Posted: 02/08/2011

Action Jackson Review

by Robert Baum

Review: Action Jackson (1988)

After having gone down for the final count in Rocky IV (1985) and winding up as a trophy of a big game hunter from another world in last summer’s Predator, Carl Weathers gets to be the the star of his own cinematic vehicle. Some may recall his small screen role as the title character of Fortune Dane was rather short-lived; Weathers looks to join the ranks of such former co-stars as Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Charles Bronson (presumably the 1981 release Death Hunt is unknown to many), and Harrison Ford (as they were among the fighters of the virtually forgotten Force 10 from Navarone) in the action film arena. It’s title certainly seems to suggest that he’s looking to become something of a contender for such a title as the titular role of Action Jackson.
Jericho “Action” Jackson (Weathers) is a cop from Detroit, a high school track star, and a graduate of Harvard Law. Harvard Law? Yes, it sounds crazy as his superior (Bill Duke, one of Weathers’ fellow brothers-in-arms in Predator) wonders why he opted for a career as a policeman. Jackson, though has had some tough breaks: a broken marriage and he has been demoted from lieutenant to sergeant because of his unorthodox approach to law enforcement. Such an offense resulted in his license to carry a firearm to be revoked. Though Jackson, when first seen, clearly needs no weapon to stop a perp.
A number of players in the Auto Workers’ Union have met untimely ends thanks to a band of assassins with the lethal prowess of ninja warriors. Unknown to just about anyone, they’re employed by a sinister automobile bigwig (Craig T. Nelson) for whom Jackson has no fondness. Things don’t help when the supercop has to represent Detroit’s finest at a gala honoring the Motor City’s big wheel. Guess who that is?
Jackson suspects that Delaplane is responsible for the above mentioned deaths. His investigation leads him to a lovely chanteuse (Vanity) who happens to be Delaplane’s mistress. Jackson himself becomes a suspect when Delaplane’s wife (Sharon Stone) is found dead in the cop’s apartment.
As Jackson, Weathers makes for a likable, engaing screen presence. Some might wonder why it took so long for someone to devise a big screen vehicle for him to star after a decade of playing second banana to the likes of Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Though he is basically playing the cliched tough guy which many assembly line action stars as Bronson, Chuck Norris, and David Carradine have been doing so for years.
As Weathers’ adversary, Nelson makes for a decent bad guy audiences will love to loathe. No doubt looking to break out of his likable image as the patriarch plagued by sinister spirits in Poltergeist. He gets more of a chance to show his talents more so than Weathers, Stone, or Vanity.
Robert Reneau’s script is nothing more than a testosterone-fueled Beverly Hills Cop. Then again the Eddie Murphy hitmaker was once penned for Weathers’ Rocky co-star Stallone. The film makes someone of Weathers’ talent seem to be doing a parody of Silver’s blockbuster Lethal Weapon.
Weathers’ leading ladies are lovely. Unfortunately they’re hampered by a script which limits their talents but not their presences. Stone, after engaging in exotic adventures with Richard Chamberlain in a pair of Allan Quatermain tales for the schlock purveyors of Cannon Films—which has employed Weathers’ fellow cinematic pugilists and co-stars Stallone (Cobra, Over the Top) and Dolph Lundgren (Masters of the Universe)— seems in jeopardy of becoming a B movie queen. Vanity plays a singer—of all things—and who also has a Cannon work on her resume in the form of John Frankenheimer’s 52 Pick-Up (1986). Still, the one time paramour of pop star Prince does exude a presence which can be put to better use.

Robert Baum is Currently a Bryn Mawr, PA-based film afficanado and pop culture junkie.

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