Action Jackson

Action Jackson is an overlooked action classic that lives up to its name. As awesome as 80's cinema was, black action heroes were scarce. The blaxsploitation era has gone and stars like Wesley Snipes and Denzel Washington have not made their mark yet. To fill that void, enter Carl Weathers to deliver a tough, cool performance as Detroit supercop Jericho "Action" Jackson. Opposite Carl Weathers is Craig T Nelson as auto tycoon Peter Dellaplane, who brings his A game here as an excellent villain. This is the directorial debut of Craig R Baxley who worked as action/stunt director with Weathers on Predator. Baxley delivers action galore and keeps it fast and loose with lots of one liners, fights and explosions. Also from Predator, Bill Duke appears as a police superior and Sonny Landham appears as a dope dealer. For good looks we have an early performance from Sharon Stone and also singer Vanity. Action Jackson has all the action that fans of the genre need and Carl Weathers did a hell of a job as the lead in this film.

Did you get my joke? No? Well then let me explain it to you cretins out there who have never indulged in bad cinema. Mike Nelson, the genius who wrote for and hosted the insanely brilliant series Mystery Science Theatre 3000, published a book all about wonderfully cheesy movies that he liked to watch. Action Jackson was just one of those movies, and I am glad to say that while it is most certainly dumb and as predictable as a parking meter, it's just goofy enough to be fun. A lot of people think that when a critic calls a film cheesy, they mean it's bad. Not necessarily, my naive friends. Everyone likes to eat cheese every now and then, right? Heck, one of my all-time favorite foods is macaroni and cheese! Sure, we all like to pretend that we have refined tastes, munching on caviar and other such sophisticated vittles, but every now and then we just have to let our hair down and have a nice slice of good American cheese. And trust me folks, Action Jackson, is just dripping with the stuff. Just look at the plot: A former lieutenant known for his hot temper and loose cannon tactics is reduced to a desk job (check). He has a bookish superior who likes to play by the rules and refuses to let our hero see some "action" until he shapes up (check). Then suddenly a new case opens up - it seems that the same man who cost Action Jackson's lieutenant position is up to his old tricks, but no one suspects him because he's a respected businessman (check). Will Action Jackson uncover the villain's dastardly plot, save the day, get the chick who he at first thought was annoying, and get that lucrative lieutenant position back? What do you think?! Come on, this is as by the numbers as you can get, people. This story has been done hundreds of times, and yet here it's still simple, dorky fun. Action Jackson is played by the man who trained Sylvesyer Stallone in the original Rocky, and Craig "Coach" T. Nelson himself is the bad guy. And to top it all off, VANITY is the romantic love interest! I could not believe it when her named popped up on the screen. Now I own two movies starring this horrible actress: Today's feature, and the John Stamos spy disaster, Never Too Young To Die. What a small world, huh? There are explosions, car chases, groovy 80s tunes, and even a hotel manager whose lisp is so obvious that you can't understand a word he says. How can you go wrong? Trust me folks, this is not painful in the slightest. Well, okay, maybe Vanity's two songs can be zipped through via the fast forward button (check out her nasty hair!), but otherwise Action Jackson is a great B-movie for those rainy days.

Im not going to beat around the bush here. This is a BAD movie. Terrible. God-awful, even. But I can't help myself. For some sad reason I like this movie. I mean, for one thing it's got absolute pearlers of dialogue, like this, "If I had that guy's family problems, I'd have myself neutered!" There's the guilty pleasure I have watching Carl Weathers trying to be tough. I don't quite know why he's so bad at it, I mean, it's not like he's teeny tiny or rake-thin or has a squeaky voice – but every time he was supposed to be intimidating in this movie I just found myself giggling. And then there's Vanity. Again, for some sad reason, I find her really alluring. Never mind she's a former crack-wh*re turned born again evangelical preacher, in this movie she's got a sexy little body and a smoky bedroom voice. Nice. Another thing is, I always believe Craig T Nelson when he plays a sleaze. Check him out in Devil's Advocate. I can picture him sipping Maker's Mark bourbon while he jacks off to the latest Hustler Barely Legal issue. The guy just creeps me out. And I must say I enjoyed seeing Biff from Back to the Future as the dumb cop. Priceless. For all it's good points though, it really is very forgettable fare. Even now, having only watched it two days ago I'm struggling to remember the action scenes. I think it was really a misguided attempt to launch Carl Weathers into a leading man career of his own, after he did okay jobs in things like Predator, ie when his role was MUCH smaller. Sadly, when compared to other actioners of the time, like Commando, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, it is a mediocre effort at best.

J Jackson is a cop in Detroit who went to Harvard but for some strange reason became a cop. Years ago he put away a child molester and he did it so violently that it got him taken down to being a normal cop. Years later the crooked father of the child molester is being voted in as man of the year and Jackson has to come face to face with him. He knows he is up to no good and goes on the trail and soon has the wealthy mans goons as well as his own people in the police department after him. He gets in good with the bad guys wife as well as his mistress and he wont stop until justice is done. I had seen this a few times and never thought it was hot, it has a decent story, great actors and a decent budget but it was just too mediocre to amount to much. Using the Carl Weathers fame to try to sell a legendary name like Action Jackson, was a gamble and the gamble backfired. The movie had a ton of clichés and fast cars, gun fights, drugs, nudity, fist fights and all that often makes a film like this work, but it just didn't mix it together well. The direction and production was okay, but nothing outstanding. Great actors like Carl Weathers, Craig T Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone, Bill Duke, Robert Davi and that little Asian guy who was a thug on 4000 movies in the 80's and 90's. I hated the bad music, I hated the clichés like the done to death top of the car scene where the hero holds on to the car in a high speed chase is shot at but always missed...it's done all the time. If you don't mind seeing mediocre then this is your film - 2/10 stars

I always used to scratch my head at how Arnold, Sly and Willis were able to generate such income for movies that were average at best. I guess I just felt that the dumb action movies of the '80s were easy to crank out. HOWEVER, Action Jackson disproves that myth. In fact, "Cobra" looks like "Citizen Kane" compared to this boring and senseless movie. I have no doubt that the producers here envisioned a whole Action Jackson series that would generate untold millions. They got a capable actor in Weathers and put a decent supporting cast in with him, however, the script and story are both dismal. You just can't hold any interest in the story, because it just seems to ramble incoherently all over the place. Once again we have a movie based on numerous other bad movies. Craig T. Nelson had the talent to make for a really bad guy, but even his character ended up being boring and clichéd. Sadly, after this bomb, Action Jackson II had as little chance of being made as the documentary over "The Making of Action Jackson." Oh well, I am sure there is some factory somewhere in the world with a million Action Jackson action figures, still in their packaging, the brainchild of an overconfident marketing department. And I bet, that if you put those babies on ebay, well, not one person would buy one.

I'm sorry but this is a complete disaster from cool to laughable and made me quit watching the film because of Reanu's crappy writing of killing Sharon off of the film, what a dick. I first thought that Sharon would be the main villain but no it was The Incredible's Craig T. Nelson as the main villain, in which he frames Jackson (Carl Weathers) by Nelson killing his wife (played by Sharon Stone. This was something that got me interested when I was 7 or 8, until now, it was just so horrible, I'm taking this quote from Frank Yablans on the Electric Boogaloo: The Wild untold story of Cannon Films documentary how to describe "Action Jackson". "It was dry as a Saharan desert, it was awful". I liked Lorimar for Full House TV series, but this is just awful for giving us nothing but junk. What a piece of crap that it should've been owned by Sony not WB, and really, why did the DVD and Blu-ray covers of this film has Sharon stone in the background, she is killed early in the film, you dicks at Warner Brothers, you should've put Craig T Nelson in it. What such a dumb f**k

After seeing Carl Weathers in only the Rocky movies it seemed he had nothing else better to do. Action Jackson proves that point. A mixture of Lethal Weapon, Airplane, and Beverly Hills Cop-all done BADLY! The previews showed a fairly impressive car chase scene-but you take that scene out of the movie and you don't have a movie. Even hot stuff Vanity's naked body couldn't save this.

Vanity is unbelievably beautiful, and funny, from beginning to end and from stem to stern. She is matched by golden-blonde Sharon Stone. Both these gorgeous hotties appear topless! And there are many wonderful actors in small roles, including three of the greatest character-actors of the time: Robert Davi, Ed O'Ross, and Nicholas Worth, the terrifying, rubbery-lipped basso who plays Dellaplane's butler. The screenplay is totally brain-free, written for stoned teenagers. (In this universe, it's EASY to break a heroin-habit!) But the action is hot, the women are sexy, the music is ultra-hip, and the villains are creepy. Great fun. Royal fun.

This is a cheesy 80's action flick. It is another one of those movies that is so bad, it's actually good. It's not your typical 80's action movie, at least not completely. It tries to be hip and modern for young audiences, and still appeal to adults. It's got a MoTown Soundtrack and some Slasher movie style music. Action Jackson is an entertaining movie if your in the mood for something fun. Don't try to overanalyze it and you will enjoy it.

Aaaah the late 80s… when: • The fact that a character's name is 'Action' Jackson didn't need to be justified. It just was. • We take for granted that Action Jackson is scary and awe-inspiring as peripheral characters tell us so. • Ditto the fact that his passion for his job and creative methods have resulted in him being demoted and his wife leaving him… • The bad guy is identified early. • Better still he is already Action Jackson's nemesis. • Better still, still. The guy responsible for his demotion and wife leaving him. • Unexpected and unnecessary nudity was both expected and necessary. • The bad guy has a hot trophy wife (Sharon Stone) and a hot mistress (Vanity). • Both of whom are more than willing to take their clothes off for little reason. Furthermore • Women get out of the shower *. Guys are wearing jeans. • Performing in a club with a totally see through top isn't noticed by anyone in the club – but those of us watching at home… • It doesn't matter if the hero doesn't actually say something funny or clever, as long as he and the other characters seem to think what he is saying is funny and/or clever. • Post-kill quips still need work though, no "Hasta la vista Baby" or "Stick around here"… (though "How do you like your ribs" was OK. The answer is apparently 'exploded'.) • Dangerous minions can time their hit and run assassination attempts to coincide with the came split second that their target walks through a door, despite traffic and the fact that they are hundreds of yards away with no possible way of knowing that this was the point he was to emerge… • "I have to catch a cab' means a chase scene, with Jackson not only catching up but giving him a mouthful through the window of his speeding car… while still on foot! • Leading to big explosions and certain civilian deaths, none of which are mentioned again. • People get hit in the face and actually bleed. (Happens less on film nowadays than you think.) • Cheesy pop music on the soundtrack is justifiable for the fact that it was the 80s, the spiritual home of cheesy pop music. • Every character actor in the film is recognisable from another classic film of the era. In the first 10 minutes I saw minor roles filled with actors from Predator, Beverly Hills Cop, Red Heat, Back to the Future and seemingly half of the cast of Die Hard. • We know the big showdown will be a fist fight when we see the Bad Guy training in hand to hand combat. • A good body double can make you think that a 60 year old is a karate machine… why don't we ever manage to see his face while he pulling off these athletic moves…? • Stunt men are plentiful and disposable, and unnecessary CGI is not needed. • Movies were 80 minutes long and had a beginning, middle and end. Final Rating – 6 / 10. None of the above things are bad. Action Jackson is not in the same league as Lethal Weapon, Die Hard and their peers, but it is a solid formula action comedy, which proves that Carl Weathers had genuine on screen likability.