Action Jackson
Action Jackson
R | 12 February 1988 (USA)
Action Jackson Trailers

Vengeance drives a tough Detroit cop to stay on the trail of a power hungry auto magnate who's systematically eliminating his competition.

Reviews
NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!
Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.
Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
Predrag Carl Weathers is a tough cop named "Action Jackson" who takes on a crooked Detroit auto executive with a dishonest scheme going. As a fan of action movies and football I love Carl Weathers and never understood why Hollywood never did more with him as an actor. His movies are pretty darn awesome, besides this one he co-stared with Arnold in "Predator" and with Harrison Ford playing the role of the African American Sergeant in the WW2 adventure "Force 10 from Naverone" all great movies in their own right because of Carl Weathers. This is not a great movie, but it does have Sharon Stone in a backless dress.The script is too stupid, and the directing too pedestrian to result in anything but B-movie filler. It isn't quite bad enough to be fun, though it has some moments that are just stupefying in their ridiculousness, and not good enough to be good. The violence in this movie is brutal and efficiently directed, the action sequences spectacular. If you can appreciate movies from the 80's, this one will be a welcome addition to any collector's library.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
Ben Larson One thing is certain. Carl Weathers did not age one bit from all those Rocky films, and he looked as good as ever in this action film that features a really bad guy that got what was due to him. Craig T. Nelson was evil, evil, evil.Of course, Sharon Stone was hot, hot, hot in a pre Basic Instinct film. I would even guess that she might have had some work done in the intervening four years, but I could be wrong. Maybe I'll have to go back and stare some more.Vanity (Wasn't she with Prince at one time?) didn't need any work, and I thought she was unfairly criticized for her performance. Her singing was great and she really wasn't that bad an actress.Well, it wasn't a wasted 90 minutes, but look for it on cable.
John Nail (ascheland) It's at first hard to tell if "Action Jackson" is oblivious to its own ridiculousness or playing up to it, but when Carl Weathers — the titular Jackson — chases a speeding cab on foot and not only catches up with it but actually runs alongside it, I think it's safe to say the filmmakers are well aware of the movie's stupidity. Sure, the plot is routine, the motivations laughable, the one-liners groan inducing, but you get plenty of fist fights, gun fights, car chases, explosions, assassins with near-supernatural abilities (until they meet "Action," of course), and flaming bodies falling from a office towers. Plus: boobies! And d--k jokes. Lots and lots of those. A few highlights: After a cop boasts about his sexual exploits his partner calls b.s., saying "They ought to call your place the House of Whacks." After rehearsing a song, Vanity says to her sugar daddy Peter Dellaplane (Craig T. Nelson), "I expected a standing ovation." The seated Nelson says: "You're getting one." The story is pretty standard stuff to wrap around explosions and car chases: auto union bigwigs are being bumped off in Detroit, and detective Jericho "Action" Jackson is pretty sure auto magnate Peter Dellaplane is behind it. After overhearing an incriminating phone call Dellaplane's wife (Sharon Stone in her starlet days) runs to Jackson with her concerns, a move that puts a serious crimp in her marriage. Not that the marriage is all that strong, since Dellaplane has Vanity as a mistress. Soon thereafter, Jackson is breaking down Vanity's dressing room door and enlisting her help to get Dellaplane. More explosions and shootouts soon follow, as well as burning bodies, testicles in a jar, racial stereotypes, and a poorly disguised Pontiac Fiero (standing in for Dellaplane's flagship vehicle, the Halley) charging up the stairs of Dellaplane's mansion.Weathers and Nelson appear to be having the time of their lives, though Nelson is the stronger actor. I prefer Sharon Stone as a manipulative vamp a la "Basic Instinct," but she does a good job with her role as Dellaplane's naïve trophy wife. She's expected only to look pretty, show some skin and act scared, pretty much in that order. Former Prince protégé Vanity was at what turned out to be the peak of her career when she made "Action Jackson," and while she made favorable impressions in the thriller "52 Pick-Up" and the martial arts parody/comedy "The Last Dragon," she's only so-so as the heroin-addicted singer Sydney Ash. She acquits herself well in the few scenes requiring her to be sexy (more boobies!) or tough, and she actually does some of her better singing here, but otherwise her performance is fairly weak. Not helping is a script that tries to force a romance between her and Weathers when there's just no spark between them. Also of note: I've never done heroin, but from what I've read the withdrawal symptoms are pretty excruciating, yet Vanity's character seems to kick the habit in a few hours after suffering no more than a really persistent headache.Bad as it is, "Action Jackson" ends up being pretty entertaining, only despite its self awareness, not because of it. The people behind "Action Jackson" may be smart enough to know how dumb their movie is, but don't realize that just because they're laughing at their own expense doesn't mean they aren't the butt of the joke.
PeterMitchell-506-564364 1988's Lethal Weapon, only more violent, Detective Jericho Jackson, a.k.a Action Jackson, (Carl Weathers) who lives up to his name, is at war with his most hated rival, Peter Dellaplane (Craig T Nelson). I'm glad Craig T. did this as he's superb as the arch villain, car magnate, killing off his competition, the way a person kills flies. From the exciting opening, the first two faces, instantly recognizable from the first Lethal Weapon. Ed O Ross, a great actor, is barbecued, literally, a human fireball, plunging many stories below, before the titles ensue, where we then see one of the most dumbest black robbers, ever captured on film. This film is indeed fun, I can't deny that. It's never boring, but what brains it does have, are seldom few. Officer Jackson, who was robbed of his Lieutenants stripes cause he got too physical with a kid, and nearly tore his arm, almost has us believe he's invincible, the way he lives danger, but no one's invincible. The kid was unfortunately Dellaplane's son who ended up in a mental home, hence the two rival's need for vengeance that runs high in this action pic. A few other faces pop up from Lethal Weapon too, and the different story I liked too. I remember taking my Mum to see it, where the next week I took my Dad to see Colors. She said it was good. But is a good movie, something, where a guy can outrun cabs, somersault over them, or where a thief faints in front of Jackson when learning prior of his hocus story, or just happening to show up in the same places our Jericho is. This isn't spose' to be serious. It's spose' to be action and comedy and this is where it excels. It's great to watch Carl Weathers and Craig T face off in the end. I love these moments where sworn hated enemies go at it, in the name of vengeance. The fantastic fun script for this, is something I'd love to have a read of, (take note of all the hip dialogue) where in the end, stupidity lets the movie down, but for action lovers, who don't mind the hot Vanity, doing some songs (Dellaplane's mistress) or Sharon Stone (Dellaplane's wife), this one is right up your alley.