

It focuses on a group of budding filmmakers who accidentally witness a gangland murder during a night shoot at a soon-to-be-demolished high rise. A bloody and often amusing game of cat and mouse unfolds and the results do not disappoint.

A noticeable British affair, writer/director Marc Price’s film may be packed full of that familiar English wit but it’s Ly who leads the way in the action stakes, taking centre stage in a series of well-choreographed action set pieces.

To mark the film’s home release, Ultimate Action Movie Club spoke to Ly about Nightshooters, action movies and who would win in a fight between Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal.

Who were your ultimate action movie heroes growing up?

Like a lot of people, i grew up watching Bruce Lee movies, and then later on the Jackie Chan and Jet Li’ ones. They were massive inspirations, not only for martial arts but as “ambassadors” in films for asian representation.

How did you get involved in Nightshooters?

We were discussing with Marc Price about a project he had in mind for several months (it wasn’t Nightshooters at that time).

I’ve always wanted to act in a British comedy, and we thought that mixing the action and comedy would be a good idea. He was nice enough to trust me as an actor and in the action design, so we kept on working until getting the opportunity to make another, more affordable film in his line up, Nightshooters.

What’s your ultimate action movie, one that you can watch again and again?

Jackie Chan “Armour of God 2” (Operation Condor in french)!

This film had everything: the adventure, the comedy, traveling, and the great action.

How did you get started in the action movie business?

I’ve started 5 years ago, which does surprise a lot of people! Long story short: I was a marketing manager for a pharmaceutical company in asia, but i couldn’t stop thinking about martial arts, every single day. So i’ve decided to quit that job and then went back to my hometown (Paris), announced to my parents my will to work in the film business and flew to London 2 days later.

Why should action movie fans seek out Nightshooters?

I think it will appeal for people who like:
– The British humor : it’s quite dark at some point
– Very likeable characters : the cast in this film is amazing, and i was blessed to be working alongside such talented actors. They are the force of the movie.
– The martial arts : by showcasing different styles

My biggest fear was to make the usual B movie, where the focus is only on the action, but i believe that Nightshootershad a strong direction and is more a comedy, before being an action film.

If you could go back and star in any action movie, which would it be?

None! They are perfect as they are 🙂

Who has been your biggest influence as an action movie star?

I would say Donnie Yen today. I like the grounded approach, very stylised kicks, but mainly because he’s one of the few who’s adaptive to many styles and forms, if not the only one.

What was the biggest challenge of working on a movie like this?

As you can tell, it’s a very low budget film! Which means that i didn’t have enough time to rehearse, or polish it all nicely. The action department had around 2 weeks of prep and creation. I choreographed it all myself, and with the support of a great stunt team (Donovan Louie, Axel Nu, Eddie Lee, Tom Cotton, Jon Alagoa and Danny Darwin), we’ve designed/rehearsed it all together. The movie wouldn’t be made without them.

But, like my previous film Jailbreak, i’ve faced that same situation of doing both the acting and the action design. Being a fight choreographer is a full time job in itself, and i’m still learning on processing both. In a bigger budget or with a bigger team, that would be much easier, but i’ve never had that chance yet!

Settle an ultimate action movie debate for us: Stallone or Schwarzenegger?

Arnold all the way! He is THE ultimate action star that has ever lived.

If you could team up with any action star for your own buddy cop movie, who would it be and why?

I would say The Rock but let’s not dream too much!

We noticed you are working as a stunt performer on Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw – can you tell us anything about the movie? Is it going to be as crazy as the trailer looks?

I’ve been working on for a few days during the London shoot, thanks to the awesome Fight Coordinator Greg Rementer and his team. The shooting was intense but also very relaxed, because it was so well directed.

It was amazing to be working with Jason Statham and The Rock on set, we laughed a lot seeing them act and so at ease with their characters.

I am certain that it will be one of the best action blockbuster of this year.

What’s the best thing about working in the action movie business?

Simply to be fortunate enough to do martial arts for the screen!

Finally, who would win in a fight between Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal?

Draw!

Find out how you can watch Nightshooters here. Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page!

Shoot the Night with Jean-Paul Ly in the Action Packed NIGHTSHOOTERS

By
Jack Beresford
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‘Die Hard’ Meets ‘Shaun of the Dead’ in This Fun, Fast-Paced Action Thriller.

The perils of low-budget filmmaking are given a fresh and frenetic twist in this inspired action thriller from writer-director Marc Price.

Nightshooters centres on a group of budding horror movie makers who, during a night of filming at a soon-to-be-demolished high-rise, end up witnessing a brutal gangland execution. Trapped inside the derelict building with a group of armed gangsters closing in and the deadline for demolition looming, they’re forced to use every tool at their disposal in order to fight their way out.

Fortunately, those tools include stunt man/martial arts master Donnie (Jean-Paul Ly), special effects guru/explosives expert Ellie (Rosanna Hoult) and skilled sound man Oddbod (Nicky Evans) who is able to keep tabs on their armed pursuers.

NIGHTSHOOTERS brings the Action!

A distinctly British production, Nightshooters succeeds in blending comedy and action to fine effect, bringing to mind the humour of films like Shaun of the Dead fused with The Raid and just a dash of Die Hard for good measure.

The real standout is Ly, who shines in a series of exciting hand-to-hand combat scenes that give the stunt-man-turned-movie-star the chance to flex his considerable action movie chops in a series of breathless running battles that punctuate Nightshooters’ more dramatic moments.

It brings to mind the frenetic fun of Asian action cinema and recent Hollywood effects like John Wick and the Bourne films.

Taking Cues from the Action Greats

Price too deserves plenty of credit too for fashioning a well-paced action thriller on a budget, without restricting the ingenious action set-pieces and visceral gore need to separate the film from the rest.

As a filmmaker, Price wears his heart on his sleeve with knowing nods to everything from Ridley Scott and John McTiernan to Jackie Chan and even The Goonies, giving the film a sense of quality and class that defies its low budget origins.

Much like The Raid, Nightshooters is a bloody affair and it’s all the better for it, with the film’s various bad guys dispatched in a series of inventively gruesome ways, each more surprising and inventive than the last. The only thing missing is an Arnold Schwarzenegger one-liner or two.

Worth a Saturday Night UAMC Screening!

But while Ly provides the necessary eye-candy when it comes to the film’s striking action, the central group of filmmaking heroes also excel in giving the film some much-needed heart, pathos and humour – meaning you actually care about their plight.

Their gun-toting adversaries prove similarly effective and enjoy some of the film’s best lines – though that won’t stop you cheering as they meet their maker one by one.

A creative, well cast and surprisingly slick action comedy thriller, Nightshooters is perfect Saturday night viewing with friends and few cold ones. Seek it out.

Are you excited to check out NIGHTSHOOTERS with Jean-Paul Ly? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!

11 Ultimate Facts About Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Bloodsport

By
Jack Beresford
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Just the ultimate facts about Van Damme’s action classic – Bloodsport (1988)!

Back in 1988 a budding martial artist from Belgium was searching for his big break having been unceremoniously dumped from his previous movie, Predator (which is a story unto itself). His name was Jean-Claude Van Damme and, as fate would have it, he was about to be cast in one of the biggest underground successes to ever emerge out of Hollywood.

Screenwriter Sheldon Lettich had known Frank Dux for several months before he came up with the idea for Bloodsport. A martial arts instructor who claimed to have been enlisted as a black Ops specialist by the CIA, Dux had told Lettich tales of a secret underground fighting competition called the Kumite.

Read more in our interview with Sheldon Lettich about Bloodsport (and other action movie classics) here!

Dux’s story was quickly turned into script, co-written by Lettich, but something was missing – they needed a star to play the fictionalised version of Frank. Step forward Van Damme who, according to producer Mark Di Salle, had the necessary appeal to both men and women.

The rest, as they say, is history, with Bloodsport making $65 million off a budget of $2.3 million. Now more than 30 years old, here are 11 things you didn’t know about the Van Damme classic.

UAMC News: ‘John Wick’ Directors Looking to Helm ‘Bloodsport’ Reboot

11) It’s Based A True Story

The film is based on the experiences of Dux, though an LA Times investigation cast doubt on his claims about the underground fighting tournament suggesting it may have been fictional. “We have no recollection of such a tournament,” one expert told the paper. “We would know. No, never. It can’t happen.” Dux has always insisted it is 100% fact though.

UAMC Exclusive: Frank Dux Talks Bloodsport and the Real Kumite

10) Dux Wasn’t Convinced By Van Damme

When Van Damme was first cast in the film, Dux was unimpressed. He decided the Belgian wasn’t nearly in good enough shape to play a fictionalised version of himself and set him on an intense three-month training program. Van Damme, who was already a world-championship martial artist, described it as “the hardest training of his life”.

The 10 Best Jean-Claude Van Damme Action Movies Of All Time

9) JCVD Landed The Role in Bizarre Circumstances

According to Lettich, Van Damme only landed the role after a chance encounter with Menahem Golan, the head of Cannon Films, the infamous studio behind the production. The story goes that JCVD saw him in the street, did a U-turn and said “Hey Menahem, remember me? Jean-Claude Van Damme.” He then unleashed a kick that missed Menahem’s face by a couple of inches. He was cast on the spot.

In Hell: Celebrating the ‘Shawshank Redemption’ of Van Damme Movies

8) No Stuntmen Were Used In Filming

Watch more ultimate action movie clips on our UAMC Youtube page here!

Cannon Films had a reputation for cutting costs when it came to their movies in the 1980s. For Bloodsport, that meant things like stuntmen were deemed surplus to requirements. Producers worked round this by ensuring everyone was able to take a punch, while many of the actors cast came from professional dance backgrounds.

Kickboxer: Retaliation — The Ultimate Action Movie Reboot Sequel of All Time?

7) Van Damme Wasn’t Paid Much

Despite three months of training and the physical demands of the role, Van Damme earned a paltry paycheck of just $25,000 for the film.

JCVD News: A Universal Soldier Remake is on The Way

6) Bloodsport Villain Chong Li Was Friends With Bruce Lee

A one-time body-builder in his native Hong Kong, actor Bolo Yeung befriended Bruce Lee in the 1970s, with the two becoming good friends. Their relationship helped Yeung land the role of Yang Sze in Enter the Dragon, allowing him to establish a reputation for playing villains in Hong Kong. Bloodsport then opened the door to a career in the US, with Yeung later reunited with Van Damme on Double Impact.

COPYCATS! Double Impact (1991) vs. Twin Dragons (1992/1999 U.S.)

5) The Dim Mak Myth

Watch more ultimate action movie clips on our UAMC Youtube page here!

The Dim Mak or “death touch” move that features in the film is purely fictional and the stuff of Chinese Martial Arts folklore. The idea is that you can launch an acupressure attack with the opponent struck in several key places, resulting in instant death, was popularised in the 1960’s and 70’s by “Count Dante” who ran ads in several magazines claiming to be able to teach the move for a small fee.

Lionheart (1990): Van Damme’s Forgotten Masterpiece

4) Mortal Kombat Took Inspiration From Bloodsport

The hugely popular beat-em-up franchise took inspiration from Bloodsport’s secret underground tournament, while the character of Johnny Cage was actually inspired by Van Damme, right down to his costume, back story, signature split punch and initials. Van Damme would eventually be offered the role of Cage in the Mortal Kombat movie but turned it down to play Guile in the Street Fighter film – another character supposedly based on Dux.

How Jean-Claude Van Damme Kickstarted the Mortal Kombat Franchise

3) Van Damme Does The Splits…A Lot

Watch more ultimate action movie clips on our UAMC Youtube page here!

Something of a trademark move for the Muscles from Brussels, Van Damme does the splits a total of seven times in Bloodsport – that’s more than in any JCVD movie before or since.

5 Things Guaranteed to Make Any JCVD Movie Ultimate

2) It’s One Of Donald Trump’s Favorite Movies

Though President Trump ranks Air Force One as his favourite Harrison Ford movie, he’s also got a soft spot for Bloodsport, which was revealed during a 1997 profile with The New Yorker. The story goes that Trump brought a VCR tape of the movie on his private jet whee he described it as “an incredible, fantastic movie”.

Well, at least that was what he said. He actually had his son fast forward much of the movie, mid-air, cutting out all the exposition and trimming the viewing time down to 45 minutes of almost wall-to-wall fighting.

Timecop: When Van Damme Did Action Sci-Fi Right

1) Sequels, Reboots And Remakes

A further three Bloodsport sequels have followed since the original: Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite (1996), Bloodsport III (1997) and Bloodsport 4: The Dark Kumite (1999). All were released straight to video and none featured Van Damme with Daniel Bernhardt stepping in in his place. There was a happy ending of sorts though – Bernhardt met his wife, Lisa Stothard, on the set of Bloodsport 4. A remake has been in development since 2011.

The Top 10 Reasons Why Bloodsport is Van Damme’s Magnum Opus


What are your favorite ultimate moments from Van Damme’s Bloodsport? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!

In Hell: Celebrating the ‘Shawshank Redemption’ of Van Damme Movies

By
Jack Beresford
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It doesn’t get any more ultimate than Van Damme’s prison action classic ‘In Hell’ (2003).

Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman combined to great effect in 1994’s The Shawshank Redemption but, nine years later, Jean-Claude Van Damme would get the chance to flex his own acting chops in another prison drama boasting one key difference – high kicks. Lots of high kicks.

In Hell arrived to little fanfare in 2003, coming during the Muscles from Brussels’ mid-career malaise in the world of direct-to-video releases usually dominated by Steven Seagal. The production had one ace up its sleeve though in the form of legendary action director Ringo Lam.

The late, great Lam had previously worked with JCVD on Maximum Risk and the criminally underrated Replicant and knew how to get the best out of the martial arts master – mainly by challenging him at every turn.

Though he took a while to warm up to it, by this point Van Damme had shown himself to be a more than capable actor – he just needed the right director to help coax it out of him. Lam was that director.

READ MORE:

Ringo Lam’s Classic In Hell

A critically-lauded filmmaker thanks to movies like the Hong Kong action classic City on Fire – which Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs owes a considerable debt to – Lam knew that the story of In Hell would require Van Damme to deliver his most human performance yet.

It’s a story that centres of Kyle LeBlanc, who finds himself behind bars in deepest, darkest Russia after killing the man who murdered his wife. Forced to share a cell with a violent and mysterious inmate known only as 451, LeBlanc suffers through the degradation and torment of prison life. It’s not long before the warden and guards enlist him to compete in a series of violent fights to the death against his fellow inmates.

Like Robbins’ Andy Dufresne, LeBlanc’s journey was essentially a descent into madness, going from a happy, family man to an animalistic fighting machine, swapping punches for gnawing at the throat of his chosen opponent. It was grim, gross and kind of powerful. For Van Damme, at least.

Granted, LeBlanc’s story is a little more extreme and required a lot of flying fists and high kicks, but Lam knew he needed more from JCVD.

READ MORE:

JCVD at his Ultimate Best

During pre-production, Lam had approached Van Damme with a challenge, telling the Belgian he wanted him to adopt the persona of a “more truthful” person [via Vanity Fair], someone who is “nicer to people, more polite.” Harsh.

It served as the perfect wake-up call and challenge to the Belgian, too often pampered beyond belief. Now challenged to take on a new persona, Van Damme would later admit In Hell was the moment where he finally “became a truthful actor.”

JCVD immersed himself in the role, adopting a different posture, gait and set of mannerisms that transformed as LeBlanc descended into madness. He even grew his hair long and sported a crazed looking beard – though both look decidedly strange, suggesting prosthetics may have been at play. That, or he genuinely went a little mad.

READ MORE:

Van Damme’s Own Personal Hell

The experience of In Hell was one that Van Damme struggled to shake off in the months after filming wrapped, with Van Damme later admitting to feel stuck in the headspace of LeBlanc, unable to move on from the pain and torment of his entirely fictional life. That’s intense.

It was an experience that has influenced much of what has followed since in his career, with Van Damme describing to Vanity Fair how “it’s almost like a therapy [now], for me to act.”

The result is one of Van Damme’s most complete performances to date, with the Belgian perfectly conveying the pain and shock of LeBlanc’s personal loss alongside the evolving animalistic physicality required to help him reach the top of the food chain in the prison’s underground fighting world.

READ MORE:

An Ultimate Action Shawshank Redemption

One-part JCVD action flick and another part anti-authority redemption tale, In Hell also shares plenty of similarities with The Shawshank Redemption – not least in LeBlanc’s running battle with the prison guards and shady prison cliques. Obviously, there’s a lot of fighting and general muscle-flexing to go along with that, but the general feel is the same.

The similarities don’t end there though. While not quite occupying the same space as Freeman’s character of Red in Shawshank, ex-NFL star and notorious troublemaker Lawrence Taylor does ultimately serve a similar purpose in In Hell.

A lifelong inmate in the brutal Russian prison, Taylor’s 451 starts out as an adversary of LeBlanc’s, enlisted to kill his new cell mate as part of a grim ongoing agreement with the powers-that-be that’s never entirely explained.

But after a brief tussle, a bond of mutual respect emerges – mainly because the two men can’t kick each other’s asses – with 451 ultimately helping Van Damme’s character fight back against the demons, inmates and prison authorities making his life hell.

He forms bonds with a couple of other inmates but they both meet a grim end because, hey, that’s what life in a corrupt Russian prison is like, apparently.

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Lawrence Taylor Brings the Hits

A former American Football favourite who embarked on an all-too-brief acting career, Taylor delivers a surprisingly impressive performance here, with the part of 451 split between snarling physical attacks on pretty much everyone around him and dramatic monologues dubbed over scenes depicting Van Damme’s LeBlanc at his lowest ebb.

He’s perfectly cast for both with Lam showing his skill again to draw out a surprisingly powerful turn from a sports-star-turned-actor – something he would later struggle to get from Dennis Rodman on the ill-fated Simon Sez.

Despite obvious budgetary limitations, Lam delivering an effective depiction of life in a grim Russian prison, even if it does ultimately serve as the setting for a Bloodsport-style Kumite fighting tournament of sorts.

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In Hell’s Ultimate Legacy

Overlooked on initial release direct to video, In Hell hasn’t aged quite as well as The Shawshank Redemption – it’s got a decidedly lo-fi feel while some of the supporting performances are wooden/borderline offensive to say the least.

But it proved to be a wake-up call for Van Damme, who suddenly realised himself a more-than-capable actor and went on to enjoy a career renaissance of sorts with films like JCVD.

Combining a distinctly human performance with the usual action-led entertainment and occasional moments of unintentional hilarity, when it comes to Ultimate Action Movies In Hell kicks The Shawshank Redemption’s ass.

What are your favorite memories from Van Damme’s ‘In Hell’? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!

Sylvester Stallone Set to Star in His Very Own Superhero Movie

By
Jack Beresford
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Mandatory Credit: Photo by Richard Shotwell/REX/Shutterstock (8618784eh) Sylvester Stallone 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' film premiere, Arrivals, Los Angeles, USA - 19 Apr 2017

Everything we know about Stallone’s new superhero role in ‘Samaritan’ (2019).

He’s had a bit-part role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 and endured a torrid time as Judge Dredd but Sylvester Stallone has never had his very own superhero movie…until now.

According to Variety, MGM is busy developing a new superhero film called Samaritan and Stallone has just signed up to star in it. (Which we wrote about before – along with another new Stallone feature – here.)

Not only that, but Stallone will also produce Samariatn through his production company Balboa Productions.

No word has yet been provided on the character Stallone will play but it will be a starring role.

The 10 Best Sylvester Stallone Ultimate Action Movies!

What is “Samaritan”?

A basic synopsis has been offered up though and details an intriguing story that centres on a young boy who stumbles upon on a long-lost superhero who disappeared following a massive battle some 20 years previous. Or so the boy seems.

Is the mysterious man the superhero this young boy believes him to be? Given that Stallone has likely been cast as the aforementioned mystery man/hero, the answer appears to be a resounding yes.

A unique project in that it’s an original superhero effort rather than a comic book adaptation, the project is nevertheless in good hands with Bragi F. Schut reportedly recruited to write the script.

Schut is best known for his recent horror effort Escape Room.

Sylvester Stallone Reveals his one Major Regret From Rocky IV

Sly Stone Keeps on Pumping

No official release date has been provided, with the project very much in the development stage but it nevertheless represents an intriguing project for Stallone.

Sly has already hinted at the fact he’s hung up his gloves as Rocky Balboa while he upcoming Rambo V: The Last Blood (here’s EVERYTHING we know about Rambo 5) will be his final outing as the titular hero.

An exciting new chapter awaits the ultimate action movie hero.

Are you HYPED for this new Stallone superhero project? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!

How ‘The Blues Brothers’ Blends Comedy, Music and Ultimate Action

By
Emily Stephan
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Let us examine the timeless comedy, musical, actioner ‘The Blues Brothers’ (1980) upon its ultimateness.

In his 2000 review of The Blues Brothers, author Kim Newman gives his reasoning as to why this now-revered cult classic underperformed upon first release in 1980: “One of the reasons The Blues Brothers didn’t immediately click is that it’s hard to work out what it’s supposed to be — a comedy, an action movie, a musical?”

The question still rings true. About the only thing people seem to agree on is that the movie is a comedic gem bound to get your feet tapping. I’ve seen some call The Blues Brothers a slapstick musical, chase movie, or even a fantasy film, given is casual attitude towards the laws of physics.

Today, I want to ask whether or not we should consider The Blues Brothers an ultimate action classic. It seems to have everything that would make it a qualifier, since one of the things it’s most renowned for are its legendary car chases. But does it really fit the bill? Let’s find out.

The Blues Brothers Origins

The story of The Blues Brothers is simple: Jake and Elwood Blues (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) are commissioned by the mother superior of the Catholic orphanage where they grew up to help raise money to save it from being closed down. Motivated by their “mission from God,” they decide to get their old band back together, running all over Chicago to get everyone to do one last show as a fundraiser.

Unfortunately, they manage to anger the “Illinois Nazis,” a trigger-happy mystery woman (Carrie Fisher), a country band, and the entire Illinois police force in the process, resulting in a series of wild car chases, explosions, and near-escapes.

Is Blues Brothers an Action Movie?

First, we must ask ourselves what makes a movie qualify as ultimate action? Obviously, this website mainly focuses on 1980s and 1990s action movies. As a 1980 release, The Blues Brothers definitely checks off that box. Ultimate action movies tend to have badass heroes and I don’t know what else you could call the lovable Jake and Elwood, who are resourceful and quick on their feet.

And yes, there are action scenes—some of the best action scenes ever put on film, in fact. The scene where Jake and Elwood evade the cops by driving through a mall is a masterpiece of car choreography and gleefully gratuitous destruction. The deadpan commentary by the brothers as to how awesome the mall is perfectly offsets the demolition.

The climactic ending where Jake and Elwood race against time and an actual army of police men is both hilarious and thrilling. The editing, timing, and comic escalation are perfection. The sheer scale of this sequence is breathtaking to watch. The first time I saw the part where one police car piles atop another, I asked myself just how many cars the filmmakers totally wrecked for the sake of this movie! (The answer is apparently 103.)

A Symphony of Explosions

The movie sprinkles some action between the famous musical numbers too. For example, we get plenty of explosions: apartment buildings, gas stations, and cars a plenty go up in flames. Carrie Fisher’s mystery woman packs serious heat, pulling out everything from rocket-launchers to flamethrowers in her quest to render the Blues Brothers naught but ashes on the sidewalk.

Now, some might argue that the action is too cartoony to be true ultimate action material. Ultimate action movies can push credibility at times, true, but there are still generally stakes. Even if the bad guys all seem to have attended the Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy, even if the hero can walk off a crowbar beating or gunshot wound to the arm, death is still often on the line.

Not so here. Jake and Elwood survive more explosions and crashes than if they were related to Wile E. Coyote himself. They generally bound about with the energy of Bugs Bunny on coke (apparently not too far from the truth: according to Dan Aykroyd, the film’s budget included cocaine for everyone during nighttime shoots), a vibe I wouldn’t necessarily lend to action heroes played by Stallone or Schwarzenegger.

A Comedy Musical Actioner?

Now, you might say: “Well, action-comedy is a thing.” And this is so. However, even an action-comedy must have physical stakes and physical danger. Big Trouble in Little China has this, for instance, despite being comedic.

One never gets the sense that Jake and Elwood are in danger. The stakes are always squarely the orphanage. Even the threat that the brothers will end up imprisoned is accepted as inevitable by the both of them early in the movie.

Another thing: the majority of the movie is about the music, not so much the action. It’s a giant love letter to the blues and soul, featuring some of the genre’s biggest icons. Like the action, these musical numbers are absolutely brilliant, from the singing to the music arrangement to the dancing. But for me, because the music is the lion’s share of the film, with long stretches between the thrills, I can’t call the film action proper.

The Ultimate Action Blues

What would one have to change to make this count as ultimate action? For one, more action scenes between the musical numbers.

Another would be that Jake and Elwood would, at some point, have to fight the villainous hordes pursuing them. Action movie protagonists, even ones in action-comedies, generally have to have a point where they fight, even if they possess a mild-mannered nature. These guys use trickery or their wits to avoid violent confrontations—both classic ways to get out of a fight for comedy heroes, but not so much ultimate action heroes.

Still, The Blues Brothers is definitely awesome, no doubting that, a two and a half hour all singing, all dancing, all exploding spectacle that is never, ever boring. I wouldn’t change a frame of it.

What are your thoughts on The Blues Brothers and if it’s an ultimate action movie or not? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!

Watch: What Makes ‘Aliens’ an ULTIMATE Action Classic

By
Jourdan Aldredge
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Check out this video essay on Sigourney Weaver in James Cameron’s Aliens (1986).

Truthbetold, the Ultimate Action Movie Club does not own copyrights on action movies (or any movies really) being labeled ultimate, awesome, or ultimately awesome. But we’ve been touting those adjectives for years! Yet it looks like it’s starting to catch on… Which is pretty ultimate if you ask us!

In this ULTIMATE video essay by Rossatron, we get a very awesome in-depth look into what makes 1986 Aliens a truly ultimate action movie!

READ MORE: ‘ALIENS’ COLONIAL MARINES ACTOR AL MATTHEWS PASSES AWAY

But first, we have to say that we’ve always loved Aliens and honored its ultimate legacy. Not only was it directed by the great James Cameron (also noted for his ultimate work on the Terminator movies). It also stars our UAMC fave Sigourney Weaver reprising her role as Ellen Ripley from the original (less ultimate, more horror) Alien by Ridley Scott.

READ MORE: JAMES CAMERON HAS REVEALED WORKING TITLE OF NEW TERMINATOR MOVIE

And while there have always been rumors that at one point Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered to be a replacement for Weaver to star in Aliens (or a similar project), we stand true to our ultimate hearts and say Aliens is an ultimately perfect action movie – fully deserving of the 12-minute video tribute below. Enjoy!


What are your favorite scenes and moments from Aliens (1986)? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!

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