The age of the 1980’s introduced the world to the action genre. The Rambos and Commandos and the Cobras of the big screen were a hit. Schwarzenegger and Stallone were stars while Seagal was on the verge of becoming the human punchline that he is. In 1988, Hollywood bigwigs decided to test out Carl Weathers on the market in Action Jackson.
Weathers portrays Jericho "Action" Jackson, a Detroit police detective who lost his lieutenant stripes after being too physical with the son of auto tycoon Peter Dellaphane (Craig T. Nelson). As his captain (Bill Duke) said, "You nearly tore his arm off!" where Jackson coolly responded, "he had a spare." Ace dialogue like this peppers the movie and makes it no surprise that Carl Weathers has become the household name that he is.
Jackson gets entwined in corruption involving Dellaphane and the auto union and mayhem ensues in this battle for power. In the process Jackson consistently infuriates his captain while unraveling this puzzle of crime with his mind and fist.
In the middle he gets mixed up with Dellaphane’s junkie mistress and his band of hooligans. As if it isn’t enough to have Weathers, of such films as Rocky and Predator, this film has many more greats. This picture features some very familiar faces from the genre as well as some other Hollywood notables.
Bill Duke. Star of Predator, Commando, etc. He ate Green Berets for breakfast in Commando and went berserk in the jungle in Predator. Here he is Action’s boss and is great as always.
Craig T. Nelson. Perhaps better known as Hayden Fox
on Coach. Nelson plays the major villain of this movie and after watching it you’ll hate him more than you did after you saw Turner and Hooch.
Sharon Stone. This beauty of the bigscreen portrays Dellaphane’s wife. She is a babe as always and you see her naked.
Thomas F. Wilson. Better known as Biff Tannen from Back to the Future, Wilson portrays a goof off cop who lacks professionalism. As the comic relief of the movie he is the butt of a few jokes and in one choice scene he gets kicked in the nuts by a hooker.
Argyle from Die Hard. The limo driver and sub-hero of Die Hard appears in this picture as a young valet, very fond of Action Jackson’s precious ‘66 Impala.
Goon from Commando. No doubt he was responsible for the best line in Schwarzenegger’s career ("pardon my friend, he’s dead tired"). In addition to being a thug in Commando, this guy is at it again in Action Jackson.
Indian guy from Renegade. Lorenzo Lamas’ sidekick in Renegade. Also was in Hard to Kill. But really what can you say about a man who plays second fiddle to Lorenzo Lamas?
Al Leong. Legendary Asian terrorist/drug Mafia member Al Leong does what he does best. Kicks some ass and does it quietly. He was Endo in Lethal Weapon, a terrorist in Die Hard, and Genghis Khan in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Chalk up another great role for Al.
Robert Davi. He was in Goonies, Raw Deal and Die Hard where he portrayed special agent Johnson (the white one). He plays a distraught and paranoid victim of Dellaphane’s and has a very touching exchange with our hero.
Billy from Predator. He could make his way through the jungle by nose in Predator. Here he plays a drug dealer who tests his luck fighting Action Jackson. He gets thrown out of window and lands through another one across the alleyway. His biggest mistake since standing on a log and cutting his chest (what was he thinking?).
Terrorist from Die Hard who looks like Huey Lewis. We all know him from Die Hard where he said "Damn I had $50 going on this game." He had a resemblance to Huey Lewis that remained in this movie. His Action Jackson character had an idea of setting Action ablaze like a "barbecue." It came back to get him though when Action escaped and delivered his best line of the movie. "You said you wanted a barbecue? Well how do you like your ribs?" Then shoots him in the chest at close range with a grenade launcher.
The cast of characters features these staples of the genre and other names. In the end they all fit together perfectly. The goons from the action genre do their roles perfectly, Biff gets kicked in the nuts and Sharon Stone does what she does best, gets topless!
Carl Weathers is looking as good as ever in this movie and provides some great lines. In addition to kicking a lot of ass traditionally, the Action Jackson character adds a few new tricks to the trade. As I mentioned before, he throws a guy out of a window and through one across the street. He does a somersault over a taxi cab at one point. And, in my personal favorite, he drives a luxury sports car into a mansion, runs over the guard, and then drives it up the steps and down the hall into the bedroom of interest. Most mortal men would have stopped after driving through the first window and hitting the guy, but not Action Jackson.
The movie overall did an excellent job of epitomizing the genre. The storyline, the action, the violence and the catchlines went by the book, and yet this movie was far from being trite. Action Jackson made for a great character with his own style and some nice new twists. They didn’t try to step above and beyond the norm, and in the process kept with a solid flick. Great cast, great story, great action and an overall great action movie.
Rating: 8/10
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