The Rock (1996)
DIRECTOR: Michael Bay
CAST: Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, Ed Harris, Michael Biehn, William Forsythe, David Morse, John Spencer, Stuart Wilson, Philip Baker Hall, Vanessa Marcil, Claire Forlani, John C. McGinley, Tony Todd, Bokeem Woodbine, Danny Nucci
REVIEW:
Among the dime a dozen action flicks on the filmographies of director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, The Rock is one of the stronger (comparatively speaking) entries. It’s still firmly in the “check your brain at the door” category, but a buddy movie element and the charisma of stars Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery helps give a needed bump to the proceedings.
Continue readingAssassins (1995)
DIRECTOR: Richard Donner
CAST: Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, Julianne Moore
REVIEW:
If not for the involvement of action star Sylvester Stallone, one senses Assassins would be straight-to-video fare, and that’s where the quality level lies. For helmer Richard Donner, this is a disappointing step down from the Lethal Weapon series, and doesn’t represent anything more than a mindless diversion for any but the most undemanding of action fans. Continue reading
Virtuosity (1995)
DIRECTOR: Brett Leonard
CAST: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Kelly Lynch, William Forsythe, William Fichtner, Louise Fletcher, Stephen Spinella, Kevin J. O’Connor
REVIEW:
Virtuosity, from director Brett Leonard (playing in virtual reality for the second time after 1992’s The Lawnmower Man) and screenwriter Eric Bernt, is another in the mid-90s fad of “high-tech” thrillers, following Sneakers and The Net, and like the latter Sandra Bullock vehicle, it fails to offer up anything very original or creative, using a “futuristic” premise for a cheesy thriller long on generic action sequences and bad action movie dialogue and deficient on intelligence or thrills.
Continue readingThe Professional (1994)
DIRECTOR: Luc Besson
CAST: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman, Danny Aiello
REVIEW:
From French director Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita) comes this distinctly European-flavored action thriller that boasts some kinetic action sequences but has at its core an unlikely relationship between a lonely hitman and a young girl. Continue reading
True Lies (1994)
DIRECTOR: James Cameron
CAST: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Art Malik, Tia Carrere, Grant Heslov, Charlton Heston
REVIEW:
True Lies, the third collaboration between James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger, continues to showcase Cameron as a skillful filmmaker, but this time he’s done something a little different, blending grandiose action with comedy without feeling tonally schizophrenic. The injection of a high comedy quotient means True Lies‘ over-the-top action sequences don’t reach the edge-of-your seat tension of some in both Terminator installments, but it’s still a rollicking good time that both serves up plenty of action and makes us laugh.
Continue readingLethal Weapon 3 (1992)
DIRECTOR: Richard Donner
CAST:
Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Rene Russo, Joe Pesci, Stuart Wilson, Steve Kahan, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Mary Ellen Trainor, Nick Chinlund
REVIEW:
With the third time around, Lethal Weapon shows beginning signs of age (although it has not yet worn out its welcome as much as it would by the fourth outing ). Lethal Weapon 3 is entertaining, but it lacks the freshness of the first and second installments, settling into a tried-and-true formula. Continue reading
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
DIRECTOR: James Cameron
CAST:
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Joe Morton, Earl Boen
REVIEW:
With 1984’s The Terminator , then fledgling filmmaker James Cameron displayed narrative prowess, a deft hand with action sequences, and economical use of a limited budget. Continue reading
Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
DIRECTOR: Richard Donner
CAST:
Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Joss Ackland, Derrick O’Connor, Patsy Kensit, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Steve Kahan, Mary Ellen Trainor
REVIEW:
Stepping off the launching pad of 1987’s Lethal Weapon , 1989’s Lethal Weapon 2 is an entirely worthy sequel that in many ways actually improves on the first installment while keeping all of the same qualities. The action is bigger and more audacious, the chemistry between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover is as great as ever, and the addition of Joe Pesci adds a third spoke to the wheel that freshens things up instead of simply retreading the Riggs-Murtaugh bickering from the first film. Rare for a sequel, Lethal Weapon 2 feels just as fresh, or maybe even more so, than the original. Continue reading
Masters of the Universe (1987)
DIRECTOR: Gary Goddard
CAST: Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Courteney Cox, Meg Foster, Billy Barty, James Tolkan, Robert Duncan McNeill, Jon Cypher, Chelsea Field, Christina Pickles
REVIEW:
It’s possible that a successful movie adaptation could have been wrung out of the Mattel toy line and accompanying comic books and animated movies telling the fantasy adventure tales of the Conan-esque He-Man and his merry band, but it hasn’t been this movie. Its studio Cannon Group touted it as “the Star Wars of the eighties”, a rather hilarious overstatement (and also ill-fitting, considering there were two actual Star Wars movies in the eighties), but there is a (small) grain of truth in that statement, as this wannabe franchise owes, in thinly-veiled fashion, as much or more to being a cheap Star Wars knock-off as it does to its own source material.
Continue readingLethal Weapon (1987)
DIRECTOR: Richard Donner
CAST:
Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Mary Ellen Trainor, Steve Kahan
REVIEW:
The first of the popular Lethal Weapon series has more grittiness and less humor than its successors, but it’s a solid launching pad, only surpassed (arguably) by the second installment. In truth, the core of the movie’s (and the series’) success isn’t its police drama or action sequences, but the electric chemistry between stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. There have been many “odd couples” onscreen, but Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh set a bar to which many have aspired but few reached and almost none surpassed. This is a buddy action movie the way it’s properly done. Continue reading