After the fun and
fights of Police Story I thought i'd return to the U.S for Day 6's
film, now this film is probably not that known, it's straight to dvd,
made by PM Entertainment who made a whole host of less than stellar
action picks in the 90s such as Skyscraper starring Anna Nicole Smith
as a chopper pilot and stuff like Cyber Tracker, Ring Of Fire and
Maximum Force starring Flash Gordon's Sam J.Jones, so not the best
track record but what they lack in high production values they
certainly make up for with action....1995's Gary Daniels actioner
RAGE cements that fact...
Seriously this is the
single most insane action film I have ever witnessed, but lets look
at the plot before I let you in on the action. Gary Daniels plays
Alex Gainer, a 2nd Grade teacher who is car jacked by a
stereotyped Mexican. They're apprehended and Alex wakes up to find
himself in a lab. Alex is injected with a serum that causes him to
!RAGE!, not in an incredible hulk way but in a way that he's able to
kill without remorse or emotion. Alex escapes and makes his way
across L.A trying to find a cure, evade the cops and clear his name
of murder while being helped by a burnt out news reporter. OK that is
the plot, but it's not the main reason to watch the film, oh no, it's
all about the action. We get fist fights, full on gun battles, car
chases, exploding cop cars and a oil tanker crashing into a school
bus (minus the kids) which explodes. That is just the first 25
minutes of the epic action film. It's what you get if you cross 28
Days Later with Crank minus the 'zombies'. Gary Daniels is
unstoppable in this and does bring to mind Chev Chelios from The
Crank films. The film also has some unbelievable stunts such as
Daniels trying to escape the law by moving floor to floor of an
office building...from the outside. I played this through my speaker
system and for a low budget action film on a budget dvd release, the
sound was incredible, the gun fire was blistering and at one point
during the final fight in a shopping centre, my ears were almost
bleeding from the smashing of glass, actually come to thing of it, I
think something like 30 panes of glass are smashed at the end.
The acting on the other
hand is abysmal, Gary Daniels is unbelievably wooden and seems to
struggle with his lines. They come out like he's auditioning for a
high school play and he's never acted before, it's very bad but
credit due to Daniels, the man is a martial artist and his skills
are incredible, he's never going to win an Oscar but if his other
action out put is as incredible as this, Mr. Daniels has a new
fan...just not of his acting.
One of the best things
about the action is that it's all done practically, there's no CGI
enhancement, it's all done for reals and it's what make the film so
good. It's a shame hollywood doesn't take a look at how action is
done correctly seeing as this was a DTV movie that has some of the
best action sequences i've seen from that decade. It's just a shame
that the plot and acting ruins this film. But if you want action,
have no interest in a plot and want to see shit blow up, free falls
from helicopters, many many people get shot by uzi's and watch a man
hang from the side of a building while another man takes shots at him
from a chopper then this is the film you need. If you want a plot and
good acting with your action, stay well clear....I fucking loved this
shit and the dvd only cost me 1p. Bargain.....
Plot & Acting
Action
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