So there\u2019s an action film starring Charlie Sheen called Hot Shots: Part Deux! Hence that wild exclamation mark. Just thought you should know. And yes, I will be continuing the irritating pointing out regime of actors I recognise from older films. Hooray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Demolition Man<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Hey! It\u2019s Warden Norton from The Shawshank Redemption<\/em>!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n Didn\u2019t really know what to expect going in to this one. I knew it had a sci-fi setting, so maybe it could be something cool like Terminator. Turns out, maybe not. Wesley Snipes is fun as an OTT bad guy, but Sly didn\u2019t really work for me. A couple of dangerous violent dudes are cryogenically frozen and then woken up in the future, cue chaos and explosions. There\u2019s meant to be a parody element with this future world mirroring Huxley\u2019s \u2018Brave New World\u2019, but that stuff doesn\u2019t work so well here. Nonetheless, it\u2019s fun watching Sly and Snipes getting hordes of ticket fines for swearing loads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And interesting to note that Taco Bell is the fast-food chain that survives the crackdown. I imagine a certain a certain company with a yellow \u2018M\u2019 and a creepy clown mascot would have something to say about that. Also, in terms of other actors, Sandra Bullock isn\u2019t given much to do, and is generally just a bit dopey. Sarah Connor she ain\u2019t. There are your typical unnecessary explosions and poor characterisations, but I guess it\u2019s a bit of fun provided you\u2019re not willing to take it too seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mad Max: Fury Road<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was great to see this one again, particularly as a quick refresher before Furiosa\u2019s released, since I haven\u2019t seen this gem since its release back in 2015. I saw the original Mad Max<\/em> a while ago and wasn\u2019t too impressed, but Fury Road<\/em> had a visual style like nothing else, and the aesthetic still stands up very well today despite the wide array of aesthetic competitors since its release (*cough*pretty much every recent film in the recent Denis Villeneuve catalogue*cough). George Miller apparently had this central chase idea gestating since 1987, and the work definitely paid off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The apocalyptic wasteland look works brilliantly (90% created without CGI, according to the director), helped by great performances from Tom Hardy and Charlise Theron, even though the two infamously didn\u2019t get on so well on set. And it made me want to cosplay as Furiosa, despite my dismay that most of the robotic arm props were selling for around \u00a3600 at the time. Hey, maybe they\u2019ll be some cheaper ones when Furiosa<\/em> arrives soon? I can hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commando<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Hey! It\u2019s that nasty boss dude from that black market episode of Battlestar Galactica<\/em> (the reimagined series), again! I saw him in Predator<\/em> in the first part of this action season, and now he\u2019s here too. I guess he\u2019s good at playing bad dudes\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n It says something about Arnie\u2019s fame at this point in his career that his character can just be introduced with a ripped bicep. Most directors would just go for the money shot with the actor\u2019s face, but no, let\u2019s go for the muscles here instead. Arguably, the majority of this movie is just an advertisement for Arnie\u2019s physique. The opening sequence literally shows him lifting a tree trunk in one arm. If it works, then it works, I guess. But whoa there, this is an 80s film, you know, so you\u2019ve got to fit a homophobic in there early on just to properly remind yourself that you\u2019re in the macho sphere. Hence Arnie making an off-colour joke about Boy George as he reads his daughter\u2019s teen magazine. Yay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the only 18-rated action film I came across in the action scene, and I guess it\u2019s pretty gnarly in places. The plot is rather flimsy as you\u2019d expect, but if you try and see it in the vein of a feature film starring Rainier Wolfcastle (Arnie\u2019s genius Simpsons<\/em> alter ego), then it\u2019s rather entertaining. The jokes have enough cheese to rival any old James Bold film (\u2018He\u2019s dead tired\u2019 \u2018I let him go\u2019, \u2018Let off some steam\u2019 etc.), but if that\u2019s what you\u2019re in for, you\u2019ll have a jolly good time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Want to check out my thoughts on the first part of the action season? Then click below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n