Revenge is Everything in Brian Bosworth’s One Man’s Justice

June 18, 2018

The Boz is One Tough Bastard (1996)

If you’re on this site, then you already know how awesome Stone Cold is. A flop in its initial theatrical release, the Brian Bosworth Biker Saga is 1,000 metric tons of badass-ness that has gained a sizable cult following over the years.

And it truly deserves it. Stone Cold is one of the most entertaining ultimate action flicks to ever get made. But what if I were to tell you that there is another awesome, action packed Boz flick that you probably haven’t seen?

One that, in my opinion, sits toe to toe with Stone Cold in the amazeballs department? For those who don’t know, and the lucky few who do, I am talking about the criminally under-seen, direct to video action masterpiece… One Man’s Justice.

The Boz Man’s Justice

Also known as One Tough Bastard, One Man’s Justice is a 1996 revenge actioner “directed”* by Equilibrium’s Kurt Wimmer (*he was removed fairly early on into production, and the rest of the film was finished by producer Kurt Anderson, director of bad ass flicks such as Martial Law 2 with Cynthia Rothrock and Jeff Wincott, and Bounty Tracker, starring Lorenzo Lamas and Matthias Hues).

In it, The Boz plays John North, an Army Drill Sergeant and hand to hand combat instructor whose life is sent into a tailspin when his wife and young daughter are viciously gunned down by Marcus, played by Jeff Kober, after the daughter witnesses Marcus killing soldiers in cold blood who were attempting to sell him ammunition for a high tech new rifle. Although he is arrested, Marcus is set free due to his connections to Karl Savak, a corrupt federal agent, who Marcus was getting the ammunition for, played by Bruce Payne. Furious, North decides to take matters into his own hands and deliver bone snapping justice to all of the guilty parties.

Action Movie Alley

I remember seeing One Man’s Justice come on Action Pay Per View as a kid, and as a fan of Stone Cold, The Boz being in it piqued my interest. Watching it then, I remember thinking “Wow, this is pretty badass!”

As a kid who loved all things action, One Man’s Justice was right up my alley. Competently choreographed and well shot/edited fight scenes, gaudy shootouts, and high velocity chases, you name it. This flick had it all in spades. And with flair. This is a really well made DTV action flick. You couldn’t even tell there was a change in directors if I hadn’t just told you.

Now, I’m a fan of what Wimmer did with Equilibrium (Not so much Ultraviolet, though), and I would have loved to have seen what he could’ve done with this. But as is, the movie works perfectly. And I feel if Kurt Anderson was responsible for the movie we got, he definitely deserved the credit.

A Direct-to-Video Classic

Some of you may not remember, but this was a great time for action movies. A time when direct to video action flicks were not only just as good, but sometimes a lot better than the flicks we got in theaters. PM Entertainment were responsible for a whole bunch of those type of movies.

Movies like The Sweeper, Rage, Last Man Standing, and Zero Tolerance put a good portion of the action genre’s bigger budgeted, theatrically released brethren to shame. And this is one of them. A real kickass, old fashioned revenge flick with enough great fisticuff sequences to go around.

Bosworth Goes Steven Seagal

Speaking of the fisticuffs, while I was re-watching the film for the purposes of this review, I began to wonder if the movie was written with Steven Seagal in mind.

It has a standard Seagal movie plot, and all the combat techniques used throughout the movie seem to be somewhat inspired by Seagal movies. Lots of wrist twisting, body tossing, and neck snapping going on in here. Luckily, The Boz is up to the task, and he actually looks pretty damn good during the fight scenes.

And being a former football player, that’s really an achievement, as football players are not known for their fluid, graceful movements. He may not be as fluid and graceful in his movements as Seagal, but he looks proficient enough when he’s kicking all the ass. So big kudos to whoever his trainer was.

The Boz’s Greatest Performance

And while we’re on the subject of The Boz, in only his second leading role, he really had grown as an actor since Stone Cold, turning in a pretty good performance as a man who wants justice for his family, but comes into conflict with the actions he must take to get it. In the scenes where he is mourning his family, you’ll be surprised at just how believable he is.

The Boz actually makes you feel for him. He’s really good when he’s sad… but he’s a lot better when he’s mad. Because when he’s mad, he’s 100% badass! Perfect example is the scene where, right before he takes on a group of 5 guys, he calls 911 to request 5 ambulances! Ultimate badass stuff there!

Introducing DeJuan Guy

Supporting him is DeJuan Guy, playing the role of Mikey. Mikey is a troubled youth who, because of an absentee father, and a loving mother who unfortunately is always working, becomes a mainstay in the seedy streets of LA, and ends up running drugs for Marcus. Through a series of coincidences, he ends up helping North get the information he needs to track down the bad guys. Guy has the most difficult part in the movie: smart mouth kid who thinks he’s tough. Parts like that can get annoying VERY quickly.

But Guy makes it work, creating such an authenticity with his performance that you begin to believe him when he says the things he says. When Mikey threatens to beat up North on a few occasions, most would probably laugh.

Like “Look at this little punk acting tough.” But Mikey isn’t acting. He actually thinks he can. And Guy portrays that very well. His relationship with North becomes the heart of the movie, as North becomes his newfound protector and father figure, in hopes that he can set this kid on the right path to a better future.

The Ultimate Bad Guy – Bruce Payne

Well, I have now come to the point where I explain why this movie is a must watch, and here it is: Bruce Payne as Karl Savak. There have been a lot of great bad guys over the years in action movies. Gavan O’Herlihy as Manny Fraker. Vernon Wells as Bennett. Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber. John Lithgow as Eric Qualen. Just to name a few. And I firmly believe that Bruce Payne deserves to be mentioned among those names.

Seriously, the performance of Bruce Payne as corrupt FBI agent Karl Savak has to be seen to be believed. I know fans of this movie will definitely agree with me when I say that. Payne gives one of the greatest bad guy performances to ever grace an action flick. Everything about him is amazeballs! His look: Flashy suits, 2 nose rings, and a glorious 80s hair metal mullet. His cocky swagger. And especially, his dialogue. The lines this man delivers in here… dear god. No spoilers, just watch it to see what I mean. You just can’t get enough of him.

The Rest of the Cast

Backing him up is the underrated Jeff Kober as Marcus, Savak’s sniveling, street level lackey and the man who killed North’s wife and daughter.

His character provides a good amount of laughs, as Marcus is the subject of a lot of embarrassment throughout the movie, particularly at the hands of Savak. Also, MC Hammer is in here as street gangster Dexter Kane. Yes, you read that right. MC Hammer. Is in here. Playing a badass gangster. I kid you not. He’s not great by any means, though. He spends the entire movie sitting down.

He shows up intermittently to say something menacing and look tough. But just the fact that he’s there. Is that not enough to give this flick a try? Admit it. That right there has to be intriguing enough for you to look for it and give it a shot.

A Low Budget Success

I get it if you’re not intrigued, though. A lot of people might be turned off by the fact that this went straight to video, but I think the direct to video quality actually helps it more than harms it. Some people feel that if the film has a low budget and is DTV, it’s automatically a bad movie. I couldn’t disagree more.

The low budget gives this movie a charm that makes it more likeable than a lot of its bigger budgeted ilk. And while the plot is standard action movie plot, the well handled/fast paced action, the compelling story, and the great cast & characters really help elevate the movie beyond its low budget origins. So give it a shot. What have you got to lose?

Score another one for The Boz.

Let us know what you think about the article in the comments or on our Facebook page!

What makes the 80s and 90s action movies so ultimate?

Ultimate Action Movies

June 15, 2018

UAMC Discussion: When Does the UAMC Era Begin and End?

Before we dive into the ultimate action movies of the 1980s and 1990s, let’s start with what we do know. In the beginning, there were movies and they were OK. They started silent and in black and white. Over time they became musicals and comedies and romance films to entice people to their local cinemas for popcorn and cheese curds. However, for whatever godly reason that spurned it together, action movies began to appear. Sporadically at first over the decades, but by the 1980s they sprang up with full gun-blazing, chest-punching force – taking over pop culture with one explosive hit after another.

Ultimate Action Movie History

Then, almost as soon as they came, they dried up as time crept on into the early 2000s and into the present decade. Like the dinosaurs, or wearing hats as formal wear, action movies had their golden day in the sun and now we’re left picking up the pieces and wishing we’d bought more to keep with us until they inevitably rise again.

Until then, let’s examine this ultimate action movie age to see if we can trace its roots of when (and why) they sprang up, how long they enjoyed their heyday, and when they finally met their demise.

The Early Roots

As far as UAMC researchers can tell, the first signs of ultimate action movies came from genre films like the Western and itself from the Samurai classics. Here’s a great article on how Yojimbo and then A Fistful of Dollars influenced the modern action movie. From there action began become more of a stable of the cinematic experience. By the 1960s and 1970s came along, some signs of life caught action movie fire with some early breakouts with Steve McQueen in The Great Escape (1963), Clint Eastwood turning his cowboy into a cop in Dirty Harry (1971), Bruce Lee introducing the world to Chuck Norris and the concept of an American martial artists in Enter the Dragon (1973) and Charles Bronson flirting with the bloodletting prospects of vigilante justice in the original Death Wish (1974).

Early action movie roots can also be traced directly through some of the early directors who were laying the groundwork for future action franchises like Sam Peckinpah and John Carpenter. Which you can read about The Wild Bunch director’s influence here and Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 action roots here.

Here are some other ultimate action movie era precursors to remember and honor as well.

Our Man Flint (1966)
Where Eagles Dare (1968)
Bullitt (1968)
The French Connection (1971)
The Omega Man (1971)
Drunken Master (1978)
Mad Max (1979)
The Warriors (1979)

The Beginning of the Ultimate Action Era

By the time the 1980s rolled around, the world was ready for an ultimate action movie explosion as the movie industry took off with the rise of video cassettes, rentals and the birth of the modern blockbuster. The Ultimate Action Movie Club era can be said to roughly begin around 1982 with Sylvester Stallone’s first performance as Rambo in First Blood. The way was paved for the rise of the action movie greats like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson and the great Jean Claude Van Damme to fill marquees and Blockbuster store shelves.

A shortlist of some of ultimate action movie classics from the beginning of the UAMC era.

The Octagon (1980)
The Exterminator (1980)
Escape from New York (1981)
An Eye for an Eye (1981)
Enter the Ninja (1981)
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Death Wish II (1982)
Forced Vengeance (1982)
The Terminator (1984)
Red Dawn (1984)

The Golden Action Years

Between approximately 1986 and 1992 could be considered the greatest action movie period in history. This was coincidentally also the golden years of Cannon Films, which produced a countless number of UAMC classics in the era while launching the careers of the aforementioned Van Damme and reviving Bronson’s Death Wish franchise. I’d argue that the UAMC’s most prolific year was 1987 with Predator, Over the Top, RoboCop, Hard Ticket to Hawaii and Death Wish IV gracing the world with their ultimateness. However, any year in this era was ripe with action movie classics by all of the greats.

Aliens (1986)
Cobra (1986)
The Delta Force (1986)
The Running Man (1987)
Die Hard (1988)
Bloodsport (1988)
Tango & Cash (1989)
Hard to Kill (1990)
Death Warrant (1990)
Point Break (1991)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Under Siege (1992)
Hard Boiled (1992)

The End of the Ultimate Action Era

Unfortunately, as the 90s wore on, action movies began to suffer. The budgets were getting higher and higher, as were the stakes and sadly audience and critical annoyance. We could say that the unofficial end of the UAMC era comes between 1997 to 1999 most notably with Arnold’s campily awful performance as Mr. Freeze in Batman and Robin. Bruce Willis sadly had to give away screen time to Ben Affleck in Michael Bay’s Armageddon and as action movies began to shift either to self-aware versions of themselves like The Last Action Hero or cross-genre thrillers like the original Blade with Wesley Snipes.

Not to say there weren’t still plenty of ultimate action movie hits in the late 90s and into the early 2000s, to name a few below.

Face/Off (1997)
The Fifth Element (1997)
Rush Hour (1998)
Soldier (1998)
The Matrix (1999)
The Boondock Saints (1999)
The Order (2001)

The Modern Action Movie Landscape

As UAMC has discussed in reviews of some modern action movies like Brawl in Cell Block 99 and the Amazon series Jean Claude Van Johnson, the action movie landscaped has changed drastically. There are still several franchises recently rebooted or still going strong like Death Wish, The Equalizer, Rambo and Die Hard, but the feeling is different and the reception not quite the same.

That being said, there are still some up-and-coming actioners to root for like:

The Bourne Identity (2002)
Ong Bak (2003)
Kill Bill (2003/2004)
Crank (2006)
The Raid (2011)
Jack Reacher (2012)
John Wick (2014)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Upgrade (2018)

The genre will hopefully never die, as long as action movie fans exist, the movies will come. It’s important to keep the classics alive though, if only to keep their memory fresh in the minds of whatever comes next.

What do you consider to be the ultimate action movie era? Let us know your favorite action movie year and its best classics in the comments!

Mission Impossible 3: Tom Cruise Teams up with JJ Abrams

Ian Young

June 13, 2018

JJ Abrams Joins Tom Cruise’s Impossible Missions Force in M:i:III (2006)

Note: this article is on Mission: Impossible 3 (2006) – part of a 6-part series on all the movies in the Mission: Impossible franchise. Click here to read Part 1 on the original Mission: Impossible (1996) and Part 2 on Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)

In the summer of 2006 Mission Impossible was back. Ethan Hunt has retired from active field work and trains fresh recruits for the Impossible Missions Force. However the unfortunate capture of one of his students leads to him going back into the field.

Ranking the Mission Impossible Franchise Movies

The Mission Impossible Gap Years

It had been quite a gap between the massive success of Mission Impossible 2 (2000) and what would become Ethan Hunt’s third thrilling adventure. Pre-production would be a long and difficult journey, although interestingly, it does seem in this era of movie franchises that aim to pump out four or five films a year at the potential cost of quality, those that are behind the Mission Impossible franchise would rather produce good movies than produce movies quickly.

Mission Impossible 3 would be released in the summer of 2006 but pre-production actually started in 2002 with Hollywood Director David Fincher. The aim was that Mission Impossible 3 would be released in 2004. As interesting as the prospect of a Fincher directed Mission Impossible was, sadly it would not come to pass. Fincher would leave the project and audiences would be denied a thriller helmed by Fincher for whom other projects awaited.

Following Fincher’s departure Joe Carnahan had been selected to direct the third installment in the franchise. He had made an impression with his film Narc (2002) and would have been another interesting director for the movie. It would seem that the film had come some way along the process of pre production and there are some tantalizing elements in Narc that point to how the film would have been if he had directed it. We would have seen a movie about a lone wolf terrorist who the Impossible Missions Force would hunt down. Some casting decisions had been made, audiences would have seen the likes of Kenneth Branagh, Carrie Ann-Moss and Scarlett Johannson, which would have been awesome! Another intriguing part of the pre production was that Thandie Newton was asked to reprise her role as Nyah, unfortunately Newton declined and this vision of Mission Impossible was not to be.

A Changing Spy Game

While Mission impossible 3 was in pre production the action movie had changed… Just as Mission Impossible 2 was released in an era where the action movie had changed, by the time that Mission Impossible 3 was released action movie trends had moved towards espionage action thrillers such as The Bourne Identity (2002) and the Bourne Supremacy (2004). In part these films were appealing because they were a reaction against the big budget CGI festivals. This new brand of action espionage thriller contained an excellent mix of character and plot with the best possible action unlike many big budget action movies of the late 90s/early 00s which concentrated largely on computer generated spectacle. In contrast to this the action movies like the Bourne films concentrated on real world martial arts techniques. Stunts performed by the stars, which of course Tom Cruise pioneered with the first two Mission Impossible movies and he tradecraft of the espionage game replaced running up walls and stealth Aston Martins. Audiences gravitated to more mature themes which mirrored the darker post 9/11 world and more plausible, sophisticated action movies and the franchise that started the plausible spy thriller needed to raise its game.

Between the release of Mission Impossible 2 and Mission Impossible 3 being there was another fundamentally important change that would ultimately lead to Mission Impossible 3 finding its director. For a long time action television had laid effectively dormant. Long gone were the heydays of 80s action television. There were a few leading lights like Xena Warrior Princess from Sam Raimi’s Renaissance Pictures but with the best will in the world, complex storytelling was not an attribute you would give to those shows, but in 2001 action television was about to have a shot of adrenaline

Alias is the story of double agent Sydney Bristow who is an agent for the Central Intelligence Agency while posing as a operator for the evil organization SD6. The show had more mature themes and using fake aliases was a large part of the theme of the show, which of course was clearly inspired by the Mission Impossible franchise. The conflict of Sydney’s obligations in life made for compelling viewing and this was a show that was clearly standing on the shoulders of espionage fiction giants. The morally complex conflicts in the show were catnip to Tom Cruise who (like me and countless others) binge watched the first two seasons. Cruise was soon on to the shows’ creator J.J Abrams to take the director’s chair for Mission Impossible 3.

Tom Cruise and New Blood

One of Tom Cruise’s great talents when it comes to the Mission Impossible franchise is picking the best possible people to collaborate with J.J. Abrams on these movies. Mission Impossible 3 is further testament to this although Cruise was taking somewhat of risk in this being his directorial debut.

It’s difficult in the summer of 2018 to talk about Abrams as anything less than the renaissance man of pop culture, a quick google search will illustrate just the impact that he has had on the revival of action movies and television. He was effectively at the head of the successful reboots of the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises as well as a huge selection of other titles which, as action fans, you have all seen at least one of.

Rewatching Mission Impossible 3 you would have no idea that this was Abrams’ first feature. It is expertly directed and contains one of the best cold openings ever. The way that Abrams captures action in this movie is brilliant. He has an eye for capturing iconic spectacle and directs two of the greatest scenes in the Mission Impossible franchise. The Vatican City caper and the strike on the bridge which has got some breath taking action in it.

Abrams is certainly not solely responsible for the movie’s creative success, he is known to be a regular collaborator with screen writers and producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci and this was no exception on Mission impossible 3 where both co wrote the script. These guys were perfect for a franchise like Mission Impossible because they knew action. In fact both had kept action going on the small screen as writers and co executive producers of both Hercules the Legendary Journeys and Xena Warrior Princess, something that they don’t really get enough credit for. All three names were excellent choices to take the franchise into a new and interesting direction and it would be a massive springboard into turning these three names into pop culture legends.

The great success of Mission Impossible 3 is definitely the movie’s narrative structure, taking the brilliant conflict of Ethan Hunt’s professional life and his personal one. It makes for compelling viewing and that’s all down to the collaborative efforts of director, star and writers.

Impossible Mission Team Work

Collaboration is very evident with what goes on on screen as well. The cast of this movie is maybe the most impressive in the franchise. Tom Cruise continually demonstrates a quite frankly awesome mix of entertainment and physical prowess. Ving Rhames returns as Luther Stickell and the moments between him and Cruise are excellent. It has been great to see this friendship develop over the course of the franchise. The IMF team are full of fresh recruits such as the always watchable Jonathan Rhys Meyers, the incredibly talented Maggie Q as Zhen, who, interestingly will go on to play the principal in the latest television version of identity questioning espionage thriller Nikita, and Simon Pegg as the sort of Q tech aid to the IMF team, who performs the role with a mix of conviction, knowledge and laughs.

This casting is a little like Mission Impossible the next generation. As the previous film is so focused on Hunt’s story I think it’s an idea with mixed fortunes but the team gel very well and there is a real sense of working together for a common goal between them. This film also has Laurence Fishburne as the head of the IMF who plays the role with a moral ambiguity that keeps the audience guessing. There is also a great cameo from British actor Eddie Marsan. The real star of the movie is, however, the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman who is absolutely brilliant in the role of Owen Davian, a black market dealer. The villains in the Mission Impossible franchise have always been memorable but Davin is full of threat and menace. Every time he is on the screen the audience’s attention is grabbed and there are moments when you question if Hunt has met his match.

All’s Well That Ends Well

Mission Impossible 3 is a stunning debut from J.J. Abrams, it takes the very best of the formula of the two previous movie’s and weaves them together into a tight and tense espionage movie. It is well edited, the storytelling is incredibly strong and the performances are given by some of the best Hollywood had to offer at the time of production. Its location filming and action really pushes the story forward.

It perhaps doesn’t possess the style or glamour of the first two movie’s but makes something very contemporary and is a total thrill ride. The plot might be slightly derivative of Nikita (1990) and didn’t quite have the same cultural importance as the first two. Although it performed well at the box office it wasn’t quite the splash the first two where. Despite this Mission Impossible 3 is an incredibly well put together action movie which uses the Mission Impossible formula to maximum effect.

First Look: Keanu Reeves Heats Up in Siberia (2018)

Ultimate Action Movies

June 11, 2018

‘Siberia’ or Mr. Keanu Reeves Goes to Russia.

A new trailer for the latest Keanu Reeves feature – Siberia – has dropped. As the title and trailer would suggest, Mr. Reeves appears to be headed to the motherland to do some dastardly deals with diamonds. Reeves, who has been doing action yeoman’s work for the better part of three decades now seems to be on quite a run that deserves keeping an eye on. Let’s look at the details of Siberia.

A “Romantic Thriller”

Let’s be honest, this should be a red flag for any action movie fan. Thrillers in of themselves are not bad things, they’re just like Action Movies – lite. However, once the “romantic” qualifier gets tagged on, it means you may be in trouble. Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies comes to mind where you get 90 minutes of action – then another 51 minutes of Jamie Lee Curtis.

Siberia features Keanu’s co-stars to be Ana Ularu and Molly Ringwald, the latter being 50 – so we assume a mother character – and the former being 32 – so we assume the love interest. As the description would suggest, be prepared for a lot of screen time potentially for both.

Saban Films

Image via IMDB (Keanu Reeves, director Matthew Ross, and actor Vlad Stokanic)

For those who are unfamiliar with this logo card in the credit, you’re not alone. Saban Films is not the biggest brand name out there. In fact, upon research, they’ve only been around for a few years and mostly work in kids entertainment. Their most notable venture is purchasing the rights for Power Rangers from Disney. That being said, they have made a recent play into action, distributing Jean Claude Van Damme’s latest flick with Dolph Lundgren Black Water, Jason Momoa’s Braven and the Ethan Hawk vehicle 24 Hours to Live to name a few.

The John Wick Effect

Keanu Reeves, who has enjoyed a diverse career featuring a wide array of genres like Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The Devil’s Advocate and My Own Private Idaho, seems to be locked in to the modern actioner thanks in large part to his John Wick success. Siberia looks to be a safe bet to incorporate some Keanu revengance with inter-spliced with some romantic themes. Plus lots of Russians looking side-eyed and ornery as Keanu wears a variety of jackets.

Siberia is set to be in theaters and On Demand/Digital HD on July 13, 2018.

What do you think about Keanu Reeves in Siberia? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!

The 11 Greatest Chuck Norris Ultimate Action Movies

Iron Fist

June 10, 2018

The Chuck Norris of Best Chuck Norris Movie Lists!

In 1981, I nervously went up to the ticket window to purchase a ticket hoping I would be allowed in to the R-rated An Eye For An Eye. I was and had my life changed forever. Because of what I witnessed Chuck Norris do on screen, I set off on a lifetime journey of martial arts. Chuck Norris made me into the man I am today. NO JOKE! I believe that one of the greatest tragedies to befall movies was when Chuck Norris signed with Cannon Films and true martial arts died in cinema.

But for those of us old enough to remember seeing a pre-Cannon Chuck Norris movie in the theater, it was the equivalent of seeing Michael Jordan play basketball before he retired and went off to play baseball. So without further delay, here are the 11 greatest Chuck Norris and therefore Action Movies in history! Why 11? Because Chuck Norris can’t be contained in a Top Ten List!

Note: this article is a follow up to the original UAMC Chuck Norris Action Movie Rankings – which you can check out by clicking here – and let us know which you think is best!

The Top 100 Ultimate Action Movies of All Time

11) Missing in Action (1984)

1984 America was in a very strange place. We were not the unstoppable juggernaut we are today. Our perceived defeat in Vietnam and the failed Iranian hostage rescue were fresh in our minds. So Chuck Norris decided to rewrite some history and restore pride in America! This was a very personal film for him because he lost his brother in the war. In this, America is about to normalize relations with Vietnam.

The problem is there are many soldiers still considered missing in action and unaccounted for. This leads Chuck Norris to launch a one man invasion of Vietnam, rescue the POWs, steal a helicopter and set in down outside the capital proving that there are still POWs out there that are being sacrificed for political expediency! A rip roaring, patriotic good time at the movies The Cannon Way.

The first MIA movie was actually the second one filmed by Cannon. Missing in Action 2 was a low budget exploitation affair filmed in the jungles of Thailand. But someone at Cannon had the good judgement to realized if they released 2 first, it would kill the box office of the much better MIA. So they held off on it and Chuck’s transition from martial arts movies to bigger budget action fare had begun. Cannon repeated this formula of rewriting history with The Delta Force. These decisions were some of the better ones Cannon ever made.

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

10) Return/Way of the Dragon (1972)

Chuck Norris did this movie when he was the middleweight sport karate champion of the world. For those of you who don’t know, Bruce Lee didn’t believe in kicking above the waist until Chuck Norris showed him the high kicks in his arsenal of the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do.

So it was a no brainer when Lee wanted to film a fight scene between two modern day gladiators in the Roman Colosseum, he would choose Chuck Norris as his opponent. We were treated to a battle of a hard style of martial arts to Lee’s flowing Chinese style and his personal martial art of Jeet Kune Do. An all time classic in movie fights.

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

9) Good Guys Wear Black (1978)

Good Guys sees Chuck Norris as the former leader of an elite military unit whose retired members are now being assassinated stateside for political expediency. The message of the movie was a little heavy and it could have used a better ending, but in the meantime we see Chuck Norris do a flying kick trough the windshield of a moving car and boots a guy off a motorcycle over a cliff. Chuck Norris was really forced to stretch on his acting and never got proper credit for what he accomplished here in one of his first staring roles.

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

8) The Hitman (1991)

The only Cannon Film with Chuck Norris. I loved. It was a return to the gritty stories of the past where Chuck Norris plays an undercover cop betrayed by his partner, shot in the head and left for dead. Who emerges from the coma is not the same man who went in as Chuck Norris uses all manner of violence to storm his way up the criminal hierarchy. Rocking a mullet, earring and trench coat, he sets two criminal enterprises against each other as he extracts his revenge. A little short on martial arts but a great character prone to violence to meet his ends, but with a code of honor.

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

The Hitman: Chuck Norris’ Definitive Cannon Films Classic

7) Breaker! Breaker! (1977)

This was the definitive Chuck Norris contribution to the truck driver genre when his brother is imprisoned in a crooked town. Chuck Norris comes looking for him and all hell follows with, as he spins and roundhouse kicks his way trough the town before literally driving right trough it. Vintage Chuck Norris in his prime and serious fun for those of us not at the end of his kicks. The budget was so low, the final scene has Chuck Norris fight his brother in law, who was also one of his students. But it was a beautifully filmed fight scene.

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

6) Forced Vengeance (1982)

Perhaps the most action packed Chuck Norris movie ever with wall to wall fights. It sees him as the head of security for a casino that the Triaids are attempting to take over in Hong Kong.

When they murder his girlfriend, Chuck Norris dons his 82nd Airborne Army uniform and goes ballistic. Among the highlights of this movie sees a fight shot in front of a flashing neon billboard, another against an opponent wielding a staff and a finale where he takes on a hulking henchmen in one of the most brutal fights in an action movie.

You will know why Chuck Norris has facts after seeing this movie. Originally a script written for Eastwood but retooled for Chuck Norris.

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

5) A Force Of One (1979)

A Force of One sees Chuck Norris as a kickboxing champion in training to defend his title. When somebody starts murdering under cover police officers using martial arts, the cops turn to Chuck Norris for help. It’s a gritty 70s movie that shows a seedy underbelly of L A. In the films climax, Chuck Norris gets into the ring only to realize his opponent is the killer. The highlight of the movie sees Chuck Norris karate chop a crate of cocaine that’s thrown at him in half before going on to snap a neck and restore justice.

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

4) An Eye For An Eye (1981)

Chuck Norris plays an undercover narcotics detective whose partner is killed in an undercover buy. When he throws the offender out a window, he is forced to resign from the San Francisco PD and continue the investigation on his own.

In his corner is a female investigative reporter and his martial arts master played by Mako. There are some awesome action sequences that look like they belong in a much bigger movie and you will be dazzled as to what Chuck was capable of.

The end sees his square off against former 400 lb Japanese professional wrestler Toru Tanaka. This movie changed my life and it will change yours also!

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

3) The Octagon (1980)

This movie is the Chuck Norris Enter The Dragon – in that it’s his magnum martial arts opus. Chuck Norris plays a occidental raised by a ninja father and his son before he leaves the life behind to go on to be a martial arts champion.

When a mysterious woman shows up and tries to hire him to investigate a mercenary camp, Chuck Norris passes but his student eager for adventure falls into her orbit and gets himself captured. This leads Chuck Norris to invade the ninja compound that’s shaped like an octagon and confront his long lost step brother.

Chuck Norris in his prime spinning crescent kicks his way trough all the ninjas to a final samurai sword vs Kama/sickles confrontation with his brother. To see Chuck Norris in all his martial arts purity, I would start here.

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

2) Code of Silence (1985)

This movie should have been the Chuck Norris transition from chop sockey star to mainstream action hero, but alas he signed with Cannon. Chuck Norris plays Sergeant Eddie Cusack caught in the middle of a gang war between the Italians and Colombians for the drug trade in Chicago. A little light on the fight senses but packed with plenty of action across some great Chicago locations from the early 80s. If I remember correctly, this was a script written for Steve McQueen before his death. A bit a trivia, McQueen was a student of Chuck’s and actually talked him into going into acting. McQueen’s Advice: Just Play Yourself, Chuck.

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

1) Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)

This is the quintessential Chuck Norris movie. He plays Texas Ranger JJ McQuade taking on a arms dealer played by Kung Fu’s David Carradine. Carradine made some absurd demand that he would not be shown losing a fight to Chuck Norris, so his Tai Chi was shown losing to Chuck Norris. It has the best resurrection scene since Christ as McQuade drives his turbo charged Ford Bronco out of a grave he was buried in. This movie and character were so good, they cleaned him up, changed his name and put him on TV for nine years in Walker, Texas Ranger.

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

Last year, I fulfilled my lifelong quest to meet Chuck Norris at a comic con in Texas. He looks great and greeted each and every fan warmly. His hands were soft and warm, like he just got trough killing lots of bad guys. I asked his wife Gina if they had any movies in the works.

Sadly, she said no. I asked her about a story on the website City on Fire that Chuck was involved in a project by Isaac Florentine of the Scott Adkins movies was to direct called Blood Brothers about poachers in Botswana. She said they had no involvement in that and Chuck’s name was only floated to secure tax breaks. I told her I remembered a project Chuck was involved with in the early 80s called Devil’s Turf where he was to play a priest in a low income neighborhood based on a script from Pat Johnson I told her it would be the perfect project for Chuck at this stage of his career.

She smiled at me and it was then time for the line to move on. But how many people get to say they actually met their hero Chuck Norris! I can! And I have lived to tell the tale!

What are your top 10 Chuck Norris action movies? Let us know in the comments!

A Case for Under Siege Being Seagal’s Greatest Action Movie

Jourdan Aldredge

June 8, 2018

Steven Seagal is just the cook

In 1992 the fast-talking, hard-hitting, pony-tailing action star Steven Seagal was at the top of his game. Under Siege, which featured a big budget and top dollar cast of Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey and Erika Eleniak, was perhaps his greatest hit. In the vein of Top Gun, it was a true U.S. military classic that showcased that any American shmo could serve his country by ass kicking some terrorists – even the cook.

To Seagal’s credit, he had quite a string of successful actioners between 1988 and 1996. Above the Law, Hard to Kill, Marked for Death, Out for Justice, On Deadly Ground and Executive Decision stand out. But, as far as a complete Ultimate Action Movie, Under Siege may just take the cake as his greatest achievement. Let’s examine why.

Also, check out our UAMC Top 100 Action Movies list (Under Siege is #14 all time):

The Top 100 Ultimate Action Movies of All Time

An Ultimate Plot

As far as action movies of the era go, Under Siege has a surprisingly complex plot that delivers suspense, action and humor. Even for Seagal’s career up that point, his tough guy routine – which, let’s face it, Seagal is the ultimate action movie tough guy – was usually more straightforward as no-nonsense cop or detective.

Under Siege does a great job of giving Seagal more of a dynamic range as the reluctant hero. His Die Hard–shrewdness, witty one-liners and tactical tricks are all natural and earned throughout as the story moves and the stakes rise steadily. This is in large part to the great writing by J.F. Lawton, direction by Andrew Davis and the superb cast.

Giving it up for Steven Seagal in ‘Under Siege 2’ (1995)

Gary Busey at His Finest

As far as the Ultimate Action Movie Club is concerned, Gary Busey is a goddamn action movie legend. He’s like the saintly golden retriever who can do no wrong, even if he has a crooked grin and stumbles into doors when he gets excited.

I feel that by 1992, everyone in Hollywood knew what they were getting with Busey, including the quirks, the funniness and his damn solid acting ability. The decision to cast Mr. Busey as the deceptive Krill, and pit him squarely against Seagal in the beginning, did so much to making this movie work. Plus, any chance to put Busey in a wig with big fake knockers while manically chomping on a cigar is worth the price of the ticket any day.

5 Ultimate Examples of Gary Busey Losing His Goddamn Mind

Bad Guy Tommy Lee Jones

Overshadowing Busey’s epic role though, was one bad guy performance for the ages by Tommy Lee Jones as Bill Strannix. (Tommy Lee barely missed the cut on the UAMC list of Best Villains of All Time – but just barely!) Having an actor of Jones’ pedigree play the bad guy in an action movie can have mixed results. It can overshadow the star, or they can either phone it or over act it. However, Jones walks the line beautifully as the dangerous oddfellow Strannix, being both like-able and dangerous and absolutely hopeless once finally face to face with the invincible Seagal.

3 Reasons ‘U.S. Marshals’ is Better Than ‘The Fugitive’

Precursor to The Fugitive

Speaking of director Andrew Davis, Under Siege’s box office success was a huge hit for the budding director’s career. Davis, who had previously worked with Seagal on Above the Law (and previously worked with Tommy Lee Jones on The Package) – as well the UAMC Chuck Norris favorite Code of Silence – was able to secure directing The Fugitive directly after. While not an action movie per se – more of a thriller – it would go on to global acclaim as one of the most popular and profitable movies of 1993.

Steven Seagal Goes ‘Expendables’ in New Trailer for General Commander

Seagal’s Politics

Perhaps the biggest hit on Seagal’s legacy – which includes this classic – is his recent questionable political stances and relationships. His friendship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin being the most notable example.

However, there’s a theory, which I’m starting right now, that Steven Seagal is actually a deep operative American CIA agent who’s been sent to spend several years budding up with Vladimir Putin in Russia before suddenly – BOOM – sleeper hold in the middle of a Kremlin state dinner party. In which case, once Seagal’s mission is complete, his action movie legacy will come full circle and his UAMC reputation will be secured forever.

Let us know your thoughts on Under Siege in the comments!

Honoring John Carpenter’s Ultimate Action Movie Classics

Iron Fist

June 6, 2018

MBDCHRI EC008 — CHRISTINE, director John Carpenter, on-set, 1983, ©Columbia Pictures /

John Carpenter has a black belt in Action Movies!

John Carpenter is known as the maestro of the horror film as the director of two of the genre’s greatest movies in Halloween and The Thing as well as the yet to be acknowledged In The Mouth Of Madness. But this graduate of the USC Film School has also morphed across multiple genres in his filmmaking career such as science fiction, westerns, comedies, social satires and the genre near to all our hearts – Action Cinema!

Early Action Attempts

His first foray into action was a modern retelling of the western Rio Bravo in the 1976 movie Assault on Precinct 13. Made for under $100K with a cast of unknowns, it told the story of cops and criminals trapped in a decommissioned police station that need to put their differences aside when they come under siege from the street gang in retaliation for the murder of their leader. What follows is a cat and mouse game as the survivors repel attack after attack before they make their final stand. Suspenseful stuff done on a shoe string budget. An early scene shows a small girl get shot for no reason while eating an ice cream cone.

The MPPA told Carpenter the movie would be rated X if that scene remained. Carpenter told them he would take the scene out and got his R rating…and was such a rebel he left the scene in. This scene was the perfect metaphor for the senseless violence and utter brutality of the neighborhood the movie takes place in. This movie is considered one of the great exploitation movies of the 70’s and made Premiere Magazine’s list of Lost But Profound Movies.

Enter Kurt Russell

After tearing up the horror genre and single handily creating the slasher genre, Carpenter returned to action and his view of America in decline with 1981’s Escape From New York. He teamed up with Kurt Russell, who was eager to shed his clean cut image from his Disney movies…and shed it he did in creating one of the most memorable characters in all of pop culture- Snake Plissken! Set in the then future of 1997, Manhattan has become a walled in maximum security prison where the inmates are allowed to rule themselves. Into this hellhole crashes the President of the United States who was traveling to a peace summit with some MacGuffin that will bring about world peace.

The only man that can bring him out? One war hero who has turned his back on society named Snake Plissken, who is being sentenced there anyhow for trying to rob the federal reserve. What follows is the greatest B movie in history, as one eyed, world weary Snake shoots, cage fights and snarls his way trough this society like he owns the place. The climax has Snake rocketing across the boobytrapped Brooklyn Bridge, with the president in tow and The Duke played by Isaac Hayes standing in his way. The movie has one of the most nihilistic endings in history before The Thing came along.

Mr. Carpenter Goes to Chinatown

And what director wouldn’t want to make a martial art move? More specifically, a Wuxia movie, which is a Chinese hero movie characterized by magic, demons and exaggerated martial arts using wires and trampolines. I believe Carpenter has claim to being the first Western director to do one and set it in modern times. This was years before America embraced the genre with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon a decade later. Carpenter adapted a script from the guy who wrote Buckaroo Banzai, set it in modern day Chinatown, re-teamed with his buddy Kurt Russell and called it Big Trouble in Little China. Unfortunately 1986 America simply wasn’t ready for a film of this caliber.

Russell plays Jack Burton, a truck driver that comes to Chinatown to collect on a debt and finds himself embroiled in a Chinese demon’s quest to marry a green eyed American women. Russell’s performance is pure gold and one of the greatest subtleties of the script is that the blowhard American so full of himself fails to realize, he’s actually the sidekick in his own movie. The real hero is Chinese American Wang Chi played by Dennis Dun, who constantly steps up to save the day. You will grow to love this movie upon repeated viewings. Carpenter was so crushed by the failure of this and The Thing at the box office and the pressures the studios put him under, he left Hollywood and went back to making independent films.

The Mean Streets of LA

This year also seen the release of a car fu movie based on the first script Carpenter ever sold called Black Moon Rising. Carpenter had nothing to do with the making of this film but I consider it a minor classic. So much so I reviewed it on this site a couple of months ago. Carpenter also brought Russell back to the city in 1996 with Escape From L.A., but sadly lightening did not strike twice. Now with twice the budget, it came off as a scene by scene remake of the original with a few absurd and lazy writing action sequences-surfing or basketball, anyone?

Now Los Angeles is an island because of earthquakes, run by a revolutionary at war with the United States. Our president is a theocratic dictator who has made everything illegal under threat of death. When his daughter steals the launch code for a doomsday weapon, the only man who can go in is one Snake Plissken. Russell was starting to show his age on this film, and quite frankly so was Carpenter, and they phoned this one in. It did manage to top the ending of the first one as Snake fixed the world his way!

Action Mixed with Politics

1988 saw Carpenter tackle social satire in trying to explain the Reagan 80s and make the greatest use of a professional wrestler in movie history with They Live. How did Carpenter explain America’s slide this time? Aliens! Walking among us and controlling us trough subliminal advertising. Humanity’s last hope is a couple of working stiffs played by Roddy Piper and Keith David, who discover a type of ray ban sunglasses that allow us to see the aliens and society as it really is. What elevated this movie is perhaps the most beloved and brutal fights in movie history between our two heroes over putting on the sunglasses.

Six minutes long in an alley in all its head butting, knee dropping, suplexing and nut crushing glory. From there, they join forces with an underground resistance and storm the TV station broadcasting the subliminal messages and engage in all manner of mayhem to get to the satellite dish to try and save the world. But does it care and does it even want to be saved? This movie harkens back to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, only now we are awake. It’s a modern classic made before the internet and the current political climate that screams out to be remade!

Editor’s Note: Read the full UAMC review on how THEY LIVE is still relevant today here!

The Supernatural James Woods

1998 saw Carpenter conquer one of the few genres he had left to conquer with Vampires. In it, James Woods plays a vampire hunter for the Catholic Church whose out for revenge and to keep the vampires from acquiring an object that will allow them to walk in the light. If that sounds a lot like Blade, you wouldn’t be wrong but Blade beat it to the punch with a better telling and budget and completely eclipsed this gem.

But it did turn out to be Carpenter’s last box office success and he took it on because he taught of it as a modern day Western, not realizing what the vampire genre would become. Once again, Carpenter was well ahead of his times. It deserves a look to see how vampire movies have evolved and to see James Woods in full on action mode. Pity the vampires!

Escape from Mars

Carpenter’s last theatrical release was 2001’s Ghosts of Mars. Here’s some great backstory that will justify a repeat viewing of the property. Originally, it was titled Escape From Mars and was supposed to be the third film in the Snake Plissken Chronicles. The problem came when the suits at the studio looked at LA’s box office returns. They then decided they needed a more bankable star to play the most dangerous outlaw in the galaxy. They passed on a pre-Transporter Jason Statham and instead cast Ice-T, in a story about a prisoner transport gone wrong after a human colony is possessed by the spirits of dead aliens. Normally, I would tell you to just watch Pitch Black instead. But if you have the imagination to see Snake Plissken instead of Ice-T, and think of what this movie could have been, it bears a repeat viewing.

John Carpenter’s Action Movie Legacy

Sadly, Hollywood has taken to mining the titles and remaking much of Carpenter’s best work. 2005 saw a remake of Assault on Precinct 13 that was actually pretty good. 12 years ago, there was talk of an Escape From NY remake staring Gerald Butler that went nowhere. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is currently attached to a Big Trouble reboot. Carpenter scripted a 14 issue run on a Big Trouble comic book by Dynamite that served as a direct sequel to the movie. 2015 also saw Carpenter successfully sue action giant Luc Besson for plagiarism for a 2012 movie called Lockout, which was basically Escape From NY on a space station.

We have also seen a number of his films get reissued on Blue Ray with all new commentary tracks by Carpenter himself. But to purists like myself remakes, homages and outright ripoffs will never do Carpenter justice. We will always have Carpenter’s original body of work across the action and horror genres. And for that, we should be eternally grateful to one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th Century. John Carpenter Lives!

Let us know what you what you think in the comments or on our Facebook page!

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

Ultimate Action Movies

June 4, 2018

The most ultimate from the Muscles from Brussels – Jean Claude Van Damme!

Jean-Claude Van Damme is a certified ultimate action movie god. The Belgian known simply as Van Damme, JCVD or The Muscles from Brussels parlayed his excellence in karate and bodybuilding into one of the most successful action movie careers of all time. At his prime, his name was on the level of other greats like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris and Sylvester Stallone.

Here at the Ultimate Action Movie Club, we’ve covered his Van Damme-ness’s exploits well. From breaking down the elements that every JCVD movie needs to hitting on his great action movie names to interviewing his favorite writer and director Sheldon Lettich.

Now, based on community feedback and the UAMC writing staff, we’ve put together our ultimate list ranking Jean Claude Van Damme’s greatest action movies. Let’s dig in.

Note: a few rules for this list – Van Damme must be the star protagonist in the film (which rules out UAMC-favorite No Retreat No Surrender from our list). Also we only focus on the ULTIMATE ERA between 1980 and 1999 (which rules out late-era classics like The Order and his recently cancelled TV series Jean-Claude Van Johnson).

And if you’re looking for more Top 10 Lists to read up on (or argue about with your friends later), here are some more official Ultimate Action Movie Club rankings to check out:

The Top 100 Ultimate Action Movies of All Time

Honorable Mentions

Just so these aren’t buried at the end, let’s give these under appreciated classics some light. It is the UAMC’s opinion that there is no such thing as a “bad” action movie – and for Van Damme, that rule is double true.

Even Double Team, for example, is an ultimate action movie classic as the rest. We’d also like to give our respect to the following Van Dammers which didn’t make our list, but should always be highly remembered.

10) Legionnaire (1998)

Oh snap, hot pick coming in here at 10. While Legionnaire may not be the most kickass fighting flick of Van Damme’s heyday (to be fair, he doesn’t even attempt a kick in the movie), it is an ambiguous fun period piece that was perhaps Van Damme’s greatest acting achievement. Written by the aforementioned Lettich, Van Damme’s portrayal of a French “legionnaire” on location in Morocco truly showcases JCVD’s staying power past the action movie golden age.

Legionnaire: Van Damme’s Period Desert Epic

9) Cyborg (1989)

Besides being notable for having one of the most ultimate bad guys of all time (Vincent Klyn as Fender Tremolo), this Albert Pyun flick was a true Cannon Films classic. Originally written for Chuck Norris, Cyborg would prove JCVD’s star status as a follow up to his successful debut in Bloodsport one year later. A true cyberpunk smasher, Cyborg is worth visiting again and again.

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

8) Timecop (1994)

If there’s one movie that showcases all of Van Damme’s acting, kicking and splitting prowess – it’s his 1994 sci-fi time travel classic Timecop. To quote noted Van Damme expert Jack Beresford, “here was a film that defied genre convention to deliver an enjoyably slick sci-fi yarn alongside the usual high kicking action.” Timecop was another $100 million dollar bonnet in Van Damme’s unprecedented box office run which should always be remembered in spite of its awful Van-Damme-less sequel.

Timecop: When Van Damme Did Action Sci-Fi Right

7) Universal Soldier (1992)

One of many Jean Claude Van Damme movies to spawn a franchise, Universal Soldier pits Van Damme with fellow UAMC favorite Dolph Lundgren in another sci-fi actioner. Universal Soldier gave Van Damme plenty of room to act and ass kick against the famous Rocky foe in a critically missed classic. Universal Soldier would go on to earn over $25 million domestically and $65 million overseas against its $23 million dollar budget.

JCVD News: A Universal Soldier Remake is on The Way

6) Double Impact (1991)

Directly preceding Van Damme’s Universal Soldier success was perhaps his most ultimately lovable dual role performance in Double Impact as Alex and Chad Wagner. Acting aside, Double Impact was the first movie to reunite Van Damme with his buddy Bolo Yeung from Bloodsport and another working with Lettich. Van Damme’s “twins” motif would become one a performance staple coming up again in Timecop, Maximum Risk, and Replicant.

Jean-Claude Van Damme Wanted to do a ‘Triple Impact’ Sequel to ‘Double Impact’

5) Lionheart (1990)

Lionheart, only a few movies off Van Damme’s breakout in Bloodsport, would prove to be a career cementing actioner that showed off both Van Damme’s fighting as well as his soft side (and not just from his trademark butt shots). However, as John Acquavita points out in his spot-on review, “there’s no love interest, no slain karate master to avenge, no sidekick to train, and no yelling police chief … it’s a hand-to-hand, martial arts action movie first, second and third.”

Lionheart (1990): Van Damme’s Forgotten Masterpiece

4) Sudden Death (1995)

Part out of respect and part out of money, it seems that after Die Hard blew the world away in 1988, almost every action movie star got a chance to take a stab at the same concept in one way or another. Van Damme got his in 1995 with Sudden Death, where – instead of an office building – he must Die Hard his way through an NHL hockey game. With a great performance by Powers Boothe, a memorable showdown with a man in a mascot costume, and some clutch goalie saves on the ice by Van Damme himself – Sudden Death still kills on all accounts.

Sudden Death: When Jean-Claude Van Damme Checked Die Hard

3) Kickboxer (1989)

After the success of Bloodsport, Cannon Films was quick to capitalize on Van Damme’s breakout performance on Van Damme’s kickboxing abilities with, well, Kickboxer in 1989. The movie reunited Van Damme with his old sparring partner Michel Qissi – who played his film nemesis Tong Po. Kickboxer delivers the Bloodsport hits note for note at time, but with some more advanced plot lines and deeper training montages, plus a dance for the ages, still stands as one of Van Damme’s most endearing and famous flicks.

First Look at Van Damme in Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018)

2) Hard Target (1993)

Hard Target is notable for two very ultimate reasons:

It was the first American film by acclaimed Hong Kong action director John Woo
Jean-Claude Van Damme’s mullet

Another action movie played off of “The Most Dangerous Game”, Hard Target was a pure Woo-ian romp through the Cajun countryside of New Orleans in all its high kicking, guns-blazing, snake-punching glory. Van Damme looks glorious in his long curly mane as Woo’s introduction to Western cinema is explosive, awesome and beyond ultimate.

John Woo Takes a Dual-Pistoled Leap into Hollywood

1) Bloodsport (1988)

And finally, as should come as no surprise for any Van Damme fan, but the number one JCVD action movie is of course Bloodsport. For us at the Ultimate Action Movie Club, we just can’t stop watching, talking and writing about it – here are the 10 Reasons Bloodsport is Van Damme’s Magnum Opus by the great Will Carter – as it truly is the action movie that keeps giving.

Bonus: see how our ranking compares with fans votes on IMDB here.

From Bolo Yeung’s performance as Chong Li to Forest Whitaker’s half assed chase scene, we ultimately love Bloodsport because it brought us Jean-Claude Van Damme. Before Bloodsport, JCVD was just a simple Belgian kid looking to make his mark in Hollywood, and after, he was a bona-fide action movie legend.

Buy Van Damme Movies Online

In honor of one of the most ultimate greats, we salute Jean-Claude Van Damme for all his masterpieces. If you have another flick to mention, or how you’d make your Top 10, let us know in the comments!

Mission Impossible 2: Hong Kong Takes Over Hollywood

Ian Young

June 2, 2018

Tom Cruise meets John Woo in M:I-2

Note: this is Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) – part of a 6-part series on all the movies in the Mission: Impossible franchise. Click here to read Part 1 on the original Mission: Impossible (1996).

By the summer of 2000 the action movie was absolutely back in favor with audiences and Mission Impossible had been at the very birth of that renaissance. The action movie had evolved quickly but more effort was put into special effects than star power. Films such as the The Matrix (1999) and the return of both the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises on the big screen were wowing mainstream audiences with action presented in a way they had not seen before.

Although the first Mission Impossible movie contains some action that is thrilling to this day, it owed more to the more grounded, mature techno thrillers of Tom Clancy and William Gibson than it did to high concept sci-fi. With movie goers tastes very much concentrating on big spectacle sci-fi fare the Mission Impossible franchise moved with the times.

Ranking the Mission Impossible Franchise Movies

A Mission Impossible Sequel

Several of the action sequences for the movie had already been decided before a script had been written and interestingly two big names in sci fi where brought in to give a sci fi edge to this spy film. Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga both had a long standing relationship with the Star Trek franchise and they gave Mission Impossible’s first sequel a push in the direction of this tone and genre that were so popular at the time .

It’s often the way with a groundbreaking action movie that with its influence being felt everywhere and built upon in other movies that the need to innovative and break out of that mold becomes apparent. This was incredibly true for the second Mission Impossible film. It changed action movies, giving them a darker psychodrama that the first Mission Impossible had. From the aforementioned The Matrix (1999) to Xmen (2000) and Lara Croft Tomb Raider (2001) all contain the fingerprint of the first Mission Impossible. This meant that the sequel had to aim for just as much impact. The first movie’s director gave subsequent action movies that feel so a new director would be needed to reinvigorate the franchise.

Our man from China

Something else would happen to action movies in the 1990s that would prove vital to the development and success of the second Mission Impossible. Asian action cinema was being looked at by Hollywood with new eyes. Hong Kong stars were coming to America’s attention. Jackie Chan was breaking into international audiences and Michelle Yeoh was a Bond girl in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). Another Hong Kong action cinema star would grab the director’s chair for Mission Impossible 2. That man was John Woo.

The action cinema of John Woo had long been admired by fans before Mission Impossible 2 with his chaotic action sequences, gunplay and slow motion. In fact Woo had been having success in the Hollywood system for some time with films like Hard Target (1993), Broken Arrow (1996) and Face/Off (1997). Part of Woo’s style is the perfect blend between large action sequences and emotional characterization where the protagonist and antagonist share resentment for one and other on almost a mythic scale. With this kind of style, pedigree and reputation, he was perfect to carry the franchise forward.

In front of the camera

Now that Tom Cruise had assembled world leading talent behind the camera one of Mission Impossible 2’s greatest challenges was to match the incredible cast that had come together for the first film. This film doesn’t disappoint. One of the real merits of the first movie was its cast and how careful casting in that movie allowed the actors, particularly Cruise to telegraph the emotion of the movie to the audience and this is an element of the franchise that is really built upon in Mission Impossible 2.

Tom Cruise shows real character development as Ethan Hunt, in the first movie he was a man on the run betrayed by his mentor and in Mission Impossible 2, Hunt is in control of his destiny, an international man of mystery (Cruise would cameo as Austin powers). He is confident and classy with an easy smile and is happy with bending the rules. His nemesis Sean Ambrose is brilliantly portrayed by Dougray Scott who plays the role perfectly with psychopathy and avarice.

Thandie Newton as Nyah

The performance that absolutely steals the show is Thandie Newton who plays Nayh. Newton absolutely shines in this movie, her character is brilliantly set out and developed throughout. I spent most of the film asking myself why Newton had never been cast as Catwoman. Nayh is full of feline grace and moral ambiguity. It’s not just the principals that are great, the supporting cast are also brilliantly put together… You have the return of Ving Rhames as Luther Strickell, who brings the audience a sense of continuity from the first movie.

Richard Roxburgh brings a memorably sinister performance as henchman Hugh Stamp and a small but brilliant show by Brendan Gleeson as well as an excellent cameo from screen legend Anthony Hopkins as the cold as ice IMF mission commander. The foundation of creating a great cast around Cruise and building upon it by really developing those characters really helps the overall effect of the movie.

Acrobatic insanity

The action set pieces for this movie are fantastic. From the famous opening credits sequence to the escape from the lab in the second act, to the excellent final action sequence which shows off all of John Woo’s directional flair. That duel on motorbikes between Hunt and Ambrose is possibly one of the best action sequences of the early 21st century. Although the pacing of this movie may not be as tight as the first the action is well worth waiting for. It is backed up by an impressive musical score by Hans Zimmer which really enhances the action.

Mission accomplished

Mission impossible was a huge success commercially, it was the most financially successful film of the year 2000 and definitely caught the popular imagination of the cinema going public. The film was supported by songs from Limp Bizkit and Metallica which were both successful as well as by a healthy promotional campaign. Critically the film also fared quite well although many retrospective reviews have pointed out flaws in the movies pacing and its similarities to Goldeneye (1997). Mission Impossible 2’s greatest legacy is that it cements the property as a franchise and also defines the formula that the franchise will follow.

18 years on

I first sat down to watch Mission Impossible 2 some 18 years ago in my local cinema and I remember coming out into the hot summer’s day absolutely buzzing. Having watched it again for this retrospective I came away with exactly the same feeling… Woo deals with his material with style and sophistication. The first act of the movie is a thriller worthy of To Catch a Thief (1955) and the rest of the movie is peppered with great performances and epic action. Take a seat with a massive bucket of popcorn and revisit this true summer action classic.

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The Boz’s Greatest Performance

Introducing DeJuan Guy

The Ultimate Bad Guy – Bruce Payne

The Rest of the Cast

A Low Budget Success

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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

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UAMC Discussion: When Does the UAMC Era Begin and End?

Ultimate Action Movie History

The Early Roots

The Beginning of the Ultimate Action Era

The Golden Action Years

The End of the Ultimate Action Era

The Modern Action Movie Landscape

JJ Abrams Joins Tom Cruise’s Impossible Missions Force in M:i:III (2006)

The Mission Impossible Gap Years

A Changing Spy Game

Tom Cruise and New Blood

Impossible Mission Team Work

All’s Well That Ends Well

‘Siberia’ or Mr. Keanu Reeves Goes to Russia.

A “Romantic Thriller”

Saban Films

The John Wick Effect

The Chuck Norris of Best Chuck Norris Movie Lists!

11) Missing in Action (1984)

10) Return/Way of the Dragon (1972)

9) Good Guys Wear Black (1978)

8) The Hitman (1991)

7) Breaker! Breaker! (1977)

6) Forced Vengeance (1982)

5) A Force Of One (1979)

4) An Eye For An Eye (1981)

3) The Octagon (1980)

2) Code of Silence (1985)

1) Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)

Steven Seagal is just the cook

An Ultimate Plot

Gary Busey at His Finest

Bad Guy Tommy Lee Jones

Precursor to The Fugitive

Seagal’s Politics

John Carpenter has a black belt in Action Movies!

Early Action Attempts

Enter Kurt Russell

Mr. Carpenter Goes to Chinatown

The Mean Streets of LA

Action Mixed with Politics

The Supernatural James Woods

Escape from Mars

John Carpenter’s Action Movie Legacy

The most ultimate from the Muscles from Brussels – Jean Claude Van Damme!

Honorable Mentions

10) Legionnaire (1998)

9) Cyborg (1989)

8) Timecop (1994)

7) Universal Soldier (1992)

6) Double Impact (1991)

5) Lionheart (1990)

4) Sudden Death (1995)

3) Kickboxer (1989)

2) Hard Target (1993)

1) Bloodsport (1988)

Tom Cruise meets John Woo in M:I-2

A Mission Impossible Sequel

Our man from China

In front of the camera

Thandie Newton as Nyah

Acrobatic insanity