Action Jackson (1988)

good back-story, and good acting

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Action Jackson is an overlooked action classic that lives up to its name. As awesome as 80's cinema was, black action heroes were scarce. The blaxsploitation era has gone and stars like Wesley Snipes and Denzel Washington have not made their mark yet. To fill that void, enter Carl Weathers to deliver a tough, cool performance as Detroit supercop Jericho "Action" Jackson. Opposite Carl Weathers is Craig T Nelson as auto tycoon Peter Dellaplane, who brings his A game here as an excellent villain. This is the directorial debut of Craig R Baxley who worked as action/stunt director with Weathers on Predator. Baxley delivers action galore and keeps it fast and loose with lots of one liners, fights and explosions. Also from Predator, Bill Duke appears as a police superior and Sonny Landham appears as a dope dealer. For good looks we have an early performance from Sharon Stone and also singer Vanity. Action Jackson has all the action that fans of the genre need and Carl Weathers did a hell of a job as the lead in this film.

I'm sorry but this is a complete disaster from cool to laughable and made me quit watching the film because of Reanu's crappy writing of killing Sharon off of the film, what a dick. I first thought that Sharon would be the main villain but no it was The Incredible's Craig T. Nelson as the main villain, in which he frames Jackson (Carl Weathers) by Nelson killing his wife (played by Sharon Stone. This was something that got me interested when I was 7 or 8, until now, it was just so horrible, I'm taking this quote from Frank Yablans on the Electric Boogaloo: The Wild untold story of Cannon Films documentary how to describe "Action Jackson". "It was dry as a Saharan desert, it was awful". I liked Lorimar for Full House TV series, but this is just awful for giving us nothing but junk. What a piece of crap that it should've been owned by Sony not WB, and really, why did the DVD and Blu-ray covers of this film has Sharon stone in the background, she is killed early in the film, you dicks at Warner Brothers, you should've put Craig T Nelson in it. What such a dumb f**k

"Action Jackson" is an action movie starring Carl Weathers. Former pro football player-turned actor Weathers (he earned a degree in theater arts from San Diego State U. before segueing into a brief stint with the Oakland Raiders and a Canadian League team after that) was a veteran of various films by the 1980s: most famously as Rocky Balboa's adversary-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the "Rocky" series of films. He was also a co-lead in the Arnold Schwarzenegger action film "Predator", leading into Weathers' first solo headlining feature.Weathers plays Jericho "Action" Jackson- Detroit native, Harvard Law graduate and veteran police officer. He currently holds the rank of sergeant (demoted in the aftermath of a high-profile bust of the son of a prominent businessman.) Jackson gets involved in a murder case involving several labor union executives, and the investigation reveals a conspiracy leading to prominent auto manufacturing mogul Peter Dellaplane (Craig T. Nelson, imagined as a murderous John DeLorean).Weathers and Nelson make the most of the script, which puts an emphasis on quippy lines and larger-than-life characters. Beat cops, bodyguards, dive hotel managers and hairdressers all get to spout some unusually clever lines.Weathers is a refreshing change of pace from some of his action-movie peers, here. Decked out with a form-fitting wardrobe (no doubt a pleasure for female moviegoers), he seems more relaxed, charismatic and believable than the various tough guys Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Norris tended to play. Nelson is sufficiently oily as the corrupt auto magnate, though it's kind of a thankless role.Pop singer Vanity, an ex-Prince protégé', plays the main love interest Sydney. Here she's a nightclub singer and mistress of Dellaplane, who is among the last secret-keepers of the villain, which naturally makes her a marked woman once Jackson's investigation begins to heat up.Producer Joel Silver ("Predator", "Die Hard", "Lethal Weapon") was behind this, and his pedigree shows in this feature. Silver doesn't skimp on the action set pieces, as "Action" features such sequences as assassins crashing through skyscraper windows, yachts rigged with dynamite, taxicabs diving through storefronts, and even a sports car driving to the top floor of a mansion! All in all, "Action Jackson" delivers as an action thriller of the 1980s- light on plot, but heavy on fights, pretty women and explosions. Definitely worth renting/streaming.Further analysis: Surprisingly, no sequel was ever made. In retrospect, the film largely ignores the then-current state of affairs in Detroit-- which by the 1980s was largely abandoned by the auto industry-- as well as most of its white population having left for the suburbs and elsewhere. The film was mostly savaged by critics, but managed to pull in a modest profit at the domestic box-office as well as making impact on international screens. By the mid-80s, the African American action movie stars of the 1970s (Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, et al) fell into near-obscurity, shunt into infrequent supporting roles or straight to video features. Comic actor Eddie Murphy became the "exception that proves the rule", as his commercial success didn't do much of anything to open the floodgates for a new wave of black leading actors. Weathers' Jackson should have joined Axel Foley, John McClane, John Rambo, etc. in the action hero sequel fraternity. Unfortunately, a likely combination of studio skepticism and mainstream-culture reluctance put a damper on the continuation of Jericho's adventures.

1988's Lethal Weapon, only more violent, Detective Jericho Jackson, a.k.a Action Jackson, (Carl Weathers) who lives up to his name, is at war with his most hated rival, Peter Dellaplane (Craig T Nelson). I'm glad Craig T. did this as he's superb as the arch villain, car magnate, killing off his competition, the way a person kills flies. From the exciting opening, the first two faces, instantly recognizable from the first Lethal Weapon. Ed O Ross, a great actor, is barbecued, literally, a human fireball, plunging many stories below, before the titles ensue, where we then see one of the most dumbest black robbers, ever captured on film. This film is indeed fun, I can't deny that. It's never boring, but what brains it does have, are seldom few. Officer Jackson, who was robbed of his Lieutenants stripes cause he got too physical with a kid, and nearly tore his arm, almost has us believe he's invincible, the way he lives danger, but no one's invincible. The kid was unfortunately Dellaplane's son who ended up in a mental home, hence the two rival's need for vengeance that runs high in this action pic. A few other faces pop up from Lethal Weapon too, and the different story I liked too. I remember taking my Mum to see it, where the next week I took my Dad to see Colors. She said it was good. But is a good movie, something, where a guy can outrun cabs, somersault over them, or where a thief faints in front of Jackson when learning prior of his hocus story, or just happening to show up in the same places our Jericho is. This isn't spose' to be serious. It's spose' to be action and comedy and this is where it excels. It's great to watch Carl Weathers and Craig T face off in the end. I love these moments where sworn hated enemies go at it, in the name of vengeance. The fantastic fun script for this, is something I'd love to have a read of, (take note of all the hip dialogue) where in the end, stupidity lets the movie down, but for action lovers, who don't mind the hot Vanity, doing some songs (Dellaplane's mistress) or Sharon Stone (Dellaplane's wife), this one is right up your alley.