6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Jericho "Action" Jackson is a Detroit police sergeant who was demoted from lieutenant for crossing Peter Dellaplane, a major car manufacturer but also a violent psychopath with a private hit squad. Jackson suspects Dellaplane of masterminding a murder spree against rivals and local officials from the auto workers' union.
Starring: Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone, Thomas F. WilsonCrime | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
German: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish=Latin & Castillian
English SDH, French, German SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Former pro football player Carl Weathers will always be best known as Rocky Balboa's opponent, then friend and trainer, Apollo Creed, a character loosely based on Muhammad Ali. But in a different era, and with the right role, one can easily imagine that Weathers might have joined Stallone and Schwarzenegger as a major action star in big, silly vehicles where virtuous good guys mow down dozens of opponents and survive attacks that would have shattered lesser men. Weathers had the charm, he certainly had better looks, and he could match Arnold and Sly in the beefcake department. Producer Joel Silver must have thought so. After Weathers' effective supporting turn in Schwarzenegger's 1987 action/sci-fi classic Predator, Silver produced Action Jackson as a vehicle for Weathers. Written by Robert Reneau (who would later help write Demolition Man) and directed by veteran stunt coordinator and Predator's second unit director, Craig R. Baxley (Dark Angel (I Come in Peace)), Action Jackson could have launched a franchise for Weathers—if only the box office had been better and critics hadn't pronounced it a dud. Now, I've always felt that Action Jackson was treated unfairly. Yes, the villain's plan makes no sense, his behavior virtually screams out "I'm a criminal! Come arrest me!", and his henchmen go out of their way to attract attention, even though they're supposed to be stealthy ninja-like warriors. Yes, Vanity is a wooden and unconvincing actress (she was nominated for a Razzie but lost to Liza Minnelli in Arthur 2: On the Rocks and Rent-a-Cop). And yes, the Detroit police are portrayed as unbelievably witless and gullible. But hey, it's a Joel Silver picture. Since when did anyone expect logic or credibility from Commando, 48 Hrs., the aforementioned Predator, Ricochet, The Last Boy Scout, Swordfish or any of the Die Hard or Lethal Weapon films? I don't and never will. That's not what I watch a Silver Picture for. I watch Silver's films for explosions, wanton destruction, over-the-top action, indestructible heroes spouting silly quips and attractive heroines who sometimes do and sometimes don't escape absurdly contrived peril. Action Jackson has all that, because it's essentially a live-action cartoon in which not one event should be taken seriously (including Vanity's singing).
Action Jackson was shot by Matthew F. Leonetti, whose work here couldn't be further from the glossy polish he has brought to such films as Star Trek: First Contact and The Butterfly Effect. Leonetti shot Action Jackson rough and gritty for an urban texture to match Jackson's style (and this was an era when Detroit still had some vitality as a city). The film never received a decent treatment on DVD; Warner cranked out a quickie release using a VHS-vintage master with an open-matte 1.33:1 aspect ratio. To my knowledge, this 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is the first presentation of the film on home video in its original aspect ratio (or close to it; as usual, Warner has opened up this 1.85:1 film a few pixels at the top and bottom, here to 1.77:1). Some viewers will complain of graininess, but there's nothing here that shouldn't be. Action Jackson has the natural grain and texture of a certain kind of film from this era, and it has been reproduced on Blu-ray with that grain and texture intact. Look past the film grain to the image it reproduces, and you'll see considerable detail in clothing, faces and decor. Colors are distinct and well-saturated; Jackson favors a sharp wardrobe, and his vintage auto is a bright red that makes you wonder how his police buddies could have possibly missed his presence near a crime scene. (Then again, asking for logic from a film like Action Jackson is like demanding that everything in Middle Earth conform to the laws of Newtonian physics.) There's no sign of high frequency filtering or other inappropriate digital manipulation, and since the film hasn't had a new release since the Stone Age of video, it's a reasonable inference that this is a new transfer from the best available elements. With no extras, the 96-minute film fits comfortably on a BD-25 at an average bitrate of 23.92 Mbps, which appears to be sufficient to avoid any compression artifacts.
Action Jackson's original stereo soundtrack is offered in lossless DTS-HD MA 2.0. While there isn't much in the way of surround activity, the track has good dynamic range, which provides bounce and energy to the terrific Herbie Hancock/Michael Kamen score and the wonderful selection of pop tunes included with it (notably The Pointer Sisters' rendition of "He Turned Me Out" and the aforementioned "Shotgun"). Even Vanity's two songs are tolerable, although "Undress Me" sounds like a Prince knock-off. The dialogue is clear, although it often sounds ADR'd (and almost certainly had to be), and the various explosions, gunshots and several unusual action sequences with cars are loud enough to have the requisite impact.
The disc has no extras. Neither did Warner's 1999 DVD.
Action Jackson is pure popcorn fare, and it's cheesy popcorn fare at that. One can't help but feel a certain nostalgia, however, for the vibrant Detroit shown in the title sequence, one where industry still thrived and car manufacturers still thought unions were worth battling. In more than one way, the film is an artifact of another time and another place. Recommended as a Blu-ray reproduction of the film, which may or may not be to your taste.
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Slipcover in Original Pressing
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