Return to the 80's style action movie...

Rating: 8/10 (26 April 2007)

I've been off new movies for a while now thanks to the sheer amount of emotional content even in relatively simple actions movies of late, even Casino Royale felt more like a romantic movie than an action one.
The fact my friends and I decided very late that we wanted to see a movie and this was the last show of the day.
I expected another love on the run kind of movie going by the adds, considering the fact that fugitives on the run always fall in love in the last decade or so.
BUT BOY WAS A I Surprised.....
Action Movies in classic period 70-80s weren't about love, like the movies of today, they were about simpler and stronger themes like hate, anger, revenge, saving the world,survival or sometimes even none of the above. They were action flicks pure and simple and made with the boys in mind, with good special effects, lots of blood and gore, and the scantily clad women who weren't always the love interest. Those were the years, you had the occasional emotional action flick but those were appreciated as there were not many of them. (PS as i say this I must say I'm only 24 and watch movies on DVD's now and Video before that I've grown up loving boy movies like predator, aliens, Rambo etc.).
This movie is the simplest big budget action film I have seen in years, which is like the 70s and 80's action flicks.
This movie isn't about love, its about feelings that are often much more stronger, PATRIOTISM, HATE, REVENGE.(The best part is that the intimate moments don't culminate in a kiss,an event that was hardly seen action films of yesteryear's but is seen in more big budget action films nowadays then in romantic comedies, for this alone this movie deserved 8 stars).
We have the older themes like the one-man army who's out for revenge and at the same time wants to clean the system.
The hero isn't a emotional boy-toy hes a super-killer like Rambo, Dirty Harry, Arnold etc.
The girls are not there providing emotional support to the men, but like the classics take the back-seat to make way for the action. (And the gratifying but unnecessary exposure is also provided, sadly none from Rhonda Mitra though).
The movie is made in the superlative and no attempts are made to relate it to real (unlike the action movies that have the most outrageous action sequences but make the man a homo/metro whatever its called nowadays just to make it more real, think of that when a car flips over 5 times, or when face masks are printed in 5 mins).
Attempts made to errors in the law of science and logic will turn up dozens of examples but I don't care and neither did the mostly male audience.
The attacks at the system are not overdrawn conversations but simple, hard-hitting facts, you may not be emotionally drained but amidst all the mindless fun, you get thinking.
The acting is good even though its hardly important, yet the parts played by all the characters are good (considering the fact that the film is in the superlative).
Technically this film is very good as any big budget film should be, with lots of real explosions and stunts and minimum use to CGI.
The one-liners are few but they are very very good.
Considering the genre of the film the only real flaws the film has is that when you see a film made in the superlative based in the real world sooner or later your mind starts churning and you begin to reject material( Did he just do that, how can that happen, no way not again .......etc etc etc), the longer than normal length gives you just about time to start thinking about this before the movie ends.
The lack of stylised action scenes, especially since the movies all about guns, we needed some defining action moments but this film doesn't really have any.
In all a great action film thats simple and mindless fun, and a must watch for fans of the simple no-nonsense action movie.
A must watch for the guys although some of the girls seemed to like it too.
-s no defining moments or stylised gun action scenes, the superlatives finally get to you maybe due to the slightly above normal length.
+/-s none really this movie is plain and simple.
+s pure and simple mindless fun, lots of guns, blood and gore and explosions, good acting (considering the points), good chicks,revenge flick about a guy who cleans the system (got me goosebumps),no kisses NOT ABOUT LOVE (THANK GOD FOR THAT).
Total 8/10 (not counting the fact that it exceeded expectations and the fact that its a simple fun action flick don't compare it to dramas and then cry about it).