Action Jackson (1988)

Directed by Craig R. Baxley. Starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone, Jack Thibeau, Robert Davi, Armelia McQueen, Thomas F. Wilson, Roger Aaron Brown, Stan Foster. [R]

It’s tough cop Weathers versus corrupt scumbag Nelson, it’s the 80s, it’s produced by Joel Silver, Al Leong shows up, what else needs to be said? Trashy action nonsense could have been brainless fun but can’t bother making any of the violence, stunts or quips especially memorable (aside from an absurdly over-the-top murder scene that prologues the story). Weathers looks the part but shows minimal charisma (who’d have thought Apollo Creed would some up short in that department?), Stone’s not bad in an early role, and Vanity is (intentionally?) dazed-and-confused in the hardly-sympathetic role of the junkie love interest; a running joke/subplot of keeping her away from her next fix is pretty insipid (and tasteless) even for this type of empty-headed programmer. As for the reason someone would watch a movie like this (baddies getting wasted, stuff blowed up real good), it’s handled with routine competence and little more, even when it champions excess. Heck, Weathers’ fellow cops spend more time promoting the legend that is “Action Jackson” than actually fighting crime; the picture is almost halfway over before the hero even jumps to action!

36/100