Wild Card (2015)

Director: Simon West

Notable Cast: Jason Statham, Michael Angarano, Dominik Garcia-Lorido, Milo Ventimiglia, Hope Davis, Max Casella, Stanley Tucci, Jason Alexander, Sofia Vergara, Anne Heche

Jason Statham’s career has veered into some interesting places in the last few years. While I’m sure most folks will never seem him more than an action star who kicked off The Transporter franchise and sits as Stallone’s right hand man in The Expendables, he isn’t afraid to add touches of other genres to his résumé. I was initially a bit frightened by Wild Card for being essentially dumped onto VOD, but after seeing the film it seems perfectly clear. This is not a film that would have done all that well for him theatrically in the US. Wild Card certainly contains some legitimate action set pieces, but this film is more akin to his films like Blitz and Redemption than Crank.

Nick Wild (Statham) is a ‘security services provider’ in Las Vegas – ergo he beats down people for money. He dreams of a better life though, even if he strongly believes it’s out of reach. When a friend of his finds herself beaten and raped though, he sets off to see if he can straighten things out…the only way he knows how to do it.

Give him a hand!

Wild Card has some very big names behind it. Not only is it a Statham vehicle, but it’s helmed by director Simon West, written by Academy Award winner William Goldman (from his novel), uses fight choreography from Hong Kong legend Corey Yuen, and stars a slew of recognizable faces in some rather small bit parts. Don’t let that list of names sway you though, the film is not nearly as robust as it would seem. In fact, like the previously mentioned Blitz and Redemption, Wild Card is far more of a character thriller film for Statham than anything else.

On the flip side, it’s kind of obvious that this film wants to fall in-between the cracks of being a dramatic thriller and the fun action film most people are used to seeing from Statham. Simon West, who seems to be on a sort of resurgence of his career lately, handles it remarkably well and slow slides between character driving monologues and glass shattering fist-to-cuffs. Perhaps the biggest issue though with the film is it sort of lacks a sense of urgency or danger for Mr. Wild as he tumbles into some bad situations that seemingly only get worse. The film is almost too confident and small scale for that. When we find out a hit squad is out for him and he tells his quirky new friend that there is a good chance he will be murdered today, we don’t quite believe it. Namely because…well, this is a Statham vehicle and nothing previous has lead us to believe that he can even be hurt, let alone left for dead in a gutter.

This is mostly due to the rather awesome, if not a little brief, action set pieces present in the film. The combination of choreography Corey Yuen and Statham worked impressively well in the Transporter films and it continues to work here. He uses bar utensils, his obviously steel plated head butts, credit cards, and even a spoon at one point to repel mini-armies of touch baddies. West tends to use a little too much slow motion in these (perhaps to give it a more artsy touch or elongate the matter since he so swiftly dispatches of these muscle heads), but it is a nice break from the character beats in the film.

Why hasn't Statham been cast as a superhero yet? He already is one.

All in all, Wild Card is not a perfect film although it was a much more thoughtful film then I expected…which, of course, I had nightmares that it was as bad as Parker. The fights are fun and surprisingly violent, the character work is much deeper then the normal film for Statham, and in the end I was massively entertained throughout. Sure, it lacks a bit of ‘oomph’ to its plot and feels like it needed to go even bigger in the finale, but I would say most Statham fans will find plenty to enjoy in the film…even if Lionsgate knows it’s not the action film to fill seats in a wide theatrical release.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Expendables 3, The (2014)

Director: Patrick Hughes

Notable Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Wesley Snipes, Mel Gibson, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terry Crews, Kelsey Grammer, Glen Powell, Antonio Banderas, Victor Ortiz, Ronda Rousey, Kellan Lutz, Jet Li, Ivan Kostadinov, and a surprise cameo from Robert Davi

For me, The Expendables franchise is something of a gift. Years of money, time, and dedication to the B and A-grade action icons of three decades colliding in a fun series of films that worship the style and structures of an era that was mostly killed by the likes of Michael Bay and Paul WS Anderson. So when The Expendables 3 decided to add in a slew of young actors and actresses to the fold, I was a bit skeptical. It was deviating from what made me love the first two films. They weren’t broke, were they? Did they have to fix it? Did they really have to appeal to the youth with new hip stars and a PG-13 rating? The short answer is no. No, they didn’t. The resulting mixture of old and new school elements doesn’t always work for this third entry into the supergroup franchise. Yet even with all of the missed punches it’s hard not to have a fun time with the film. So it has that going for it.

After breaking out Doc (Snipes) from a vicious prison, The Expendables set out to finish their latest job – hunting down a guns dealer that turns out to be an old friend Stonebanks (Gibson), who was one of the founding members of the team. In a moment of fear, Barney (Stallone) decides to let his team go and recruit various younger members to help him hunt down his old adversary…but it’s going to take all of them to accomplish the mission.

Some motherfucker is always trying to ice skate uphill.

To an extent, I’m not sure why so many reviewers decided to shit on this entry of the franchise. Sure it’s a step down from both of the previous entries, but I had a massive blast with the film still as a whole…and let’s be honest, did they expect more? In the end, the basis of Expendables 3 is the same as the rest of the franchise: silly one liners, two big action set pieces, and the charisma of seeing your favorite action stars of yester year on screen. If you take it at the basics, then the film works. The one liners are funny, particularly when they note actor nuances like Snipes’ tax evasion punch or Harrison Ford remarking that Bruce Willis is ‘out of the picture,’ and director Patrick Hughes seemingly knows how to shoot an action sequence. The opening of the film and the final act are impressively balanced out when it comes to the action pacing.

A few things prevent The Expendables 3 from reaching the heights it could have.  Firstly, the PG-13 rating hurts. Not because they had to cut out all of the CGI blood, I actually approve of that, but because it hinders from some of the intensity of the performances. For Mel Gibson, he definitely felt hindered as the film’s villain as the character felt a bit muzzled and even when it comes to the final throwdown between him and Stallone you could tell that they were simply playing it safe.

Secondly, the new recruits add too many characters to the fold. The plot idea that the old guys get ‘let go’ because Barney feels like this job is going to get them killed isn’t terrible, but adding in so many new faces with too little to do and less character depth to build on sabotages the entire concept. The film spends damn near half of its time introducing them and getting them together for their first mission and I couldn’t tell you any of their names off hand. Don’t get me wrong I still think Lutz has potential to be an action star if he gets in a good film (see Java Heat and not Hercules), but the rest lack a lot of screen presence. In fact, Ronda Rousey is incredibly terrible in the film. It’s sad to think that because of the script the charismatic Snipes is sidelined for a third of the movie to make room for these folks. The only great thing that comes out of the second act in this movie is Banderas. Seriously, the guy EATS the screen and his ridiculously high-energy rambling and his action sequence at the end slathers on the fun.

The heavy artillery...armed with guns too!

The Expendables 3 is not a perfect film and it’s an obvious step down from the awesomeness of the second film. The first and third acts are still pretty fun (if you’re willing to overlook the horrible CGI) with lots of laughs and action to be had. Too bad the substandard script that features far too many characters and a dragging second act really does bog down the entire experience. I sincerely hope that the franchise survives the leaked copy and this weaker entry because there are a lot of great places for it to go.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Redemption (2013)

Director: Steven Knight
Notable Cast: Jason Statham, Agata Buzak
AKA: Hummingbird, Crazy Joe

It's funny that the US is so deathly afraid of Jason Statham doing anything other than action. It would seem that if he does a film that's too much drama or too much thriller, it's instantly shot into straight to DVD territory. It happened with the great cop thriller "Blitz" and it happened again with "Redemption." While this film tends to find itself stuck in that awkward state of being too dramatic for action fans and catering towards too much action to be truly considered a drama, "Redemption" is something of an intriguing watch if only for a few strong elements that raise it above being your typical straight to home video fodder.

Jason Statham, in perhaps one of his strongest performances yet, turns in as Joe Smith, a solider surviving under the radar trying to escape his past and a court martial as a homeless man on the streets of London. After he stumbles into the apartment of a rich man who plans to be gone for most of the year, he decides to take this as an opportunity to right the many wrongs of his life and to get back on track...taking a path that his past might have made too easy for him.

I've seen worse. I've seen "The Italian Job!"

There are a lot of unusual aspects to "Redemption" worth noting in a review. Firstly, this is the first directorial effort of long time writer Steven Knight. This man has given us the scripts to some extraordinary films like "Eastern Promises" and while "Redemption" isn't quite up to par with something of that caliber, the style remains intact both in writing and in his directorial choices. So let's start with his writing first.

The film has a winding sort of character driven story that essentially deals with two protagonists (Statham's Joe as the main portion, but with a good deal of time delivered to his nun friend Cristina too) who find themselves having a bit of a 'crazy patch' in their lives. While both have very intriguing plots going and how they interweave as we look at the state of redemption in a modern world, "Redemption" does tend to find itself lacking focus at time. Joe finds himself working as a hitter for a Chinese gang in the first half, but it's dropped essentially in the second to focus on his relationship with Cristina for example. The obvious focus of "Redemption" is the characters growth and arcs, which are both subtle and dramatic enough to raise plenty of moral questions in the viewer, but the plot itself tends to take second fiddle to the characters and visuals...which tends to leave things a bit up in the air by the end of the film.

Reminds me of last Tuesday...and every Tuesday.

That being said, Knight seems quite adept in the directorial chair. He pulls some stunning performances from all of his actors, including Statham who delivers a few knock out moments himself...not with his firsts or massive forehead, and that combined with some beautiful neon lit nights in the big town of London make for a backdrop worthy of implanting these flawed characters striving to make the best of the circumstances in a modern world. Knight also seems quite capable of handling the handful of action sequences that arise in his tale of Joe's rise and fall. Statham is known for his strong screen presence and stunning action work, so its no shame that Knight and company decide to throw in a few brawls to keep the pacing up and they come off as well placed and even better shot. Let's be honest, it's simply not a Statham movie unless he does something ridiculous like threaten to kill a man with a spoon or throw someone off of a roof and "Redemption" delivers on that aspect too.

Give the guy a break...NOT THAT KIND!

"Redemption" is the kind of film that will probably find its audience down the road as it begins to work its way into a cult status. It's not a perfect film as the blend of genres tends to be a bit fuzzy and Knight's writing could have used some trimming, but "Redemption" delivered on most of its high end promises of strong dramatic tension and the occasional Statham throw down. In the end, this dramatic action film comes off as a pleasant surprise and one that will probably earn a few more watches as I dig deeper into the moral dilemmas and characters presented. It's not for everyone, but its worth the watch anyway.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Parker (2013)

Director: Taylor Hackford
Notable Cast: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis, Nick Nolte

As part of our ongoing series "Jason Statham: The Never-Ending Five O'Clock Shadow," it was necessary for me to finally watch "Parker." There are multiple reasons why I wanted to see this film. It has the ever awesome ass kicking Statham in it. It's an 'R' rated action film. It's based on the same novel series as the cult favorite "Payback." SOLD! Too bad "Parker" can't live up to ANY of the previous reasons. In fact, it's quite the antithesis of what I expected from the film. It's much more comedic, bright, and bouncy than I would have ever expected a Statham led "R" rated "Parker" film to be. It has a few moments, but overall it's quite the let down.

Parker (Statham) has a decent thing going. In an almost Robin Hood like fashion, he's a thief of money from those undeserving and generous with it once he swipes it. After a botched heist on a State Fair, Parker is left for dead by his comrades when he won't give up his share for them to do a second heist. Now he's out for vengeance, to get his cut of the job, and to deliver the pain to those who left him for dead. Unfortunately to do that, he might have to take on a realtor (Lopez) to help him with the lay of the land.

Statham as a man of the cloth...and of a clown?

For a Statham vehicle, I was shocked at how poorly this film portrayed him as the bad ass we all know him to be. Let's be honest, he doesn't play the most vulnerable kind of anti-hero nor is he all that good at playing a thoughtful crook who cares for people. We see hints of that in some of his other films, a bit here and there in the "Transporter" series perhaps, but "Parker" wants us to buy into this idea very much so...and completely blows it with a terrible character arc. Early on we have a scene with him helping out a hostage from panicking and doing something stupid. The scene is supposed to be heartfelt and show us a side of this anti-hero for us to like. It comes off as forced and silly - particularly when it comes to him setting out for revenge against those who left him for dead. Should we be rooting for him to kill them all or should we be waiting for him to to turn the other cheek and just call it a day? Half the time "Parker" doesn't know either and we end up with a wishy washy hero that fails to intrigue. Not to mention seeing Statham as a priest and then a Texan oil baron (complete with terrible accent) in disguise has to be one of the saddest things I've seen on film all year. It's B-action film gold if your mood is right.

Even beyond a lead character who rarely lives up the kick ass nature he has in other films, "Parker" is a film that fails to live up to it's own premise. For an "R" rated flick, the violence and indulgences of it's allotted extremes seems a bit tame. Granted the entire feel of the film is much more upbeat and silly than I expected even throwing in some humor here and there, but even then the film seems to play it down. The violence is occasionally brutal, including the highlight hotel room assassination attempt that has Statham push a knife through his own hand, but beyond that and an occasional 'F' bomb rarely did this feel like a rated 'R' flick. Hell, even "The Last Stand" (which was released at roughly the same time) is more hardcore than this and it has Johnny Knoxville as a sidekick.

Ten gallon hat...no gallon accent.

Rarely did I feel like "Parker" was a terrible film, but it was certainly a dud compared to the expectations I had of it. The film rarely delved into the darker subject matter its plot wanted to go to, the lead character was confused and often wishy washy outside of a standard Statham performance, and the action was second fiddle to the the over emphasized plot. There was one sequence, the hotel fight in the middle of the film, that felt like a good time for the film to turn into the "Parker" I wanted, yet it ended up being a lone highlight in a mediocre and generic action film. By far Statham's weakest film to date. A sheer disappointment.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007)

Director: Uwe Boll
Notable Cast: Jason Statham, Ron Perlman, John Rhys-Davies, Ray Liotta, Burt Reynolds, Matthew Lillard, Leelee Soieski, Claire Forlani, Kristanna Loken

Beyond having the longest title of all time (probably not, but let me exaggerate dammit), "In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale" might also have been the longest film I have ever seen. Not because it truly was all that long, the version I watched clocked in around 2 hours, but it certainly felt that way. It felt excruciatingly long. Like stab your eyes out long. This is because, quite frankly, the movie was not good. I knew this going into the film, much of Uwe Boll's early films are just as poorly concocted, but I was hoping with the scene eating cast that was in it and the general ridiculousness of having a film based on the medieval happenings of relatively popular video game franchise that it might lead to some entertainment. Alas, I was wrong and "In The Name Of The King" falls desperately flat.

Farmer (Statham...and I kid you not his name is Farmer) lives a simple life with his beautiful wife (Forlani) and his son Zeph (Ford). When asked by his neighbor Norrick (Perlman) about joining the king's forces, he says no and continues to farm. When an evil sorcerer (Liotta) decides to overthrow the king (Reynolds), he picks the wrong village to start his rampage on. Now Farmer has a bone to pick and his mysterious past will catch up to make him powerful enough to lead an onslaught against an unstoppable force.

Can Statham do an emotion other than 'grumpy'?

In an obvious attempt to attract the attention (and crowds) that made "The Lord Of The Rings" films so popular, "In The Name Of The King" desperately tries to craft an epic tale worthy of the films it attempts to copy. Unfortunately, it falters at most ends to accomplish this goal. When the charm of the slew of cult actors/actresses that this has in it can't save it, you know you are in for a hell of a ride. The film feels far too long as it forces a ton of characters and sub plots to the surface where they dwell for a brief time. The dialogue is awkward most of the time, the acting seems to be phoned in by all parties involved (including Statham who normally can phone in a performance and it will still be kick ass), and the plot progressions are obvious from the first minute. Half the time things felt drawn out for the sake of making the film seem more epic. The inclusion of the tree dwelling women (lead by Loken) is essentially irrelevant to the main plot and Loken joins the final troupe only to disappear for the finale. It just simply drags.

Random tree dweller...why the hell not?

Even the action sequences, which try to look bigger and badder than they are, take a lot of the film's run time and pull it out. Don't get me wrong, there were some great unintentionally humorous things that happen in these battle sequences (including the appearance of ninja and Statham with the largest and deadliest boomerang known to man), but overall they take too long. I do have to give the film an extra half blood drop for the sake of having a kung fu fight choreographer do much of the hand to hand combat. It doesn't make a lick of sense that a simple farmer is so skilled with swords and aerial combat, but there was some kinda cool stuff going on there.

To be honest, I didn't hate the film. I knew what it was going into it and I focused on having a fun time rather than nitpicking it to death. Yes, it's hard to overlook the massive amount of illogical things that the film does and my rating will show that, but also know that I had some great laughs at the film too. It was awkward in execution, clunky in foundation, and the CGI was borderline silly at times (the flying books of doom!), but dammit that's what a bad movie is for so take it for what it is. Plus it has Jason Statham. Bonus.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

If you so feel the need to, there are links below to purchase "In The Name Of The King" for your home collection.

Safe (2012)

Director: Boaz Yakin 
Notable Cast: Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, Robert John Burke, Reggie Lee, and James Hong

It's no secret that we love us some Jason Statham around here at Blood Brothers and the sheer amount of awesome movies that this action star has been in for the last decade is stunning. You would think that eventually he would have a misstep...but no. He just keeps pumping out awesome movie after awesome movie like its nothing. That includes "Safe." Despite a rather brief theatrical run, I never had doubts. Not at all and its nice to know that in the end you can always count on Mr. Statham to deliver energetic massive amounts of ass kicking on a whim when you need. Which he does here...in spades even if the film can be hit or miss with its execution.

Luke Wright (Statham) was in wrong with the Russian mob after blowing a fight. They murdered his wife and only spared him if he were to become a drifter never to get close to anyone without them being slaughtered. And that's when he meets Mei (Chan), a young girl with amazing skills with numbers, who has a slew of Triads and Russian mobsters after her. Now is Luke's chance to redeem himself by saving the girl and figuring out why these gangs want the number she has in her head.

Jason Statham, disgruntled as ever.

A friend of mine once commented on how Statham is the new Charles Bronson. After seeing "Safe", I'm damned near inclined to agree with that statement (even without "The Mechanic" connection). This film isn't one to focus on massive action set pieces with ridiculous stunts and outrageous one liners. It has some of those things, but its details instead of foundations. This is a film that takes a "normal" man, throws him into some dire situations, and let's the character be a hero even if he doesn't want to be. Which is damn near the same concept of most Bronson films from the 70s and 80s. And for the most part, it works with "Safe". Although the film tends to over-complicate itself with corrupt police officer sub plots that aren't quite as deep as they would seem, the 70s crime/action vibe matched with the rather surprisingly artistic eye of director Yakin and the screen presence of Statham is one that beats its way into your heart.

The plot of the film gets a bit muddled with too many characters and an unrelenting need to twist the story too much, but "Safe" has a killer pacing and strong sense of badass action to go with it. The chemistry of the film just works. Whether its the fun and awkward relationship between Luke and Mei, the brutally fierce action, or Yakin's ability to bring a little heart and soul to rather by the book characters (particular nod goes to the scene where Luke finds his wife with the mobsters dictating the rules of his exile and how Yakin really brings out a burdensome amount of tension by slowing zooming in on Statham's face) - "Safe" rocks the chemistry. The action is particularly intense with just how many people get capped in the film (the body count has to be huge here) and Yakin does his best to make it relevant. A nice touch for those who watch a lot of these kind of films, like myself.

A fist fight with Statham is a bad day for you.

"Safe" does tend to run muddled like I said. Too many villains hinders all of them from reaching true evil heights, including a "hit man" who shows up at the end for the finale which could have been epic but wasn't, and the film wants to often over explain itself. Sometimes, its okay not to want to give a reason for EVERYTHING, but "Safe" often thinks it has to. A lot of the issues in this film arise from its need to over complicate matters when, in the end, all it needed was its chemistry to really work.

With this review coming to a close, I will say that I enjoyed the shit out of "Safe" despite its obvious foundational flaws. Statham fans rejoice because he's done it again. This time with a little help from a surprisingly effective director and a film that allows him to do what he does best. I give this high recommendation for action fans, even if those outside of the genre may see less in it.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Think you would enjoy "Safe"? Then you can purchase the film at the following links to help support Blood Brothers in their endeavors! Take a moment and click!

Expendables 2, The (2012)

Director: Simon West
Notable Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins, Yu Nan, Liam Hemsworth, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck "Lone Wolf" Norris

"Track em. Find em. Kill em." - Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone)

When it comes to action films, we are in a second golden age. With the help of newcomers likes Jason Statham and Tony Jaa in the early 00s, the genre has seen leaps and bounds in improvement which has lead us to 2012 where indie Indonesian films like "The Raid" get theatrical releases and "The Expendables" becomes a full on franchise. Although the original film was one with its flaws and relied a little too much on nostalgia to work (thusly it worked for me!), the sequel "The Expendables 2" is a full on riot of a film. With an enhanced budget, "The Expendables 2" is what a sequel should be: BIGGER AND BADDER in every aspect which leaves it as one of the best films of the year.

Barney Ross (Stallone) and his rag tag group of mercenaries are called upon for a massive favor by Mr. Church (Willis). Really the job is simple: go into a plane wreck and retrieve a small box. That's it. With a few new members to the group including sniper Billy (Hemsworth) and Maggie (Nan), it would seem to be an easy job. That is until international terrorist Jean Vilain (Van Damme) shows up and kills one of Barney's team. Now The Expendables are out for revenge and to achieve it they may have to rely on some outside help to get it done.

The Dream Team.

The larger budget for "The Expendables 2" definitely kicks the film to the next level. Not only are they able to get more action heroes pegged into the film, but the action is larger by three-fold. Just the introduction sequence of a raid on a building in Nepal is about twice the size of proportion (and ridiculousness) of the finale of the first film. Just this intro has the following: trucks, trucks that turn into tanks, swamp boats, jet skis, planes, helicopters, motorcycles that wreck into helicopters, rocket launchers, machine guns, knives, and frying pans. All of which are placed into the hands of a group of the world's deadliest weapons. If you're not smiling just at the thought of this: skip the film because it only goes up from here in cliches and outrageous moments. There is an ambush in a small village that leaves some hilarious memories ("Rest in pieces!") and the finale in the airport includes some of the most ridiculous gun battles one is likely to see any time soon. The action is only of the highest caliber here (pun intended).

Firepower. And I'm not talking about the guns.

Our heroes are more cut and dry than the first film too. Gone are most of the back story attempts and the focus has been built on just having strong actor chemistry which the film has in spades thanks to the writers and cast. There are two 'serious moments' in the film one which succeeds (Sly talking about the death of his man to Nan) and one that fails (Hemsworth's rather awkward recollection of Afghanistan) and a slew of moments that work better as plot progression than true character development - including a great moment where The Expendables bury their own only to quickly move onto the motivation for the last half of the film and the killer quote "Track em. Find em. Kill em." delivered by a rather pissy Sly Stallone. The rest of the team are allowed to do what they do best...kick ass and deliver cheesy moments of tongue in cheek humor. Lundgren comes off as the crazy comedic portion of the film, Crews and Couture deliver brawn and silly nuanced characters (love Crews' new cooking focused character work), and Statham does his best impersonation of Statham which is a character too hard not to love even when he's knifing and dicing in a priest robe. Unfortunately, Jet Li ends up leaving the film a little early for my tastes (but perhaps allows for motivation for future installments?), but he has a few solid gold moments even in the first act.

A 'Vilain' worth his merit to take on the Dream Team.

This all brings me to the new elements of "The Expendables 2": the increased cast. Although Eric Roberts was delightfully cheesy as the villain of the first film, Jean-Claude Van Damme simply EATS up the scenes he is in. He rarely takes off his sunglasses, he spin kicks knives, and with his gloriously awesome accent asks Sly whether he's a man or sheep for the final throw down. Norris gets in far more awesome music cues than his comrades and plenty of jokes are made at his expense (he's the 'lone wolf' of the film) and Arnold and Willis get plenty of their own action this time around including a Smart car shoot out in an airport lobby and a play on each other's catch phrases. The cameos here are simply more awesome and its obvious that the film makers had far too much fun with this portion. The only real complaint I had was the lacking presence of Scott Adkins in full on Yuri Boyka form here. The guy is a phenomenal action star and martial artist, but his fight with Statham is horrendously cut short. It's small beans in the big scheme of things, but something nonetheless.

All in all, its obvious that Sly and the gang at the stylistic and strong hand of director Simon West are once again at the top of their game. It's hard to imagine that the eventual sequel will be able to top this, as this film knows exactly what it is and executes it in almost perfect form. "The Expendables 2" is tongue in cheek, deliriously entertaining, and so packed with action that the film felt like it was only 15 minutes long by the time I left the theater. I wanted to turn around buy a ticket to the next showing and go back in and see it again, it was that much fun.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Transporter 3 (2008)

Director: Oliver Megaton
Notable Cast: Jason Statham, Robert Knepper, Natalya Rudakova

Upon revisiting Luc Besson's "Transporter" series I was rejuvenated with my love for both ridiculous modern action films featuring amazing fight sequences and Jason Statham. That was, of course, until I finally made it around to re-watching "Transporter 3." Although there is plenty to love about its continuation of ridiculous moments in writing and the innate charm of Jason Statham to keep the franchise going, this film is handedly inferior to both of its predecessors. It's not near as intense in its over the top fashions as part two, not is it as effective in its storytelling as part one. It's just mediocre overall and its quite the disappointment.

Frank Martin (Statham) is back in Europe doing what he does best: transporting illegal packages with no questions asked. When he sniffs out a rather sticky situation and passes on it only to find a friend dead and his own head in the guillotine, its life or death for him to deliver a young Ukrainian woman across Europe on a tight deadline. It's a larger conspiracy of political intrigue that Martin finds himself connected to and his only choice is to complete this delivery...or it just might be his last.

Statham looks about as frightened as I was at this attempt for character development.

To be honest, the first two films were not great films and the ridiculousness of "Transporter 3"'s plot falls right in line with how the series is going. There is a fairly strong villain to hate here and the film has a few fun and clever twists up its sleeve to keep itself entertaining...like bombs attached to both Statham and his female companion that will explode if they move too far away from the car. These elements a lot a few outrageous sequences of Statham mini-biking to keep up with his stolen car and trying to survive when his car is sinking in a lake that might inspire some unintentional laughter but certainly do entertain first and foremost. Even Statham seems to be in full on charm mode with the character as he smarts off and beats the hell out of everyone who even remotely might be connected to those who stand in his way.

Yet, there are two things that very much crap a shit storm on my merry B-grade action parade.

1) Director Oliver Megaton. The guy has a slick music video style that promotes some modern twists and a visual eye for the outrageous. He also has no idea whatsoever how to handle action sequences without fucking them up beyond recognition. When you have a choreographer like Corey Yuen working on your film, with Luc Besson producing, and Jason Statham performing...this should have been a shoe in for awesome action of the decade. The inconsistent editing and epilepsy inducing zooms completely undermine any good fight choreography or stunt work that this film had going for it. You can't recognize anything that is going on and the editing is so quick and choppy in these sequences I felt like perhaps I would have been better off to just imagine it in my head with my eyes closed for more cohesive results. It's a damn disaster of action.

Only Jason Statham can make helmets UNsafe.

2) Actress Natalya Rudakova. Normally I wouldn't use one actor or actress as a reason to hate on a film, but Rudakova makes an exception. Her role as the package/love interest of Martin is abysmal. I use the term actress as lightly as possible. Reportedly, Luc Besson saw her on the street and asked her to come audition for the film despite not being an actress. It shows. And the writing doesn't help. She's whiny. Her character shifts moods at the drop of a pin. It's pulling teeth to watch her try and have chemistry with Statham on screen. It's all around a painful experience with her on screen both as an actress and in the severely poor character writing she is given.

Even though "Transporter 3" throws in a few new twists to keep it interesting, the fact remains that even for a B-action film its disappointing. It still has Statham going for it and its silly plot, but the action is butchered and the supporting cast (sans villain) are poorly executed and grating on the nerves. I hope that Besson has it in his heart to push ahead with a fourth film. I simply refuse to let the franchise end on this note.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Transporter 2 (2005)

Director: Louis Leterrier
Notable Cast: Jason Statham, Jason Flemying, cameo by Keith David

After Jason Statham kicked some heads in with the surprisingly effective "The Transporter", it wasn't hard to see that there was something here. Something to the character and the actor that played him. Thusly, it wasn't long to franchise it out with a sequel under the basic moniker "Transporter 2". What worked in the first one (charm and action mostly) is out done with this second entry as the glory team that is producer/writer Luc Besson, director Leterrier, actor Jason Statham, and fight choreographer Corey Yuen bring bigger set pieces and even more outrageous stunts into the film. This is at the sacrifice of adding a whole lot of character development and logic in the plot, but then again...it's Frank Martin kicking more ass.

Frank Martin (Statham) has had to change a few things. He now lives in Miami and as a favor to a friend he has been the driver for a very rich family for about a week. His relationship with the son has bloomed quickly and Frank finds himself becoming somewhat attached. When a terrorist group decide to target the family by kidnapping the son, Frank takes it personally and takes charge of the situation to get him back. What he discovers might be much bigger than just a kidnapping...

"Hello Jason. What's your favorite scary movie?"

I could rant and rave about the abysmal logic of this film and how its plot of virus warfare and kidnapping for terrorist financing makes no sense, but at the end of the road and when all is said and done: this movie is fucking entertaining as hell. As a film critic, its easy to point out its poor aspects like the lacking character development even for our hero or any of the secondary cast. The poor CGI used in many of the action sequences. The logic that's seemingly forgotten to give us what's needed for plot progression like flipping a car to lose a car bomb attached to the under carriage. This is all true and very much prevents this from becoming a great movie. Luckily, it's quite easy to overlook its many, many faults.

New entry on my bucket list: back flip someone with a fire hose.

Just like with the first film, "Transporter 2" is carried by it's charismatic and ass kicking hero and the amazing action set pieces it utilizes. This role was born for Statham and he was born to be Frank Martin. It's hard not to cheer him on as he goes to the ends of the earth to push forward and save the day despite being somewhat of an anti-hero. He basically runs around and beats the shit out of everyone until something goes right. Might not work in the real world that way, but its entertaining to watch Statham do it and do it with very little to say about it outside of his rules.

Statham's work and the ridiculousness of its plot are only heightened by Corey Yuen's ability to craft some of the most ridiculously cool action set pieces known to man. Outside of a few high octane car chases, its the choreographed fight sequences that steal this movie. A boxing match inside of a boat on risers, a fire hose stunt extravaganza, and a finale on board of a falling plane make this film eclipse the first one in every way imaginable. Although most of it seems beyond ridiculous (the henchwoman is always in her underwear, Frank Martin can jump over two crashing cars below him, and the previously mentioned car flip bomb removal come to mind), it's hard to deny that "Transporter 2" doesn't pack it all in here to keep the adrenaline up and the action flowing.

Ridiculous doesn't even begin to explain some elements of "Transporter 2".

"Transporter 2" is far from a great film. It's silly, plot hole riddled, and has little to no depth. It's also one of the most exciting and best choreographed modern action films to come out of the Western side of the planet...which in my book makes up for a lot. Statham kicks it once again with charm and ferocity and any one who's willing to set aside their logic for an hour and a half is simply going to have a riot with this movie.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Transporter, The (2002)

There is something charismatic and enjoyable about "The Transporter". I won't lie to you and tell you that it's a great film whose acting and story will redefine modern action films. It doesn't. It's a full throttle Luc Besson film where the ridiculousness of its premise is only carried through by the extensiveness of its action and charm of its lead. Often enough "The Transporter" is a silly plot hole riddled film whose by the numbers story rarely breaks action film formula for more than a few seconds. That being said it has three things going for it. 1) Jason Statham in his 'I'll kick your ass and charm you at the same time' mode. 2) Action sequences done by Corey Yuen. 3) A nonchalant attitude towards anything you can bitch about. These three things make "The Transporter" one of the most ridiculously fun action films of the last 20 years.

Frank Martin (Statham) is the best of the best when it comes to transporting cargo. He never asks questions, he sticks to the deal, and he's arrogantly effective at it. He's an expert at driving and evading and he never breaks the rules. When a deal goes sour and a ruthless business man tries to kill him, Frank decides the rules have to be void and he goes out to get his due only to find that the humanity within his cold killer heart might take him too far as he attempts to help a young woman (Qi) in need.

If you think he's waiting, you're already dead.

"The Transporter" is rarely a top quality film, but the sheer enjoyment that I receive from watching it overrides any of that. Luc Besson can take the oddest and most simplistic story, make it outrageous, and somehow pull it off with style. Co-directed by Leterrier and Yuen, the combination of action and a lead character we love to watch tear shit up is lethal. Statham owns the role as Frank Martin (the role that really kick started his career as the leading action star for this generation) and his ability to be both scary, funny, and heroic is innate to this film working. He chews up scene after scene and even when the film gets really ridiculous like parachuting onto a semi from a crop duster or the 'oh damn!' over the top attack on his house, he owns it like it isn't as stupid as it is. This ability to transverse the silly plot, through both Statham and the directors, makes "The Transporter" significant fun.

"I'll bet your left knee I can make this shot."

It also helps that "The Transporter" never falls into a 'modern action' routine of over shaken cameras and too much editing. The fight sequences are simply stellar. The hand to hand combat is over the top and intense with gun fights galore, a knife fight in the middle of a bus, car chases, and a throw down on an oil spill where Frank uses bicycle pedals on his feet to keep balance. Yes, it might be over the top and ridiculous - but Yuen plasters the film with amazing choreography and enough charm to make all of it memorable and flashy. Without the gimmicks of camera tricks.

When all else fails cover yourself in oil. Except when putting out fires. That's just a poor choice.

It's understandable why "The Transporter" became the go to action franchise in the last decade. Statham owns as the lead and the basic story can go a thousand places with ridiculous moments and action packed set pieces. Perhaps not the high quality film some would want to see (I would have liked to see a stronger leading lady for the film), but it does everything it can with what it has to win you over. Blood Brother approved!

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Killer Elite (2011) - 3.5/5

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I will watch anything with Jason Statham in it. When you throw in the ever awesome Clive Owen and Robert DeNiro with him in a film about 1980s world assassins, then you're damn right I'm there. I'm there in my Sunday best with shoes shining and a big smile plastered on my face. Don't be fooled by the trailers for "Killer Elite" though because it's not the action film it was made out to be. It's much more serious than that. More espionage, character work, and plot that half of Statham's movies combined.

Danny (Statham) and his partner Hunter (DeNiro) have been killing for money all around the world for quite some time. When a job goes awry, Danny finds himself disenfranchised with the life and calls it quits to go live the quiet life in Australia. Killers are killers though and soon Danny becomes entangled in the hardest gig of his life. A Middle Eastern warlord has his ex-partner hostage and Danny has to put together a team of experts to take on some of the most highly trained and paranoid British agents out there...the SAS and the ambitious ex-member Spike (Owen).

Between the two of them, their in-movie kill count has to be near a billion.

"Killer Elite" is fascinating film that earns many, many merits. It desperately tries to combine modern action sequences with an old school approach to espionage film making. The 80s feel is mostly done through writing rather than the visual approach that many films try to replicate (something that ironically comes off as a bit disappointing in the end) and the writing is definitely one of its strongest points. The long winding character driven sequences with extensive team building portions and massive plot progressions featuring its story of betrayal and paranoia at assassinating the individuals are what make this film tick. It's thick with atmosphere and lots of tension on how different portions are going to go down and with the charisma of our three leading men (and a shockingly effective secondary cast who easily give the namesakes a run for their money) the film rocks and rolls with the best thrillers in the last few years.

Tying Statham to a chair can't keep him down...neither can gravity apparently.

Most of the issues that arise in how "Killer Elite" works, comes from its inability to fully adhere to its style. For a film that was broadcast as an action film with all of these awesome sequences, most of them feel oddly out of place. In a more modern style film they would have worked, the fight between Owen and Statham in the hospital is a great little fight to cuffs battle that blends a realistic tone to the sequence, but the film switches from a long shot, old school approach to suddenly having the shaky camera and quick edits. It's not that the action scenes are poorly done or boring - just the opposite really - but the flow between the story and action set pieces seems choppy.

"Killer Elite" was much better than I expected from it. The trailers portrayed it as a rapid fire action film, but the end result is a finely crafted and tension drawn espionage film that homages its 80s roots with a clever story and great characters. It's definitely one of Statham's better films overall (one that can be placed in the ranks of "Blitz" and "The Bank Job" stylistically speaking) and a definite surprise to this long time fan.

 Written By Matt Reifschneider

Crank (2006) - 4/5

The modern age of action films is one of shaky cameras and all too serious motives. What happened to the days of needless violence, cheesy one liners, and ridiculous concepts? It's just not near as popular as it once was, but thanks to a few new action stars like Jason Statham - the trend is coming back. And thanks to films like "Crank", the modern style is taking a turn for the more ridiculous and straight back to what made those crappy action films so much fun to watch.

Chev Chelios (Statham) awakes to find he's been poisoned with some Chinese shit. He only has about an hour to live and his only way to slow the poison in his veins is to keep his adrenaline up. Between now and his eventual death, Chev must find the man who poisoned him, let his girlfriend Eve (Smart) know that he is not a video game programmer but a killer for hire, and get revenge on all those who betrayed him. Sounds like he's going to need to crank it up just to get it all done.

Neveldine and Taylor (our two directors for the film) certainly keep the tongue firmly planted into cheek for "Crank". Through its run time, they throw everything and the kitchen sink into this film. We have gang battles, gun fights, public displays of sex, a car chase through a mall - one of the highlights of the film, cross-dressers, endless running, and of course a helicopter fist fight. Honestly, just as the plot would indicate - this film never stops. Ever. It's as if its on coke and the pacing follows that.

The style seems to follow that same drugged out feeling. The obvious motif is that Neveldine and Taylor wanted it to almost feel like a video game and many of the choices coincide with this concept. The use of Google Maps to jump to different settings, the odd way it's edited, words play across the screen as momentary close captioning for certain characters, and awkward sound effects all make this film like a super offensive cartoon. Ironically, making it so damn enjoyable its hilarious. Who knew random sound effects and cartoonish effects would work so well in such an offensive film?

That being said, "Crank" is not for everyone. Either you get it or you don't. I, for one, had a riot with the film. It's a perfect balance of crazy, insane, and hilarious all rolled in a charismatic package with Jason Statham as icing on the top. It's easily one of the best modern action films and one worth watching just for the spastic experience. Blood Brothers approved!

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Blitz (2011) - 3.5/5

Jason Statham might be one of my favorite actors at this time, but let's just admit it...the films he is in aren't that great. Entertaining sure, but legitly good films? Hardly. This is one of the reasons that "Blitz" struck me as such a surprise...it's actually quite an effective thriller. Statham gives one of the best performances to date and despite a fairly bland approach to the pacing of the story, its effective in its telling and delivers up some solid suspense and impressive 'tough guy' moments for our lead.

Brant (Statham) is the kind of cop you hate to love to have on your team. He's brash, brutal, and tends to want to beat his way through most problems with his fists and a solid glass of alcohol. This is why he doesn't get along with the well put together new inspector Nash (Considine). When the two are charged with finding a new killer hellbent on taking cops to the grave, they must put aside their differences and use their strengths to capture this deranged killer before he gets to them first.

As I've stated time and time again, thrillers rarely find an original plot or script, but have to rely heavily on the execution to be successful. "Blitz" does this to some surprising success. Director Lester does an amiable job keeping the pacing up and the atmosphere thick with the south London vibe and he single handedly makes many of the rather by the numbers sequences click with well timed intensity. He takes many of the basic scenes to a higher level just with his visual execution.

This, ironically, is not the highlight of "Blitz". Turns out, its the acting and casting of the film. This is strange considering that Statham plays the same character he basically does in every film. He just happens to have enough subtlety added to his character and some great monologues to give that he rises above his normal routine. The supporting cast also seems impressively placed and performed. Considine delivers a great supporting and balancing act for Statham and Gillem steals the film with his often edgy and riveting villain. This takes the otherwise basic characters and dialogue to new levels to match Lester's vision.

Certainly "Blitz" never feels all that original and the rather obvious twist ending never really seems to give the audience that last thrill, but the execution on this British cops n robbers tale is stellar. The acting is well done and Lester does some impressive things with what he is given. This throws the film up and above its own means. Mostly for Statham fans, but those looking for a great little rental should also check it out.

Written By Matt Reifschneider