Mechanic : Ressurection (2016)

Summary 
Arthur Bishop thought he had put his murderous past behind him when his most formidable foe kidnaps the love of his life. Now he is forced to travel the globe to complete three impossible assassinations, and do what he does best, make them look like accidents.

Genre : Action
Country : USA/France

Cast : 
Jason Statham : Arthur Bishop

Jessica Alba :  Gina
Tommy Lee Jones : Max Adams

Director : Dennis Gansel

My opinion

“I spend my whole life settin' people up to die
Let's set you up to live.”

Believe me, I'm an avid fan of Jason Statham and won't refuse to watch a film in which his muscularity appears. In addition, I also realize that a real Jason Statham movie won't ask much effort from your brain. Most of his films are brainless movies in which a lascivious, wellformed beauty occurs from time to time. In addition, Statham's talents as an action figure and practitioner of martial arts is extensively demonstrated in these movies. And that's exactly what you can admire in "Mechanic: Ressurection". The film has just begun and Statham already needs to dig up his fighting techniques. Unfortunately, the rest of the film is of a pitifully low level. It's rather a mind below zero movie with a totally meaningless and paper thin story, ridiculous developments and forced interactions between the main actors.

Well, there's always something to complain about. Statham playing a character part as in "Hummingbird" with less emphasis on the action, is also a reason for some to start grumbling. And in this movie there's a lot of fighting going on. But isn't that actually the main reason why we watch a Staham movie? Those brutal fight scenes where he uses every attribute he can lay his hands on? An absence of high quality dialogues and his static facial expression is part and parcel. The problem lies in the overarching story interwoven with the three subplots. The three murders Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) has to commit in a sinecure way (so that it looks like an accident) have been worked out masterfully. It's like watching three "MacGyver" episodes. And the second one is the most hallucinatory and impressive one.

The movie's weaker half is the romantic part where Statham needs to show his sensitive side. He can use his triceps and biceps convincingly. But this stands in stark contrast to the use of his heart muscle. It seems rather contrived. However, if you look at the appearance of Jessica Alba, you totally understand that the adrenaline in Statham begins to function in a very different way. Alba is a beautiful appearance and luckily (for the male audience) there are many exotic beaches used as a scenery, making it mandatory for her to walk around and swim in bikini. Sadly, her part is limited to playing as a bait for Bishop. And obviously she demonstrates her feminine vulnerability constantly. Until a fury in her emerges and suddenly she masters effective combat techniques.

Ultimately, "Mechanic: Ressurection" is just a pure action movie that serves as demonstration material for Statham's ability as an action figure. The landscapes are beautifully portrayed. The three murders technically may not really be feasible, but are still imaged in an ingenious way. Jason Statham plays the cool guy who's forced to rescue the damsel in distress. Jessica Alba looks appetizing. And Tommy Lee Jones shines as wealthy arms dealer who has the appearance of an old hippie. These are all the positive remarks in a nutshell. If you have no problem with the fact they've put the focus in this movie solely on the mindless action moments and the rest is nothing more than an empty box, you'll be safe with this film.

My rating 4/10
Links : IMDB

I am wrath (2016)

Summary 
A man is out for justice after a group of corrupt police officers are unable to catch his wife's killer.

Genre : Action
Country : USA

Cast : 
John Travolta : Stanley

Christopher Meloni : Dennis
Amanda Schull : Abbie

Director : Chuck Russell

My opinion : 

“What could be worse than the man who killed my wife walks out of here like it’s a joke!”

Liam Neeson excelled in the "Taken" trilogy. Denzel Washington did it in "The Equalizer". Keanu Reeves in "John Wick". And now John Travolta can prove himself in "I am wrath". Those four guys have the following characteristics in common. They've passed their 50th birthday (Neeson, Travolta and Washington even their 60th), have a respectable career behind them and for their age they still look virile enough. The four took their chance to show that they are still able to bring a physically demanding role to a successful conclusion. And isn't such a revenge movie, full of cool action scenes and opportunities to finish off some irritating rascals, most suitable for this? I even start to believe that this is a midlife bucket-list item of older Hollywood stars. Just don't start to exaggerate like Bruce Willis! But that's beside the point.

So, Travolta as the self-made avenging angel Stanley, who swings into action, along with his former colleague Dennis (Christopher Meloni), when his wife Vivian (Rebecca De Mornay) gets killed. The perpetrator of this fact, which happened in an underground garage, is being arrested and Stanley recognizes him during a line up. To his surprise however, the thug is released real quickly. Time to take the law into his own hands. Stanley breaks through a thin wall in his closet and reveals a well-hidden bag, full of toys for adults. Doesn't this sound familiar? Yep. Keanu Reeves also broke up his basement floor and dug up his well concealed shooting equipment.

And actually, that's what ruined this action-packed revenge movie a bit. It certainly isn't so bad. But it isn't really exceptionally good either. It has been shown countless times in other movies. Even the way of firing a handgun, resembles that of John Wick. The only one who brought a bit of entertainment was Dennis, who works as a hairdresser. A beautiful barber shop as a cover up, with an arsenal of weapons in the basement which can be tested on the (probably soundproof) shooting range. Clearly his past has given him steely shinbones. He needed that when he was beating up a group of petty criminals. Apparently those two friends were part of a special unit. So you don't want them as an enemy. Yet I found it strange that Stanley, despite his professional past, could be overpowered so easily by such an ordinary punk.

But it would be unfair to say that this "straight to video" is completely rubbish and utter crap. Indeed, we've seen it all before and it's similar to other revenge films. And yes, without a doubt you can make a list of much better films. But besides "Criminal Activities", all the recent films Travolta played in are from the same level. No highlights, but plain average. And so is "I am wrath". It offers what you expect. An action-packed film, filled with punch-ups and shooting. Stanley and Dennis were quite humorous as a duo sometimes. Certainly when Meloni appeared on screen, the scenes became more interesting. This is due to Travolta or Meloni? I don't have a clue, but compared to what Meloni did in "Small Time", it was a pleasant surprise. I hope Travolta will surprise me next year in "The life and death of John Gotti".

My rating 5/10
Links : IMDB

Falcon Rising (2014)

Summary :
John "Falcon" Chapman is a dark anti-hero driven by guilt and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, who will destroy himself unless given something else to destroy - a useful weapon-of-last-resort for the U.S. State Department. When Chapman's sister is brutally attacked while on assignment in Brazil, Chapman flies into Sao Paulo to track down her assailants, quickly entering the city's seedy underbelly and discovering a world of drugs, the sex trade, corrupt cops, and organized crime syndicates battling for control.

Genre : Action
Country : USA

Cast : 
Michael Jai White : John Chapman

Neal McDonough : Manny Ridley
Laila Ali : Cindy Chapman

Director : Ernie Barbarash

My opinion : 

“When you work with animals you’re bound to get bit”

Dumb, dumber, dumbest. That was my first thought after seeing this action flick. Despite that I've always been a fan of hard, straightforward actionmovies and an ardent fan of films with Jean-Claude Van Damme (and that's not because he's a fellow countryman) demonstrating his fighting techniques. Even a film with Steven Seagal (in his heydays when he still had enough oxygen to whirl round his opponent) would get my attention. But compared to these old-school action movies, "Falcon Rising" isn't a big deal. Even the grimace John Chapman (Michael Jai White) had on his face after overpowering two robbers in a shop, is a lame imitation of Van Damme's or Bruce Lee's victory grin.

In terms of predictability this film tops everything. Falcon (the nickname of John Chapman) is a former Marine suffering from PTSD. And apparently he doesn't experience joy in life anymore. As a result, he sits at home in his shabby couch, playing a game of Russian roulette and consuming gallons of liquor. Until it appears that his sister Cindy (Laila Ali. Yes, daughter of the famous boxing legend), a kind of Mother Teresa helping in the favelas of Rio, has been found more dead than alive. Of course Falcon finds the miraculous power to put aside his drinking problem plus suicidal tendencies and flies straight to Brazil. Having arrived there, he starts searching for those responsible immediatly and bumps into both meaningless local rascals as drug gangs. Even the notorious Yakuza are involved somehow. And yes, also a couple of corrupt cops turn up.

I know these type of films don't exactly excel in coming up with a credible and engaging storyline. But the nonsense was nevertheless massively present. Don't you think it's ridiculous to check if someone's still alive after putting a bullet through his head? And I'm still wondering how John managed to crawl into the trunk of a car in that short time. And when he starts messing things up in a brothel owned by the Yakuza, they call all hands on deck. To my surprise only four men were ordered to fix it.

The focus is of course on the fight scenes (what a surprise), demonstrating all kinds of techniques from different martial arts. Unfortunately, there aren't really a lot of of these scenes in "Falcon Rising" during the first half of the movie. Also, it looked more like shadow boxing or demonstrations most of the times. It seemed as if they were afraid to hit eachother. Also, the progress of John's Brazilian adventure is similar to that of a PC game. Like "Mortal Combat" for example. A standard course where he has to work his way up through different levels. From local punks to the tattooed leader (who isn't easy to beat).

The acting performances weren't particularly impressive either. Only Michael Jai White's torso impressed. Laila Ali is famous because of her father, but she didn't get the chance to prove herself as an actress (Kind of obvious since she was in a coma large part of the film). Masashi Odate's tattoo was breathtaking and his samurai sword was without a doubt razor sharp, but ultimately Hirimoto was nothing more than an easy prey. Probably bought his way into the Yakuza. The only noteworthy person, and that's because of his charismatic appearance and pronounced character face, was Neal McDonough. So "Falcon rising" disappointed in many ways. Substandard acting, a few disappointing brawls and a simplistic script. Even the ending of the film is a failure and totally implausible (working for the intelligence service as a sort of hospitalization insurance). But it has a whopper of a cliffhanger in order to knit some sequels to it. Hopefully the scriptwriter has a bit more original ideas.

My rating 3/10
Links : IMDB

Crossing Point (2016)

Summary :
A young American couple in love, Michael and Olivia are on vacation in Baja, but things take a frightening turn when Olivia is kidnapped by a drug dealer, who demands that Michael smuggle a backpack full of cocaine-stolen from a rival cartel-over the border into the U.S. within twelve hours or else Olivia will be killed. A Tijuana Cop is on the trail, as Michael navigates the treacherous underworld of Mexico, and he himself becomes a force to be reckoned with...

Genre : Action
Country : USA

Cast : 
Shawn Lock : Michael

Jacob Vargas : Jesus
Rudy Youngblood : Mateo

Director : Daniel Zirilli

My opinion : 

"Crossing Point" is that kind of action thriller you could hire with the dozen at the local video store in former times. It isn't very original and certainly it's not a groundbreaking film. Actually, you can safely put it under the category "Haven't we seen it before?". It certainly can't compete with, lets say "Sicario", which also takes place under the blazing Mexican sun. And yet it wasn't such a bad movie afterall. It's not just brainless action the whole time. It's more about the nerve-racking race of Michael (Shawn Lock) as he seeks his way to the Mexican border. Expect the known ingredients you'd typically encounter in such a Mexican drug story. First there's this Mexican beauty. Also there are some ugly and ruthless members of a drug gang. And finally a helpful local gang.

The basic story actually isn't so special. Michael and Olivia (Maria Gabriela de Faria) are enjoying a relaxing holiday in Tijuana along with two friends. They spend their time surfing and partying. Until Olivia suddenly disappears from the hotel and Michael ends up with four wrapped packets of cocaine. He must get those across the border within 12 hours or else he won't see his girlfriend back alive. What follows is a race against the clock including a confrontation with a local gang and invoking the help of a local criminal called Pedro (Tom Sizemore). And on top of that, there's this resolute police inspector Jesus (Jacob Vargas) who's determined to solve a case about missing young tourists.

You see. Nothing new and even the twist in the end isn't really surprising. But still this low-budget indie movie managed to captivate me. In addition, Shawn Lock played a convincing part as the desperate friend. Although the transformation from the attractive, cool, surfing friend into an extremely skillful defensive action figure (who could handle a handgun without blinking an eye), was a bit exaggerated. The least convincing roles were those of Gabriela de Faria, she just showed up to exhibit her irresistible beauty (with a steamy shower scene as a bonus, although it was strategically filmed) and the two surfer friends who completed the gang. Luckily the contributions of those two was fairly limited, because this wasn't exactly a paragon of good acting. Rudy Youngblood was terrifying as the mastermind Mateo, although it sometimes felt as forced acting. And this time I thought it was a shame that Tom Sizemore had a limited contribution and briefly acted as the local criminal. Compared with "Weaponized", his role here was acceptable. But the one who looked the most charismatic and convincing, was Jacob Vargas.

Altogether a not too bad action movie. Despite the limited budget, they've succeeded to create a mix of professional-looking footage, matching music and not so bad interacting protagonists. The action is not excessive but the pace is stunningly high. After seeing some crime films taking place in these parts of the U.S., I'm going to skip Mexico as a holiday destination for sure.

My rating 5/10
Links : IMDB

London has Fallen (2016)

Summary :
After the British Prime Minister has passed away under mysterious circumstances, all leaders of the Western world must attend his funeral. But what starts out as the most protected event on earth, turns into a deadly plot to kill the world's most powerful leaders and unleash a terrifying vision of the future. The President of the United States, his formidable secret service head and a British MI-6 agent who trusts no one are the only people that have any hope of stopping it.

Genre : Action
Country :UK/USA

Cast : 
Gerard Butler : Mike Banning

Aaron Eckhart : Benjamin Asher
Morgan Freeman : Allan Trumbull

Director : Babak Najafi

My opinion : 

“We're bringing the war, to you.
Make no mistake.
This is the day, when your world changes forever.”

Dumbest movie of the year. A sort of sequel to "Olympus Has Fallen" but this time the battlefield is moved to the UK. Especially to the metropolis of London. The same key figures were gathered again. Aaron Eckhart plays again the role of US President Benjamin Asher who managed to survive a terrorist attack by overzealous North Koreans in the previous film. And this with the help of the disgraced secret agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler). Morgan Freeman is back again to take over the President's tasks as Vice President as soon as Asher ends up in an awkward position. This time it's during the solemn funeral of the Prime Minister of England. The idea of Butler to hang his secret agent braces on the peg (as he's about to become a father), is forgotten temporarily so that he can accompany the President to this state funeral.

The moment the most important government leaders arrive for the ceremony at St Paul's cathedral, all hell breaks loose. London is being reduced to a smoldering war zone where major known landmarks are transformed into ruins and twisted steel. Admittedly, it sometimes looks impressive and this chaotic situation is shown in a convincing way. But you can't say that the special effects are very present-day. They look downright lousy sometimes. Especially the crash of the Presidential helicopter looked like crap.

I admire the policeofficer on the right. Cold blooded and deadly calm. The way he looks so untroubled while everyone is running away from all the mayhem. As if he’s asking himself : “Blimey, why are those crazy sods running away so nervously. Nothing is happening, isn’t it?”

Don't get me wrong. I really enjoy an action-soaked movie once and a while. Such an action movie where you have to put your brains on mute momentarily. But there's a difference between mindless and entertaining action pulp and a plain utter dumb spectacle. When suddenly half of London throws off his disguise during the most secured ceremony and starts to kill every bystander (even a grenade launcher appeared from under a djellaba), this felt downright ridiculous. Maybe it's suitable for raising the level of spectacle. But after the terrorist attacks we faced recent years, this was absolutely insulting. I can imagine that people who do their best while working for the national security, would be pissed and turn their back towards this film after seeing such an amateurish organization.

To be honest, I thought "Olympus Has Fallen" had a bit of originality, although it shamelessly copied the "Die Hard" formula. But this film smells purely of commercial extortion. So they can exploit the moderate success of the previous one even more. Adding the sentimental topic of Banning's pregnant wife and the wrenching dilemma Mike is facing, was a weak attempt to bring some variation. And don't get me started about the cheesy dialogue and failed attempts to bring some humor. Only the parodies on some European government leaders (with a flirty Berlusconi as highlight), I could appreciate a bit. I'm just hoping there won't be a group of insane morons who'll use this film as a guide to try something similar anywhere in the world.

My rating 3/10
Links : IMDB