Film: Fast & Furious 7

Following a slight dip in form with number 6 the Furious gang return in Paul Walker’s final film and they are up against Jason Statham who plays the brother of a previous adversary who is out for revenge.

The action kicks off from the start as we are treated to an excellent battle between Statham and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s FBI Agent. From there the fists keep flying along with extravagant car chases and big gun battles culminating in a city wide trail of destruction.

If you are a fan of the series you will love this, it even manages to close the silly time loop that excluded the Tokyo Drift movie so Lucas Black gets an appearance, albeit a cameo.

Martial-arts star Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak) also appears and adds much to the already top-notch action. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker deliver their standard but always terrific turns and there is hardly time to take a breath until this instalment comes to a moving conclusion.

Catch it in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Essential 

Film: American Sniper

The Hangover’s Bradley Cooper delivers a superb performance as Navy Seal Chris Kyle in this true story from director Clint Eastwood.

The patriotic Kyle decides to enlist and after intensive training is soon deployed to Iraq where he is used as a specialist sniper. His role is to protect ground forces but the highly trained Kyle decides that he must help his less experienced colleagues on the ground. A series of incidents follow, each very intense and harrowing.

These events coincide with Kyle attempting to maintain a healthy relationship with his wife and young family but during periods of time at home he is still consumed by the war.

Can he leave the fighting to others after putting in 4 tours of duty and can he adjust to life back in normal society?

I knew nothing of Chris Kyle prior to seeing this film and there is no doubt that increased my enjoyment of it. It is easy to find out details of this high profile soldier but if you don’t already know then steer clear until after seeing this.

Doubts have emerged regarding the authenticity of events as presented here but regardless of that this is a film that grips from the start and doesn't let go.

American Sniper is in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended. 

Film: Homefront

An undercover cop (Jason Statham) retires to the country with his young daughter but the past soon catches up with him in this action thriller scripted by Sylvester Stallone.

A schoolyard dispute escalates into a family dispute and Broker (Statham)  learns that in this town these things are best put to bed as quickly as possible  so he grudgingly apologises to the parents of the other child. Unbeknown to him they have already involved the local drug dealer (James Franco) who finds out that there are some very unsavoury characters on the look out for Broker.

A wonderful supporting cast that includes Clancy Brown, Frank Grillo and Winona Ryder help elevate this above the usual action movie standard. When it all kicks off Statham cements his status as a bona fide action star but he is also competent as the doting Father. Special mention has to go to James Franco who steals the show as the menacing Gator.

With engaging characters, a real sense of dread and some excellent action scenes Homefront is a must-see for any fan of the genre.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended  

Film: Elysium

In the near future wealthy people no longer live on Earth. They life a blissful life on a space station known as Elysium. Thanks to the latest technology there is no illness on Elysium as all known diseases and conditions can be repaired.

Back on Earth factory worker Max (Matt Damon) receives a fatal dose of radiation and decides that he must get to Elysium to save himself. Along the way he meets up with old friend Frey (alice Braga) and her leukaemia suffering daughter who also needs the healing technology.

In their way is a ruthless politician (Jodie Foster) and a crazy enforcer (Sharlto Copley) who do not plan on allowing any poor person access to the potentially life saving equipment.

Damon turns in another competent action turn and Foster is fine as the nasty and ambitious politician but it’s District 9’s Sharlto Copley that steals the show as he revels in the brutality of Kruger, a man with his own ideas on how Elysium should be governed.

Ric’s Rating: Good.

Film: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

In Marvel’s latest adventure we catch up with Steve Rogers aka Captain America as he attempts to capture a band of modern day pirates. Aided by Black Widow the Captain leads a group of soldiers against the bad guys who include George St.Pierre of UFC fame.

Rogers (Chris Evans) then learns of the development of huge flying gunships being developed by SHIELD that have the capability of targeting any person on Earth. Bear in mind that the Captain is a very patriotic American (hence the name) so he doesn’t approve of anything that infringes on personal freedom.

To say more about the story would give away too much so I’ll concentrate on the film itself. Playing to the man out of time storyline (Captain America was a WWII soldier who was frozen then reanimated) this manages to bring emotion to what is otherwise an epic action movie. Think Terminator 2 and you’re in the vicinity. The shoot-outs and fight scenes are wonderfully extravagant (look out for ole Cap vs a fighter jet) and although there are super-hero elements on show here this manages to transcend the genre pigeon-hole.

Evans is fine as the straight-laced Rogers and there is excellent support from Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johansson and Frank Grillo to name but a few.

If you think they couldn’t top Avengers or that super-hero films aren’t for you I urge you to think again and catch Captain America: The Winter Soldier while it’s on the big screen.

Ric’s Rating: Essential

Film: Riddick

Vin Diesel returns as Richard B Riddick, the anti-hero from Pitch Black, in the third instalment of this sci-fi action series.

This time around we join Riddick on an unknown planet populated by various types of lethal creatures that see him as their prey. As the daily struggle for survival continues two rival sets of mercenaries turn up looking to claim the bounty for the notorious criminal, and it’s doubled if he’d dead.

Pitch Black was a fantastic film, a low budget but effects laden sci-fi adventure that gave Diesel the opportunity to be at his snarling best. The sequel, The Chronicles Of Riddick, was largely forgettable.

Unfortunately that is also the case here as Riddick sets about dispatching the mercenaries one by one without any great action scenes or real moments of tension. I also have little doubt that the budget for this film was substantially larger than that of the original but it manages to look much worse. The scenes involving the motorcycle/hovercrafts are reminiscent of old time films with actors sitting in cars while the same background is repeated again and again.

Riddick is available on DVD now but only die hard fans of the character will enjoy.

Ric’s Rating: Dodgy. 

Film: Escape Plan

Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) escapes from maximum security prisons for a living. Hired by the government he uses his expertise to test the robustness of the security procedures.

When the CIA come calling with an unusual offer Ray accepts the chance to test a secretive prison known as The Tomb. The Tomb houses the type of individual that has been deemed no longer welcome in society but can’t be dealt with through the normal legal process.

Once in The Tomb, Ray enlists the help of fellow inmate Rottmayer (Arnold Shwarzzeneger) in his attempt to escape and the duo must fend off the attentions of sadistic warden Hobbs (Jim Caveizel) and violent guard Drake (Vinnie Jones) as they put the plan into action.

I didn’t expect too much of this one going in but the draw of Rambo teaming up with The Terminator was too much to ignore and much to my surprise this isn’t the corny one- liner, tongue-in-cheek affair I was expecting.

Escape Plan is a serious, and often brutal, film that keeps the quips to a minimum. Sly and Arnie have great on-screen chemistry and bad guys Jones and Caveizel approach their roles with all the gusto required.

The two main stars may be approaching 70 years of age but this proves that they can still make the type of film that pretenders to their thrones such as Vin Diesel and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson often struggle to achieve.

Escape Plan is in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Essential

Film: Pacific Rim

Take the best (and some of the worst) elements of Transformers, Godzilla, Armageddon, Real Steel, Top Gun and Starship Troopers and you end up with Guillermo Del Toro’s Robots Vs. Monsters mash-up starring Charlie Hunnam (Sons Of Anarchy) and Idris Elba (Luther).

The Earth is under attack from huge monsters knows as Kaijus so the World unites to combat the common enemy. Their solution is to build robots of similar size to the beasts, these robots are piloted by two humans and fully loaded with all kinds of weapons, they are known as Jaegers. Initially the Jaegers repel the threat but soon the Kaijus develop new ways to attack and the Jaegers (and their pilots) are deemed redundant.

Led by Commander Pentecost (Elba) a small group continue to pilot the remaining Jaegers and come up with a plan to eliminate the threat for good.

Dominated by CGI fights this is very silly at times but in a cheesy sort of way it remains enjoyable, if you can get past the first 30mins or so. Hunnam is fine as the jaded Jaeger pilot brought out of retirement for the final mission and Idris Elba exudes authority as the officer in charge. There is also a cool turn from Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Sons of Anarchy) but the two scientists are very irritating indeed.

If you can see past the dodgy dialogue and often unintentionally funny monsters this is an easy viewing adventure that requires no thinking on the part of the audience.

Pacific Rim is in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Dodgy.    

Film: World War Z

A virus outbreak that turns people into vicious killers quickly traverses the globe and in order to ensure that his family is protected former United Nations representative Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) must return to the field and search for the origin of the virus.

World War Z immediately throws the viewer into the heart of the action as a seemingly ordinary day descends into a fight for survival for the Lane family. 

Following the explosive opening sequence (partly filmed in my home city of Glasgow) we are off on a round-the-world trip with Lane as he looks for clues to explain what the virus is and how it can be combated.

It seems that reports of re-shoots, re-edits, arguments and studio interference may have put people of this unnecessarily. Regardless of how the movie came to be in its finished state there is no doubt that this is the best zombie film since the brilliant 28 Days Later.

The undead featured here are like a pack of hungry wolves and even move like them on occasion. Pitt is as charismatic as ever as the determined investigator and the supporting cast (including The Killing’s Marielle Enos) all perform well, even the zombies!

World War Z is an action-fest with cool zombies and a bona-fide superstar getting right in the middle of it. What more could you ask for? A bit more emotion maybe.

Check it out in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.

Film: Fast & Furious 6

Dom (Vin Diesel) and the gang are back in the latest instalment of the fast car series and this time they’re on the right side of the law.

Following their exploits in Rio the guys are living the good life but old adversary Agent Hobbs (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) soon turns up with a startling proposition.

Hobbs needs their help to track down an elite military group who are using all types of vehicles to commit robberies but they aren’t just stealing money or jewels, their swag is much more dangerous.

The action is mostly set in London (with scenes shot in my own city, Glasgow) but the dull atmosphere doesn’t match up to the location of the previous film. The CCTV monitored streets of London don’t make for as entertaining viewing as the violent favelas of Brazil. There are also lots of poor attempts at humour that the film could’ve done without, especially the pompous English car salesman, it just wasn’t funny.

Luckily the story begins to grip in the second half of the film. The re-appearance of Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and the perilous situation Dom’s sister (Jordana Brewster) finds herself in adds an edge to the action.

The action scenes themselves are once again wonderfully staged. Throw in Hobbs and Dom fighting together instead of against each other this time and there is more than enough bone-crunching to go round.

To get the most out of this I’d recommend watching the previous films. Tokyo Drift isn’t necessary but we do finally catch up with the distorted timeline of that film in a nice after credits scene.

Fast & Furious 6 comes across as The Expendables on wheels and fans of either franchise will enjoy. Catch it in cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Good.  

Film: Battleship

A signal is sent to deep space from a research centre in Hawaii which provokes a very hostile reply from an Alien race.

The aliens arrive (with devastating effect) during a worldwide naval exercise which happens to be taking place in Hawaii, the focal point of the invasion. Soon a motley crew of sailors, led by a former delinquent, find themselves cut-off and alone against an overwhelming enemy force.

This film was much maligned on its release but isn’t half as bad as I was expecting, in fact it’s bloody good fun. The aliens obvious technological superiority threaten mankind with extinction and in true Independence Day style a group of unlikely heroes attempt to save the day.

Based on the family game this even manages to include a grid reference and the words “miss” and “hit”.

Battleship is cheesy, predictable and way over-acted but it’s an entertaining special-effects laden war film which is far superior to the likes of Battle: Los Angeles and Cloverfield.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.

Film: The Baytown Outlaws

The Oodie Brothers have a reputation for handing out some old fashioned justice, so when Celeste (Eva Longoria) asks them to rescue her Godson from her abusive ex (Billy Bob Thornton), they soon discover that she has 25,000 reasons for them to say yes.

The trio head off on a violent road trip that sees them encounter lethal hookers, a road gang straight out of Mad Max and very intriguing young man.

The Oodies are fantastic. There is Brick the leader, McQueen the brash youngster and Lincoln, the silent former professional wrestler. Throw in Andre Braugher (Last Resort, Homicide: Life On The Street) and you have a really cool cast that all seem to be enjoying themselves.

This kinda feels like a TV pilot and would’ve worked as such. I for one would tune in every week to see what the crazy brothers were up to. As it is we have to settle for this one off (so far) adventure.

The Baytown Outlaws is available on DVD now.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended. 

Film: Welcome To The Punch

James McAvoy (Wanted) plays a cop obsessed with capturing the elusive criminal (Mark Strong) who wounded him during a pursuit.

The film begins with the aforementioned pursuit and then resumes three years later. McAvoy is plodding along with his career but his interest is rekindled when the son of his old adversary turns up dead.

This big budget British action film looks great but unfortunately the story is muddled and incomplete. There is no background to either main character and the eventual outcome can be easily guessed by the casting of David Morrissey (The Walking Dead).

Writer / director Eran Creevy please take note…cool lighting, sleek car chases and violent shoot-outs alone do not make a good film.

Ric’s Rating: Poor. 

Film: Bullet To The Head

Back in the days of good old VHS one of my favourite directors was Walter Hill. Hill was responsible for classics such as The Warriors, 48 Hours, Red Heat and Extreme Prejudice. Bullet To The Head heralds his return to the big screen and with Sylvester Stallone in the leading role we surely have an action extravaganza on our hands.

Stallone plays hitman Johnny Bobo who is determined to find those responsible for the death of his buddy (Jon Seda). Forming an unlikely alliance with a cop Bobo soon  sets about tracking down the bad guys, leading to a confrontation with the formidable Jason Momoa (Conan The Barbarian).

This formulaic action film is probably more suited to the bygone era of VHS. At 66 years of age Stallone shows he can still cut it but the story fails to engage and the mild attempt to resurrect the buddy movie falls flat.

Bullet To The Head is very predictable and could have benefited from some more action scenes but it’s still a must for Stallone fans. Catch it in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Good.

Film: Felon

Just as Wade Porter (Stephen Dorff) is about to expand his building business, his life turns upside-down. In his attempts to stop a burglar he accidentally kills the thief and ends up serving time in a very violent prison.

Prison is always a very dramatic setting. It has given us many classics such as The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and tv series Prison Break. Surprisingly, you can count this among them.

Porter soon finds himself embroiled in the complicated world of gangs, violence and corruption within the prison walls while his fiancée (Mirisol Nichols) struggles to bring up their son and pay the bills on the outside.

Porter also finds himself subject to the attentions of Lt Jackson (Harold Perrineau, recently seen in Sons Of Anarchy), a corrupt and sadistic guard.

Perrineau steals the show as the vile Jackson but we also see his softer side as he struggles with a recent divorce while still looking after his son.

Val Kilmer (Top Gun, Tombstone) turns in his best performance in a long time as long-term prisoner John Smith, who at first seems a nasty piece of work. The reason for Smith’s conviction and behaviour is eventually revealed in one of the film’s most emotional scenes.

Can Porter overcome the odds and serve his time or will the violence he has become part of consume him and alienate his family?

Made in 2008, Felon is a tense, violent, exciting, emotional and very well acted little known gem of a movie. Catch it as soon as you can.

Ric’s Rating: Essential        

Film: Code Name: Geronimo

This is the story of the operation leading to the capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden.

Told from the point of view of the soldiers involved it boasts a cool cast including TV stalwarts Robert Knepper (Prison Break, Heroes), Anson Mount (Hell On Wheels) and William Fichtner (Prison Break, Invasion).

The story moves along quickly enough and covers the political side of things too but the video game view often used when the soldiers are training or on assignment is quickly headache inducing.

The films strength is the use of the soldier’s family lives to present a more rounded picture of the people involved. This helps elevate the whole thing from standard direct to DVD fare to something which justifies its limited UK cinema release.

Code Name: Geronimo is available on DVD & Blu-ray in the UK from 24^th December 2012.

Ric’s Rating: Good.   

Film: End Of Watch

This hand-held camera style thriller follows the misadventures of two brash young L.A. cops as they go about their daily routines.

Although some nasty and dangerous situations arise the pair handle it all with good humour until they unwittingly cross a powerful drug cartel and find themselves worth a lot of money to anyone willing to eliminate them.

At last Jake Gyllenhaal appears in a film as good as Donnie Darko, I really had convinced myself that he’d never recreate that moment and his career had already peaked. On this evidence he has plenty more to offer. Gyllenhaal is brilliant as marine-turned-cop Brian Taylor who films his daily activities for his own personal project but secretly longs for a meaningful relationship. Taylor’s partner is happily married Mike Zavala (Michael Pena), a soon-to-be Father who is still willing to take risks in the line of duty.

The film immediately absorbs the viewer. Taylor and Zavala are a cool pairing and they happily make fun of the other cops while facing calls that include “missing” babies, a dangerous house fire and a huge violent man who challenges them to take off their badges.

With some shocking moments and tense, brutal action this is undoubtedly the best cop drama since Training Day.

End Of Watch is in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Essential

Film: Dredd

Karl Urban attempts to do what Sly Stallone couldn’t, successfully adapt the famous comic book character Judge Dredd to film.

This is a much darker effort than Stallone’s 1995 version. Urban’s Dredd is faced with making his way up 200 levels of a tower block ruled by the ruthless drug-dealer Ma Ma (Lena Headey) while also assessing rookie Judge Anderson.

Having recently seen the Indonesian film The Raid, this struck me as very similar, the big difference being gun battles instead of martial arts in the action scenes.

Urban is competent as the tough-talking Dredd and he even remains true to the character by never removing the helmet. An almost unrecognisable Lena Headey (300) is brilliant as the despicable Ma Ma and Olivia Thirlby is fine support for the main character as the psychic Judge Anderson.

This is ultra-violent and will appeal to fans of hardcore action movies. Dredd’s commands to citizens also reminded me of Robocop, another film which is about to be re-made.

Dredd is in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.      

Film: The Expendables 2

Sylvester Stallone and the gang return and this time their mission is personal.

While carrying out an assignment for Mr Church (Bruce Willis) the team encounter Vilain (Jean Claude van Damme) with fatal consequences for one of them. Barney (Stallone) immediately vows vengeance and so begins the pursuit of Vilain and his feared militia.

The Expendables 2 opens with a mega-violent rescue and then goes directly into the next mission which results in the revenge scenario. No time is spent on character development and the film suffers greatly for that.

Little is seen of Statham and the first movie’s show-stealer Dolph Lundgren. In fact, with the notable exception of Van Damme (who proves he can still deliver on the big screen), there was hardly any need for the supporting cast. This felt very much like a Stallone film, which in itself is no bad thing, but the original was such a good ensemble piece that I expected more of the same.

It is pretty cool to see Bruce Willis, Big Arnie and Chuck Norris get involved in the action but all three spend most of their screen time sending themselves up, which is ok the first time, but after four or five “I’ll be back” type quotes it begins to grate.

This sequel does deliver on a strictly action level. The fight between Stallone and Van Damme is fantastic and every 80’s action film fan’s dream come true. Let’s just hope that if there is an Expendables 3 a bit more effort goes into building on the good work done in the original.

The Expendables 2 is in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Good.         

Film: The Bourne Legacy

Jeremy Renner (The Town, Avengers) takes over from Matt Damon in this mediocre continuation of the franchise.

Renner is Aaron Cross, an agent trained in the same programme as Bourne but when the powers-that-be decide to shut down the programme Cross finds himself being hunted by the very agency that trained him.

The sporadic bursts of action save this film from being completely boring. The plot is made several layers more complex than necessary and the constant “incident room in state of emergency” scenes soon become tiresome.

Even Edward Norton (American History X, The 25^th Hour) as the shadowy authority figure adds little to this and if it wasn’t for a reasonably exciting final half hour this would be getting an even lower rating.

The Bourne Legacy is in UK cinemas now.

Ric’s Rating: Dodgy.