An instant success when it came out in 2015, Mad Max: Fury Road which also starred the powerful heroine Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa, has enjoyed a rare blend of commercial and critical success – and could be argued almost single handedly starting a modern action movie renaissance in the last few years.
Mad Max in Black and White
Based on its recent blockbuster success, Mad Max: Fury Road has found another life with its recent re-release in 4K Black & White. While the concept seems a little pretentious, the concept gained ground online when a trailer was edited and released on Youtube. As you can see above, it does seem to work on some levels, making it feel a little more classic.
Fury Road on Blu-ray
As the concept for a black and white version gained ground, distributors were quick to pick up on the craze and released a Mad Max: Fury Road Black and Chrome split Blu-ray, which is absolutely worth checking out. However, for those lucky enough to have some indie theaters or Alamo Drafthouses in their area, the Fury Road Black and Chrome edition has also been playing on big screens in black and white 4K which is about as awesome as it gets.
The Mad Max Action Legacy
The idea for the black and white would appear to be a play to harken action movie nostalgia for the franchise and the genre. While none of the original Mad Max trilogy films: Mad Max (1979), Mad Max 2(1981) or Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), the films did enjoy a very raw and gritty aesthetic which came from writer and director George Miller’s kinetic filmmaking and dangerous practical effects. In black and white, Fury Road really hits on the big screen with its balls-to-the-walls action. The desaturation does make things pop a little less at times, but it also gives new challenges to the viewing where you feel like you’re as blindsided by the hits as Max and Furiosa.
For ultimate action movie purists and fans, while it’s not technically a how the movie was meant to be seen, it does create a greater experience all together perfect for those looking to revisit a modern action classic again and again.
What are your thoughts on Mad Max: Fury Road in Black and White? Let us know in the comments!
The career of Bruce Willis has certainly taken a heat since his action movie heyday of the 80s and 90s. With mostly DVD-only releases, minus some pretty not good Die Hard sequels, he’s been doing cameo-heavy work from project to project.
He even messed things up with Sylvester Stallone and wasn’t even included in The Expendables after contract negotiations failed. As an major fan of his iconic role as John McClane in the original Die Hard flicks, and from his role in Unbreakable, here’s a review of his reboot of Death Wish – taking the reins from the late Charles Bronson.
The Return of Bruce Willis
After Bruce Willis brought back his character David Dunn in the final scene of M. Night Shyamalan’s Split, and the director revealing his plans for the upcoming third film in his trilogy, Glass and the other news that Willis would also be teaming up with Eli Roth for a remake of 1974’s Death Wish.
Following much the same premise as the Charles Bronson starring original, Willis takes the lead as Paul Kersey, except this time the character is a surgeon rather than an architect.
And….. Well, that’s about the only real difference for the character’s journey. I’m quite confident that it’s in no way a spoiler to tell you that after falling victim to a home invasion, Kersey’s wife (Elizabeth Shue) is murdered and his daughter Jordan (Camila Morrone) is left in a coma.
Paul Kersey’s Endless Death Wish
Kersey, in his usual stressed out and broken down demeanor, decides to take matters into his own hands via a little firearms training courtesy of YouTube. Taking to the streets after a brief training montage, Kersey becomes a silent figure of vigilante style revenge.
In these days of social media and instant camera phone uploads, Kersey quickly gains internet notoriety and the rather unimaginative moniker of The Grim Reaper. Taking out random street thugs whilst somehow managing never to be identified (he wears a hoodie, thus proving that Batman probably went way over the top with that whole cowl and cape ensemble). Through a series of convenient coincidences, he’s able to track down the gang responsible for his family’s trauma.
Whereas Michael Winner’s original movie could perhaps now be seen as a relic of a more violent era of cinema, this remake definitely feels at odds with the current political climate in the United States, but is unapologetic in its tone and message and whilst this may invoke anger in some, director Eli Roth clearly had a vision for this project, I’m just not really sure what it was.
Charles Bronson’s Legacy Remains
In the original Death Wish, we all remember Charles Bronson as the man on the brink of madness trying to make the world right again. Willis, on the other hand, comes across more as a man who genuinely enjoys killing and even begins to enjoy his newfound notoriety and alter ego’s fame. At one point he is shown almost cheering aloud when watching a TV news segment covering one of his acts of vigilante justice.
Roth obviously has a flare for the grotesque with his previous works including 2005’s Hostel and this is perhaps most prominent during a particularly effective scene featuring a scalpel and some brake fluid, however he mainly seems happy to have helmed the majority of the movie with the aim of shooting a by-the-numbers action flick. The action sequences are well shot and veer some distance away from being too over the top in an attempt to perhaps present a more practical and realistic approach.
Bruce Willis’ Performance
Bruce Willis does bring some good energy to his Paul Kersey performance. More so that you’ll see in many of his recent action movie attempts. However, despite his efforts, the film fails to really come alive. As I have previously alluded, it’s pretty much a by-the-numbers remake, aside from Kersey actually locating his wife’s killers this time around and I can’t help but wonder if a better idea would have been for Elizabeth Shue to have perhaps survived with Kersey avenging his daughters death, whilst trying to hide his rage-filled mission from his wife.
It must be said that the addition of the surviving daughter drew comparisons to the same level of annoyance I felt during the Liam Neeson starring Taken franchise. This is not a slight on either of the actress’s themselves, rather on the writers, who seem to be happy to have young adult women behave like twelve year old girls.
Roth and screenwriter Joe Carnahan both seem to be offering a rather conflicted view of gun ownership in the United States. Whereas the film is happy to poke fun at how easy it is to legally obtain firearms in America, with Willis being told as much by a suitably buxom, female gun store employee, (who is also shown in advertisements during the film, which are perhaps intended to be an homage to Quintin Tarantino’s 1997 film Jackie Brown and its Chicks Who Love Guns segments. I would imagine this is probably the case, with this movies director Eli Roth being a close friend and previous collaborator with him). The movie then proceeds to present the gun-toting vigilante action as a viable solution to violent street crime using the very same weapons, as Willis stalks the streets with his hood up taking out the bad guys.
Vigilante Action Never Dies
From a writing perspective, the Death Wish reboot does not quite deliver in the same action movie villain tradition as its predecessors. Mostly consisting of random stereotypes who wouldn’t even be deemed interesting enough to feature in a video-game.
The main villain comes across as a rather damp squib who is given little screen time and the film’s finale suffers considerably as a result. It’s fine to have our main character wiping out the lower level guys, but I would have like to have seen more a build up of the threat he would face as he climbed the ladder of the crime gang, thus leading to a more satisfactory final face off between the two men.
All being said, I can’t help but think that after the conclusion of the film, that it’s all a bit of a wasted opportunity, although it is definitely a step in the right direction for Willis even if only for the fact that the film manages to rise above above the average straight to DVD fodder that has formed the main body of his work in recent years at least, which is a real shame in itself really, when you look at some of his older films and consider what he could’ve been doing instead.
Bruce Willis in Renaissance
While Bruce Willis may never be the action hero he once was in the 80s and 90s, he at least has challenged himself throughout his action movie career. Hopefully we’ll finally get to see a return to form on a more consistent basis from the actor now, because it seems that for the time being at least, Bruce Willis genuinely wants to try and be a movie star once again.
Carolco Films present. An article by Neil Gaskin. Father to an amazing son, former husband to an ex wife. And I will have my vegetables, in this life or the next. Neil Gaskin is a co-founder of Film89.co.uk & can be found bringing pretty much every subject back to Sylvester Stallone as a regular co-host on the Film 89 Podcast. A traditional man in many ways, he believes it’s not really Christmas Eve until he’s watching Die Hard & plans on leading the resistance against Skynet. A child of the Video Store revolution and a disciple of Rocky Balboa. He’s still got a little left in the basement and fully intends to crash into the next life yelling “Yippee ki-yay”.
The audience returns to the morally complex world of Sicario when American agent provocateur Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) is asked by his country to respond dramatically after a disgusting terrorist act is committed on American soil. It is discovered that members of The Islamic State have been traveling into America not by air but have instead been trafficked across the American border with Mexico with the assistance of the south American drug cartels.
Graver once again employs the specialist skill set of Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) to create a false flag operation to spark a war that will engulf the cartels and create chaos and disrupt their operations in trafficking in both contraband and people while also preventing further attacks from extremists.
Taylor Sheridan Pens Again
Taylor Sheridan returns to script duties and treats his material with all the sophistication of a rich novel. Sheridan writing the sequel gives the movie a real sense of continuity. The movie doesn’t seem like a quick cash in to the brilliance of the first movie, everything about the writing is spot on from story arc to character development. The other fresh thing about the writing is that it is a script with things to say, very much like the first movie. The script deals with real world issues that are very prevalent in the world we live in but is not presented in a preachy way. It deals with its subject in a mature way as it did in the first movie. This script is very reminiscent of the 1980s and 1990s output of Oliver Stone, in tone, style and journalistic integrity.
Stefano Sollima Does Villenueve
The script’s journalistic approach is fantastically captured by director Stefano Sollima who keeps enough of the first movie’s style for the sake of continuity but is also different enough to keep the franchise interesting. The cinematography echoes the work of Oliver Stone especially Platoon (1983) and the excellent Salvador (1986). There are also touches of Tony Scott’s work with loads of military hardware a la Top Gun (1986). This gives the movie plenty of nice visual touches for the old school action movie fan.
Josh Brolin and Del Toro Are Back
These elements are brought together by a perfect cast. Every role in this movie is played perfectly. You of course have the flawless performances of Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro who clearly relish their two roles. They brilliantly add to their performances from the previous movie offering more depth and complexity in their characters. The two leads are supported by a list of fantastic actors, including Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine and the always underrated Jeffrey Donovan. The real stand out stars of the movie are, however, Isabela Moner and Elijah Rodriguez who play parts of young people caught in the crossfire fire of the war. The overall effect of this cast is to give is that a very human face to the drama and action. There are no bullet proof heroes in this movie, there is a very plausible sense of political risk and human cost.
All in all Sicario: Day of the Soldado is absolutely worth an action movie fan’s time. It is an original franchise, fantastically put together with a plot that is far from formulaic and with plenty of substance that will get you talking after you leave the doors of the cinema.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson transitions from the WWE to DVDs.
If I was asked to give an example of a film which marked the beginnings of a new brand of action hero, I’d say The Rundown starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was a pretty good one to cite. I don’t know who would ask me or why for that matter, but I’m going to go with it anyway.
With a few hundred channels and countless DVDs/Blu-rays to watch, I found myself recently wanting to just switch my brain off to enjoy some mindless action and comedy. Would it enlighten or inspire me? Probably not but sometimes we all just need to watch a film that doesn’t have to. Sometimes it’s perfect just to watch a film that can just simply entertain you and my choice for that evening certainly fitted that bill.
Hey, I’m not perfect and I tell myself that as a teenage boy trapped inside a forty something mans body that I’m allowed to watch pretty much any film that stars The Rock. (Ok, maybe not the Scorpion King).
Channeling Action Heroes Past
As we broke into the new century it was apparent that the action heroes of the 80/90’s had pretty much run their course and it was now time for a new powerfully built, wise cracking action star to emerge. Sure later in the century it would be somehow cool to see Stallone and other members of the 80/90’s action crew (Damn did I just try to somehow justify the Expendables?) but for now we needed a new muscle bound hero.
Enter Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. At this time Mr. Johnson was only really just getting started in his movie career and was still a part time wrestler with the WWE but, I think that it is important to note that Hollywood was already beginning to recognise the X factor that the self professed Brahma Bull possessed.
The Rundown on The Rundown
The Rundown (also known as Welcome to the Jungle in certain territories) was directed by Peter Berg who would later collaborate with big Dwayne on the HBO series Ballers. It tells the story of Beck. A smartly dressed, wanna be restaurant owner who for now is locked into a deal to collect money owed for the rather threatening Billy Walker (William Lucking).
We never really find out how Beck found himself in this position but it is clear that Billy is not a man to take lightly. Beck is referred to as a retrieval expert other than a Bounty Hunter. Quite why eludes me. What’s cooler than being called a Bounty Hunter? It makes me think of Boba Fett, The Fall Guy and Dog The Bounty……Anyway, Beck is a retrieval expert.
The opening scene to this movie sets the tone from the get go. It’s clear that whilst this isn’t going to be a classic, that it will be action filled fun. Beck is ushered into a nightclub where he must track down a fictional NFL football player who owes Billy for a losing bet. As he makes his way through the the crowded club, Beck brushes shoulders with none other than one of history’s greatest action movie icons, Arnold Schwarzenegger (uncredited cameo) who simply mutters “Have fun!” As he passes by.
With this symbolic passing of the torch complete, Beck makes his way to a table surrounded by beautiful women and several large football players. Each of which is given their own short blast of statistics and graphics in several seconds of short montage, reminiscent of the character introductions in Guy Richie’s Snatch and later utilised by Ryan Coogler in Creed.
The Rock’s Fighting Skills
After a brief exchange of words Beck is left with no option other than to use his considerable fighting skills in a fight with the other giants in what can only be described as WWE choreographic! Body slams and suplex moves aplenty ensue in what will become a regular feature in the future Johnson films.
Once Beck has laid the smack down upon these poor, unsuspecting individuals, he drops his collateral back to Billy where he is presented with an interesting proposition. Beck is offered to go to a small mining town in Brazil to retrieve Billy’s long lost son Travis (Seann William Scott) because you know plot and stuff. Knowing that he will not only clear his debts but also get enough money to finally open his restaurant, Beck agrees and this is where this film really takes off!
When I say take off, it would be remiss of me not to mention that we then cut to Beck being flown to a small Brazilian airstrip by none other than Trainspottings own Ewen Bremner who is actually Scottish but somehow manages to employ a bizarre Scottish accent in this? It’s as if he’s trying to disguise his natural accent with a Hollywood version of a Scottish accent? There is also a point where his character is alluded to being Irish but also a scene with bagpipes. I think he may actually supposed to be Welsh in this film? The mind boggles.
Rosario Dawson and Christopher Walken
Upon landing Beck makes his way to the local bar, because that’s where all good Bounty Hunters go (if only to shoot first at other bounty hunters Mr. Lucas!) Here he meets up with Mariana, the somehow beautiful barmaid in a town full of otherwise ugly miners played by the impossibly stunning Rosario Dawson and soon after this runs into Travis played by William Scott.
At first Beck easily dismisses Travis attempts to fight and run away but is soon thwarted by local mine owner Cornelius Bernard Hatcher played by none other than Christopher Walken. It’s later explained that Travis has in fact discovered the whereabouts of the ancient artefact known as the “El Gato do Diablo”. This leads to a jungle based adventure where Beck, Mariana and Travis race against time to get the elusive “El Gato” whilst eluding Hatcher and his band of sadistic mercenaries.
The Rock and the Stiffler
Whilst The Rundown isn’t a ground breaking or reworking of the genre, it is certainly fun and brings in elements of Indiana Jones (one of the bad guys has a whip) and Romancing the Stone along with the delightful cheesiness of action movies of the 80s. All the cast actually appear to be enjoying themselves, Walken especially. It would have been easy for him to just ‘phone his performance in’ but you somehow get the impression that he’s actually glad to be involved and is not just there for a quick pay check.
Dawson plays the strong female character with a kick arse sexiness and attitude that seems organic and not just there to put a tick in the box. Seann William Scott is basically just playing ‘Stiffler of the jungle‘ but fits the role nicely and gives his usual performance that doesn’t offend the viewer and he is genuinely funny when fronting up to fight the mighty Rock.
I will openly admit that I rented this when it was titled Welcome to the Jungle from Blockbuster in the early part of this century and really enjoyed it and it is an early indicator of how good an action hero the Rock would go on to become. On this rewatch many years later, I found this action/adventure just as entertaining.
The Beginnings of The Rock’s Action Career
There was actually a period after this film where he kind of lost his way film wise and did more kid friendly films but he got back on track pretty soon afterwards and we all got to smell what The Rock was cooking, which I’d like to think is some sort of high protein based dish with a side of complex carbs maybe?
This film still holds up and there was even talk from Berg a few years ago of a sequel of sorts and I wouldn’t count this idea out. Whilst The Rock continues with his busy schedule of making movies in quick succession, between TV shows and online Videos, it’s not impossible that we may run into Beck sometime again in the future and I for one wouldn’t mind that one little bit.
Carolco Films present. An article by Neil Gaskin. Father to an amazing son, former husband to an ex wife. And I will have my vegetables, in this life or the next. Neil Gaskin is a co-founder of Film89.co.uk & can be found bringing pretty much every subject back to Sylvester Stallone as a regular co-host on the Film 89 Podcast. A traditional man in many ways, he believes it’s not really Christmas Eve until he’s watching Die Hard & plans on leading the resistance against Skynet. A child of the Video Store revolution and a disciple of Rocky Balboa. He’s still got a little left in the basement and fully intends to crash into the next life yelling “Yippee ki-yay”
A look at how Siciario channeled 80s action into a neo-hit.
Sicario is completely and totally an action movie classic. From the opening card to the last shots of the movie few action movies made in the last five years have so successfully kept audiences absolutely focused on the mix of visionary direction, a cast that acts their guts out, fantastically choreographed set pieces and a thought provoking script. It’s this mix of elements that made the action movies we love as successful and memorable as they are today. Sicario uses a formula that defined a whole genre. In short it’s a 1980s action movie made today.
The Golden Age of Neo-Action
We live in a second golden age of action movies, where filmmakers who respect the old school have made movies in the 1980s action movie tradition, movies which feel like they could have sat right next to the action movie classics of yesteryear. Another thing that audiences have witnessed is the return of the western. It never really went away, it just changed clothes and after that wardrobe change we have a brand new sub genre that uses the language of old school action movies to talk about what is going on in the world today with the drug trade, immigration, politics, economics, violence and human cost of the American war on drugs.
Such films include Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi trilogy (1992 – 2003) and No Country For Old Men (2007). This genre of action has even made a huge impact on the small screen with the brilliant Justified (2010 – 2015) and fascinating Netflix epic Narcos (2015 – present). Sicario fits into that category of movies completely but just like all the other movies mentioned above the movie making tradition it originates from is much older.
80s and 90s Action Influences
One of the most interesting elements of Sicario is that it is on one level a homage to action movie thrillers of the 1980s and 1990s, not just in terms of lazy tricks of tone and style but actually in terms of how the movie was produced. The entire film was constructed with techniques used by action movies in the 1980s and 1990s.
The script was written by one of the leading voices in the action movie renaissance, one of the leading writers and actors of the Neo-Western, Taylor Sheridan.
Denis Villeneuve Neo-Master
The movie was directed by Denis Villeneuve who clearly draws a great deal of inspiration from our favourite era of action movies. This would, after all, be the director brave enough to make to make the beautifully flawed Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Villeneuve applies so many directional techniques from movies of the 80s and 90s which give Sicario a feel of standing on the shoulders of movie making giants. It uses the color palette and cinematography of Michael Mann. As well as technical technique Mann’s influence can be felt in the plot and story arc of the players in the movie. They go through the same kinds of conflict that Mann’s characters do and the way those characters attempt to cope with the corrupt world they inhabit is full of the Neo Noir style of Mann. More than one critic has compared Heat (1995) to Sicario for its approach to the human condition.
Sicario Stacks Up to the Classics
Another inspiration from action movie classics that Sicario draws on is that it’s a film that explores its world through its characters. This is something that you see time and again in the classics of the action movie genre, you see it in Cobra (1986) and in Commando (1985). You also see action interpreted by the stars of movie done brilliantly in Die Hard (1988). This method of storytelling is achieved by the cast of brilliant actors in Sicario.
You have the always superb Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro who give brilliant performances. There is almost a buddy cop interplay between them like there is in Lethal Weapon (1987).They give the audience performances full of charisma and intrigue. I have a feeling that if the next film is just as strong as the first that the characters of Matt Graver and Alejandro Gillick could become a pair of action movie legends.
The really interesting performance and character in Sicario is Kate Macer who is played by one of the greatest actors working in the American Film Industry today, Emily Blunt. Blunt gives the audience a point of reference in the shady world of the war on drugs. Morally she is baffled by the world she is now witness to and the character is reminiscent of Jodie Foster’s performance as Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Sicario employs much of the same film language that Jonathan Demme did in his thriller. We see long close up camera work on characters faces and a world that is presented as beyond belief and horrid and dark for its protagonist. Blunt, like Forster, also delivers her role with strength and conviction. You could also see a little of other women stars in action movies such as Brigitte Nielsen’s no nonsense attitude.
A True Neo-Action Epic
Sicario is an action epic which is full of affection for the action movies that we love but delivers its script in an interesting and original way…If you think that the landscape of contemporary action movies is not like the good old days, try Sicario, you might be impressed.
If you’ve been watching the world cup or any other programming for that matter, you should have seen the news. The Predator is back! Shane Black takes the helm of the franchise which started from Arnold Shwarzenegger’s original classic Predator (1987). The Predator – the name of the latest iteration – will be the fourth feature in the saga and is set to take place thematically between Predator 2 (1990) and Predators (2010).
With its latest (and probably final trailer) finally making the rounds in promotion, let’s look at everything we’ll likely know before its release in September.
Boyd Holbrook, Action Star
The Predator series has enjoyed a pretty great legacy of action movie stars, with Arnold Schwarzenegger leading Predator (1987) and Danny Glover in Predator 2. Predators, meanwhile, employed the unlikely ensemble of Adrian Brody, Topher Grace and Alice Braga in 2004. Luckily it looks like The Predator will be an ensemble mix with the promise of Boyd Holbrook at least being the standout star of the group.
Penned by Shane Black
Shane Black may one day be crowned the Ultimate Action Movie Club unsung MVP for his countless contributions to the genre. After making his break by penning the UAMC classic Lethal Weapon in 1987, Black would go on to write several action movie hits like Lethal Weapon 2, The Last Action Hero and The Last Boy Scout. Also of note, he has a cult-appreciated role in the original Predator as Rich Hawkins, the team’s wise-cracking radio operator (and also the first on-screen victim).
Arnold versus the Mega-Predator
Perhaps the biggest let-down from the trailers (and seemingly confirmed by this last one), is that there is no great Arnold cameo to save the day. Which is a damn shame as the Mega-Predator teased in this latest trailer looks absolutely awesome. It’s too bad Arnold can’t have a run at him in full mud camouflage, but alas at least we get another Predator battle here end of summer.
What are your thoughts on The Predator and its promise of ultimate action? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!
Upgrade (2018) creates an ultimate blend of sci-fi and vigilante justice.
So I went into the theater hoping for a grind house movie right out of the 70s based on the two previews I saw. What I got is one of the canniest science fiction movies of recent times. It takes place in a very familiar near future and tells the tale of technology gone wrong. The movie is Upgrade.
The Set Up
Upgrade tells the tale of a tech-phobe named Grey who works on restoring old cars. He’s married to a woman who does research at one of the big tech companies. One night, he takes her along for the delivery of a classic car to a reclusive billionaire. On the way home, their self driving car is hijacked and they are brought to a secluded location.
Grey’s wife is murdered right in front of his eyes and a bullet trough his spine leaves him a quadriplegic with no movement below his neck. The mystery becomes why was his wife murdered. The solution may be that reclusive high tech billionaire who offers him a way out of that wheelchair.
Television Roots
For those of us old enough to remember, this movie is a modern update of the Six Million Dollar Man. In that 1970s TV show, an astronaut is given bionic limbs after a crash and goes to work for a secret government organization. Here, our hero (played by Logan Marshall-Green) is given a microprocessor called STEM that takes over his nervous system and bypasses his injury and allows him to walk again.
STEM is the new HAL
As in the best science fiction, the technology has unintended consequences as STEM becomes sentient, much the same way HAL did in 2001. It begins conversing with Grey and accesses technology that give him the clues to begin the hunt for his wife’s killers. But not only does the STEM restore movement, but it allows the human body to move in the most mathematically efficient manner possible. This allows us to see what the human body is capable of in all it’s ass kicking glory!
The Concept
As the plot unfolds, it turns out a rival tech company to Grey’s wife has been weaponizing catastrophically injured soldiers. They actually have guns implanted in their arms and can shoot butlers out their palms of their hands and can spit nano-bytes at their enemies. And yes, this movie actually pulls off this absurd concept as the movie rockets to multiple final confrontations as the mystery is unraveled.
UAMC Comparisons
Unlike horror, there is a dearth of classics in the sci-fi genre in recent years. So here is one with the dark underbelly of Blade Runner, with the distrust of technology of Terminator, combined with the new flesh concepts of David Cronenberg during his heyday. Dumped in the summer movie season, it opened with a six million gross its opening weekend despite an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. All of you need to go find a drive in and discover this modern classic right out of the 1980s!
Let us know what you what you think in the comments or on our Facebook page!
The Best Movies on Netflix to get your Action Fix!
Are you a fan of ultimate action movies from the 80s and 90s? Do you want to sit down and watch some action classics without dusting off your favorite VHS and firing up an old VCR? If so, you may be one of the billions of people who use the online platform Netflix for your watching pleasure.
However, as huge of a juggernaut as Netflix has become, it’s action selection is not its strong suit. Not to knock its original programming and binge-worthy TV shows, but for fans of the Golden Age of Action Movies, it can be hard to find options.
The Lethal Weapon series is one of the most storied franchises in ultimate action movie history. The 1987 buddy cop original, starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover and written by action movie legend Shane Black is a good place to start. Netflix also has all three sequels – all UAMC worthy – to keep your binge going.
Also, not on Netflix, but noteworthy for UAMC fans. Lethal Weapon has been rebooted as a successful TV series which recently had some pretty big shake ups in casting. (Read the full article here!)
It may surprise many to learn that this Michael Bay actioner is a bona fide Criterion Collection classic. A distinction few ultimate action movies share. It’s also a rip-rocking good time with UAMC legend Bruce Willis leading his crew of roughnecks into outer space. It’s a late-era UAMC hit, but is worth it for the fireworks throughout.
Also news on the Michael Bay front, Netflix has picked up a new $150 million dollar blockbuster set to be directed by Bay and starring Ryan Reynolds. (Read the full article here!)
One of the most epic action movies of all time, Heat pits Al Pacino and Robert De Niro against each other in perhaps the greatest acted action performance ever. Michael Mann has a strong track record and Heat still stands out as his (and one of the action genre’s) best.
Sometimes you sit down and want to watch an action movie with a strong hero kicking butt and taking names. Other times you sit down and you want to watch everyone’s favorite love-able weasel Nicolas Cage do his everyman thing. Sometimes you even get to see him do it as the bad guy up against good-ol-boy John Travolta. And sometimes, even, you want to see Nicolas Cage do his best John Travolta impersonation of him impersonating Nicolas Cage until your head explodes in Face/Off.
Another Michael Bay offering, Bad Boys was a breakout hit for both Bay and its featured stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The buddy cop actioner is a fast-paced and hard-hitting as they come and was a massive box office success in 1995. Worth checking out for this scene alone.
Now we’re stretching the genre here as Hot Fuzz is equal parts comedy as it is action. However, if you’ve seen it before (or seen other Edgar Wright flicks like Shaun of the Dead or Baby Driver) you’ll know that it delivers the hits. Set in England, noted action movie funny man Simon Pegg buddies it up frequent collaborator Nick Frost for some ultimate action and ultimate bromance love for Bad Boys II and Point Break.
With one of the most ridiculous action movie premieres of all time, the Japanese foreign language feature Battle Royal delivers a billion times more insane action carnage than any action offering ever. Directed by legendary Japanese director Kinji Fukasaku, Battle Royal is about a group of junior highers forced to fight each other to the death. When it was initially released, its violence had it controversially banned in several countries. Very ultimate!
While not the powerhouse action tentpole that The Terminatoror Terminator 2 was, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is still filled with Schwarzenegger ultimateness. T3 pits Arnold back in his iconic role up against a new foe, the T-X (aka the Terminatrix). Critical response was not as great as the James Cameron first two, but for a Netflix click, it’s worth it for the non-stop action and Arnold zingers!
Similar to Hot Fuzz, Game Over, Man! is an action comedy-hybrid which Netflix produced just this year. Never in theaters, Game Over, Man is a funny sendup on Die Hard (and subsequent similar rip-offs) by the slacker dudes from Workaholics. As a stoner comedy, it keeps up with some over-the-top action sequences in the vein of Pineapple Express – perfect for a mindless action fix when needed.
Other Netflix Options
From here, there are not too many pure action options to choose, but several hybrid action genre crossovers, as well as a pretty impressive amount of superhero films and series that pack some heavy punch. Be sure to check out some of these other solid offerings on Netflix.
Bright
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol II
Tropic Thunder
Kill Bill
Turner & Hooch
Luke Cage (series)
Thor: Ragnarok
Bourne Ultimatium
Inside Man
Kill the Irishman
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The year is 2011 and Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt is having a really bad day. You see there are stolen top secret files, an explosive device has gone off in the heart of Russia and although the terrorist code named “cobalt” is to blame, the world believes that the IMF are to perpetrators for the attack. The president of the United States of America has just disavowed the IMF, oh and just to put the icing on the cake Hunt and his team of ragtag agents must prevent nuclear armageddon and they’re not even getting paid.
So begins the thrill ride that is Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) the fourth installment in the, by now, insanely popular Mission Impossible franchise. Now let’s delve into how and why this movie deserves a place in the Ultimate Action Movie Club hall of fame, if there was such a thing.
One thing for which the Mission Impossible franchise does not get enough credit from critics and the fan community is how it embraces its legacy as well as embracing innovation which is seen perfectly in this movie.
The overall of this method is to create something on screen that is completely iconic and recognizable as very Mission Impossible in tone and style but also absolutely reflects movie making today. This achieves something unique in long standing franchises.
Tom Cruise Once Again Assembles His Team
That mix of established and new is built upon perfectly in this movie. In front of the camera we have the return of Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg from previous installments but then you have the rising stars (at the time) of current action movie legend Jeremy Renner and the incredibly talented, kick ass, female action movie star Paula Patton who add that contemporary element to the movie.
Behind the camera were a perfect mix of those that had a previous relationship with the Mission Impossible movies and new blood which helps to drive the movie forward so that new audiences can feel like they’re watching something that stands out in the marketplace. This balancing act is executed perfectly with the return of J.J Abrams, who having directed Mission Impossible 3(2006) would return for this one as co-producer with Tom Cruise as well as the return of the legendary John Knoll as effects supervisor.
A real master stroke was to get the editor of the first Mission Impossible (1996), Paul Hirsch, this was a hell of a crew choice because not only do you have the feeling of franchise continuity onscreen and a return to the classy, noir style of the first movie but Hirsch is also a star editor in the world of movies. He is responsible for editing some of the greatest action movies ever made including Star Wars (1977) The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Falling Down (1993).
So with the veterans established the next part of the Mission Impossible formula to success had to be fulfilled, that of a director. The directors of the franchise have been the very best that the world of movies had to offer and that legacy needed to be continued. Research suggests that J.J Abrams was going to resume directorial duties for the fourth movie but due to other commitments couldn’t return in that capacity so the hunt began for a new voice to take on the franchise. In March of 2010 Brad Bird was in talks to accept this whole new mission.
A New Bird Finds Its Wings
Director Brad Bird on the set of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL, from Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions.
Brad Bird is a polymath of popular culture, a creative who can go from animation to live action productions with ease. You can feel the flavor of old school Hollywood in his productions, this could be because Bird was mentored at Disney by one of Disney’s legendary Nine Old Men, Milt Kahl. At Disney Bird was involved in that early, flawed but brilliant and completely underrated animated 1980s sword and sorcery classic The Black Cauldron (1985) which was one of Disney’s first attempts at doing a more mature themed action movie.
On the small screen Bird was creative consultant on The Simpsons for its first eight seasons and then in the year 2000 he joined Pixar after making the modern classic The Iron Giant (1999). At Pixar Bird would go on to create pop culture phenomenon The Incredibles (2004) which was a homage to action comics, especially those of Jack Kirby and 1960s spy movies. This recurring relationship between Hollywood glamour and creating big budget classic action made Bird a perfect shoo in for the Mission Impossible. This cocktail of director and franchise was perfect, especially in the second act of the movie.
Hunt Of Dubai
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol’s second act is possibly one of the greatest middle acts of any action movie ever made. It is carefully crafted and expertly executed, it is genuinely heart racing and completely engaging. We start with some incredible shots of the desert and the sweeping soundtrack by Michael Giacchino which is reminiscent of that action movie great, Lawrence of Arabia (1962). We then move on to a daring operation which will give the IMF agents a fighting chance of avoiding nuclear conflict in true Mission Impossible style by Ethan Hunt conducting himself in true acrobatic craziness.
Just as the stunts of each film outdid those of the last, the stunts in this movie just reach a whole new level. The stunt work was conducted on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest building. With clever use of Imax cameras, Tom Cruise’s peerless stunt work and just a dash of digital wizardry from Industrial light and magic, a completely immersive experience is created that has been seldom matched in action movies. This is, unbelievably, followed up by an absolutely visually stunning chase between Ethan and Kurt Hendricks in a sand storm. The sequence is full of action and incredible colors… It’s an experience the audience will not forget easily.
The Villains Legacy Continues
Another element of the film that audiences won’t forget easily is the chief villain of the movie, Kurt Hendricks. Codenamed Cobalt, he is played by the late great Swedish actor Mikael Nyqvist. Best known internationally as Mikael Blomkvist in the action crime thriller movies the Millenniumseries, which kicked off with The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo (2010) although Hendricks is nothing like the mild mannered, justice seeking Blomkvist.
Not even the villain in the third Mission Impossible movie played by the late, Philip Seymour Hoffman could match what we see here. The performance from Nyqvist is excellent and incredibly well rounded. He is a threat that is one of great menace which comes from the fact that the motivation of the character is the, very plausible, demon of extremism. The IMF are not just combatting yet another arms dealer but a fanatic who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. This really adds to the movie. Ethan Hunt is a character built by morality and this movie give him and his team a brand new threat. Nyqvist is an excellent foil against Tom Cruise and their final conflict is electrifying to watch.
The Franchise That Keeps Up with the Hits
It’s crazy to think that when this movie was released the state of the action movie had changed again from what it was when Mission Impossible 3came out. The action film had become more sophisticated and the franchises that were just starting out within the year of Mission Impossible 3’s release had become huge box office franchises, The Bourne films, Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond, the Chris Nolan Dark Knight trilogy were established and the Marvel cinematic universe was taking its first baby steps into greatness. In terms of storytelling what all of these franchises had in common was that the individual movies were all connected. Audiences were expecting bigger and more interconnected narratives and studios were getting people back a year or so down the line for the next in the series so just like all those other franchises Mission Impossible stepped up its game.
As well as story strands from the last movie forming the subplot to Hunt’s character arc as opposed to the movie being basically a stand alone adventure at the end of the movie we have a nice cameo from Luther played by a returning Ving Rhames. There is also a mention of the shadowy “The Syndicate” leaving that mix of just enough mystery for the audience to wonder who they are and opening up the all important call to adventure for the next installment. This once again demonstrates that this is a franchise with its finger on the pulse of studio trends and fan expectations and accomplishes both with skill.
Another UAMC Gem
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is an absolute gem of an ultimate action movie. It takes the best of the Mission Impossible formula, throws in new elements and is backed up by a great script, which is itself a fantastic mix of elements, including humor. There was a great director behind the camera who filmed great locations, fantastic action and an awesome cast who bring all of this together. This lead to the film being a huge success worldwide both at the box office and critically and the future for the franchise was well assured.
Jean-Claude and the Dolphster trapped in a submarine.
In what counts as officially their 5th action movie collaboration, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren finally get to combine their forces for good in Black Water. The movie, which is really a vehicle for Van Damme more than Lundgren, mostly takes place on a secretive “black-site” submarine and has Van Damme racing against the clock to escape and figure out who set him up.
JCVD and Dolph
As mentioned above, Jean-Claude and Dolph have appeared together in four films prior: Universal Soldier, Universal Soldier: Regeneration, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning and The Expendables 2. However Black Water marks the first time the two get to team up and both be the good guys. While not a buddy cop style partnership (like Lethal Weapon or Tango & Cash), JCVD and Dolph do get a fair share of mutual ass kicking here and there.
A New Direction
Black Water is helmed by a relatively unknown pilot, Pasha Patriki, who is making his directorial debut after spending several years as a Director of Photography on a wide array of flicks like Please Kill Mr. Know It All, The Sound and Gridlocked – the last of which being a solid action vehicle starring Dominic Purcell. Patriki’s style, as you would imagine, is very cinematic-minded as he casts Van Damme in harsh, moody nightclub lighting throughout his voyage through the dark corridors of the submarine.
Van Damme Under Siege
If anything, the premise of Black Water should have astute UAMC fans wondering how closely the film could resemble 1992 Steven Seagal classic Under Siege, which also has an action hero trapped at sea. The markings of a Die Hard-esque man-inside formula are also obvious, which Van Damme has already performed well in Sudden Death (1995).
UAMC Worthy?
However, as is the case with most modern action movies, a darker and rougher style is prevalent throughout. Black Water delivers some good action sequences though, only issue would be it spends more time establishing suspense and backstory and not nearly enough of Van Damme and Dolph tag-teaming bad guys in true UAMC style.
What are your thoughts on Black Water? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!
