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: 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: 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: 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 Expendables

Sylvester Stallone proves he's still the action movie King in this star studded explosion of a film.

The Expendables are a group of mercenaries lead by Stallone and when they are offered a mission by the shady Mr Church (Bruce Willis) it looks like a fool's errand but Sly can't get the images of a small island being ruled by an iron fist out of his head so he decides to go back. You don't think his buddies would let him go alone do you?

The evil General is played admirably by Dexter's David Zayas and Eric Roberts is a typically slimy businessman who pulls his strings and with Steve Austin and Gary Daniels as henchmen it's a formidable set of opponents for Stallone and his men.

The action scenes are tremendous and it all moves along at a blistering pace. The entire cast are teriffic, each adding his own unique presence to proceedings. Special mention goes to Dolph Lundgren who steals almost every scene he is in and to Jason Statham who dominates a lot of the fighting.

The story itself is a simple one but, like Avatar, it's a simple story very well told with excellent characters that you are happy to root for.

It's old school good guys v bad guys with some great one on one confrontations including a nice fight between man mountain Lundgren and small but deadly Li.

There are some dodgy CGI moments but that aside credit goes to Stallone for putting together an amazing cast and, as director, getting the best from each of them to end up with a modern feel good action movie classic.

Don't miss it.

Ric's rating: 92%