The Top Five Best (And Worst) Action Films of 2015

2015, much like 2014, was a fairly disappointing year for action in terms of quantity. However, about two or three action films were near bonafide action masterpieces, with one immediately cementing itself as one of the greatest action films ever made. Therefore, this year was more about quality than it was quantity. 

I also missed out on several action films this year, so I may have simply been watching the wrong films altogether. I wanted to see Skin Trade, Ant-Man, The Man From UNCLE, Hitman: Agent 47, SPL II, Wild City, Wolf Warrior, and The Gunman, but simply never got around too them. And while I will get to those films eventually and probably review them sometime within 2016, I now present my five favorite and least favorite action films of 2015.

The Five Worst

5) Blackhat (Michael Mann, 2015) - Michael Mann used to be one of the premiere directors of dramatic crime cinema with such masterpieces as Heat and Collateral. However, the mighty have most certainly fallen, with Mann's previous three films being complete bores. His latest, Blackhat, is arguably his most boring film to date. Every character is written especially flat and performed so robotic, which is a surprise given the pedigree of A-list actors Chris Hemsworth and Viola Davis. Much like Mann's previous failures, Miami Vice and Public Enemies, Blackhat features some particularly astounding action sequences that unfortunately don't have a great film to go with. This is yet another example of a boring film with forgetful characters that slightly redeems itself due to some great action. However, that simply isn't enough, and Mann needs to learn better in order to deliver a greater product next time.

4) Taken 3 (Olivier Megaton, 2015) - Neeson's action dominance seems to have been on a steady decline as of recently. Ever since Neeson broke out onto the action scene with Taken, few of his action films have been particularly great. Taken 2 is a mediocre sequel, Non-Stop is an entertaining yet lukewarm action thriller, and A Walk Among the Tombstones is an immensely boring noir. Which brings us to Taken 3, easily the worst action film of Neeson's career and proof that the actor should stick to dramas. Megaton's latest entry in the series is an utter joke of a studio actioner, featuring nausea inducing editing and horrendous photography. While the poster clearly states that this is the end, I hope so for our and Neeson's sakes. Check out my review here. 

3) Pound of Flesh (Ernie Barbarash, 2015) - I am embarrassed to admit this, but I was extremely excited for Jean Claude Van Damme's latest direct to video actioner, Pound of Flesh, at the beginning of 2015. Imagine if Liam Neeson's kidney was taken from him instead of his daughter, and you have Pound of Flesh, more or less Van Damme's attempt at a Taken-esque thriller. Unfortunately, the film is exactly everything that is terrible about direct to video cinema. Not only does the film feature some hilariously bad editing, but it also utilizes some horrendous green screen in scenes that clearly weren't finished. One especially bad scene involves Van Damme fighting in front of a computer generated background that reduced me to tears of laughter. I admire Van Damme's attempt at an old fashioned actioner reliant upon fists and gun fights, but Pound of Flesh is a complete joke of an action film. It's worth checking out for a good laugh, but also for an honest watch as to see one of Darren Shahlavi's last performances, may he rest in peace.

2) Zero Tolerance (Wych Kaosayananda, 2015) - Zero Tolerance was a career first for me because it was the first advanced screener that I ever got to watch and review for cityonfire.com. And while I will always remember it as a career first, I will most likely never watch this atrocious film again as long as I live. Poor Kaosayananda was forced to reshoot and re-edit his dramatic film, Angels, into more of a streamlined actioner in order to market it better, especially with the inclusion of Scott Adkins. However, all that did was further confound an already immensely confounding action drama that sucked in the first place. Not only is the plot overly complicated, but all of the characters are practically emotionless. The few action scenes there are, while mildly entertaining and particularly brutal, are edited quite bizarrely too. The film is utterly fascinating to watch though for those who want to try and figure out which scenes were reshoots and which weren't. Far from being "so bad it's good," but worth recommending for those who are willing to do some research in order to fully understand the mess that is Zero Tolerance. Check out my review here.

1) Terminator: Genisys (Alan Taylor, 2015) - To be honest, Zero Tolerance and Pound of Flesh are honestly worse films. However, no other film that came out this year was as insulting as Terminator: Genisys, and for that, it takes the number one spot. This terrible reboot-quel is everything that is wrong with contemporary blockbuster cinema. It doesn't know whether or not it wants to be a reboot or a sequel, contains laughably bad computer graphics, features an overly complicated plot, and rips all of the tension out its video game-esque action sequences. Talk about how to waste a great cast and a once great franchise. This film is proof that studios and Arnold Schwarzenegger don't know good content from bad, and will simply participate in anything as long as it has the Terminator franchise name on it. Congratulations Alan Taylor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Paramount, you made the worst action film of 2015! There's a special realm in Hell for where you guys will be residing. Check out my review here.

The Five Best

5) Close Range (Isaac Florentine, 2015) - This was another career first for me, as I not only got to review an advance screener of the film but also star Scott Adkins himself. It was an awesome opportunity and the only way that I was able to check out the film far before its VOD release. While plagued with more DTV trappings than I'd like to admit, Close Range features some hard hitting action courtesy of Florentine's graceful eye for action. Both he and performer Adkins give their A-game in one of the better direct to video films in recent years. While far from a great action film, Close Range gives you exactly what you want, brutal and memorable showdowns coupled with shootouts to boot. Check out my review here.

4) No Tears for the Dead (Lee Jeong-beom, 2015) - Lee Jeong-beom came onto my radar when I discovered his 2010 masterpiece, The Man From Nowhere. It's easily one of the best action films in recent years thanks to both its tragic story and immensely bloody action. Therefore, I had to check out his latest, No Tears for the Dead, with the hope that the man would bring the goods once again. While far away from being nearly as masterful his previous effort, No Tears for the Dead continues Lee Jeong-beom's streak of exploring morally ambiguous assassins. The film is extremely reminiscent of other South Korean actioners such as A Company Man and, in my opinion, the all time greatest South Korean actioner, A Bittersweet Life, for its exploration of the assassin mindset and his diversion from his bosses and previously ingrained morals. Unlike The Man From Nowhere, No Tears for the Dead's resolution is more about emotion and theme than it is entertainment or audience satisfaction. Thankfully, Jeong delivers the action goods once again, with an unforgettable 10 minute long melee fight/shootout in an apartment complex that makes for one hell of a set piece.

3) Kingsman: The Secret Service (Matthew Vaughn, 2015) - Vaughn's hard R pastique of the spy genre was one of the year's best films purely for its high octane energy and mean spirited violence. Previous Vaughn joins like Kick-Ass left a sour taste in my mouth because it put a child front and center to the violence. However, Kingsman blends the over the top violence of comic book writer Mark Millar with Vaughn's stylistic tendencies for their best collaboration yet. The film also features an excellent cast, with Colin Firth giving one of the year's most bad ass performances. Newcomer Taron Egerton gives a star making performance as the spy in training, while the rest of the supporting cast does great work as well. It's wild, funny, and excessively violent, but fun from start to finish and one of the year's biggest surprises. Check out my review here.

2) Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (Christopher McQuarrie, 2015) - The latest M:I entry was an absolute blast and one of the best big budget sequels to come along in awhile. Badass auteur Chris McQuarrie knocked it out of the park, delivering a sequel that both fans of the series and newcomers could enjoy alike. With the recent announcement that McQuarrie will be returning for the sixth installment, M:I fans should be happier than ever before, as the franchise seems tailor made for McQuarrie. 

1) Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller) - It's rare that a film comes out and immediately registers on your radar as a bonafide masterpiece. Miller's reboot of his iconic Mad Max series was exactly that, a cinematic masterpiece in every sense of the word. It's a brutal, epic, violent, and extremely emotional film that both thrilled and choked me up during my first viewing. This will be one that action fans find themselves constantly returning to year after year. Regardless of whether a sequel is ever made, Fury Road will always stand as one of the greats. Check out my review here.

Honorable Mentions

And that's that! Here's to 2016, hopefully a much superior year for action!

Summer 2015 - In Review

As the summer movie season winds down, I thought that I would revisit some of its biggest action blockbusters in order to see how the summer stood up when viewed in retrospect. This will also give me a chance to talk about some action films that I did not get around to reviewing on the blog.

The Fast and Furious Avengers

While bigger films like Kingsman: The Secret Service gave audiences their summer thrills early on in the year, the summer didn't truly get off to a start until Furious 7 dropped on April 1st. It was the first real blockbuster of the season and the first of three films this summer to cross $1 billion internationally. Even though the film received solid reviews and every teenager went to see it, I personally found the film to be an enjoyable but immensely flawed blockbuster. Furious 7 features not only one of the most confounding plots in recent history, but also three of the longest action scenes I have seen in recent memory. While the film features great stunts here and there, the film as a whole is mostly forgettable. Appearances by action-gurus Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Tony Jaa, as well as Paul Walker's touching farewell, were the highlights of the film.

Marvel Studios than struck back with their highly anticipated sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron. The film was a huge success, but failed to out gross even Furious 7. While comic book geeks apparently enjoyed the film, I found Avengers to be this summer's worst success. The sequel was extremely uneventful and incredibly boring. Almost every actor, including Robert Downey Jr., phoned in lousy performances into a film plagued by studio interference. The over abundant characters and immensely long finale showed that Marvel can no longer make an exciting event film. The first Avengers film was a fun and charming superhero film that told a story and felt important in the Avengers saga. This entry however is a throwaway adventure that had little to no effect on the team at all, minus the introduction of The Vision. Even though Disney and Marvel have perfected the formula for instant movie success, they seem to have sacrificed artistic creativity and uniqueness in the process.

The true King and Queen of the Summer, Max and Furiosa.

Fortunately, the action Gods smiled upon all of us at the end of May when George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road dropped. Miller's Mad Max reboot quickly gained praise by action fans and movie critics alike as one of the greatest action films in recent years, as well as of all time. Whereas Furious 7 and Age of Ultron were plagued by heavily computer generated stunts and lousy finales, Mad Max dropped the mic with its incredible practical stunt work (as well as its minimal computer work) and thrilling action scenes. The opening set piece alone was better than the entirety of Avengers and Furious 7 put together. I already reviewed Fury Road and gave it a perfect ten. Therefore, it should come as no surprise when I declare it the best blockbuster of the summer at the end of this retrospective.

I didn't see San Andreas, the next big blockbuster of the summer, so I can't really give an opinion on that film at all. I guess the disaster genre classifies as action? The Rock's inclusion also strengthens its action pedigree. Anyways, I doubt people will be remembering the film at all come next year.

The biggest hit of the entire summer was surprisingly Universal's Jurassic World, the fourth Jurassic Park film. Jurassic World doesn't exactly classify as an action film either, as it is more of a sci-fi/adventure film. However, I think that I would be remiss to not discuss the biggest hit of the summer, and possibly of the year until Star Wars comes out. Jurassic World was a pretty fun blockbuster because it was something different apart from all of the superhero films that typically dominate the summer. Plus, it was nice to see dinosaurs rule the box office once again. Although plagued by the same problems as Furious 7 and Age of Ultron (cheap humor, forgettable characters, overlong run time), Jurassic World was still a fun and occasionally smart blockbuster that brought monster mayhem back to the big screen.

The former King of the Summer is now the Joke of the Summer.

Summer's next blockbuster was arguably one of its worst, Terminator: Genisys. This reboot-quel of the Terminator saga will most likely go down as being my least favorite film of the entire year. It's truly sad to see the Terminator saga go from being the most influential and successful action franchise since the 80s and 90s turn into a joke of a series in the 2010s. Alan Taylor and Arnold Schwarzenegger should be ashamed of themselves for churning out such an awful and overly complicated blockbuster that does nothing but piss off hardcore fans of the series. I can honestly say that the Terminator series was one of my favorite franchises of all time before Genisys's release. However, I don't know how I can continue to support Arnold and the Terminator if this is what I have to put up with. If you want to see more details as to why I disliked this film so much, check out my review. Otherwise, steer clear of this embarrassing film that gives a bad name to science fiction.

I made a bold decision not to see summer's next big blockbuster, Ant-Man. Even though the film received good reviews and made money, I was too badly burned by Age of Ultron's mediocrity to give Marvel another dollar of mine. I'm sure it's a fun film, but I simply skipped it over due to my fear of Marvel's generic pedigree. I may catch it somewhere down the line, but have no plans to rush out and catch it any time soon.

The action Gods than shined upon us one last time this summer with Christopher McQuarrie's Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation. The latest M:i adventure was not only one of its greatest, but also the most mature and complex. It was a globe trotting adventure filled with numerous scenes of suspense befitting the likes of Alfred Hitchcock and Brian De Palma. I will give the film a full and proper review once it comes out on home video, but trust me for now when I say that the sequel is quite honestly the best M:i yet and the best old fashioned action film of the summer.

Cruise and friends brought their A-game once again.

M:i:5 was honestly the summer's last big blockbuster in terms of sheer scale and entertainment value. Everything to come after it was either low profile or poorly reviewed. I have no intent on watching the latest Fantastic Four after reading its awful reviews and discovering that the film has a whopping single action scene. I also missed out on The Man From U.N.C.L.E., but plan on catching the film eventually, as Guy Ritchie knows how to put together a fun action film. And as for Hitman: Agent 47, I simply can watch a kill count video of the film once it reaches YouTube.

In all honesty, I found myself profoundly disappointed with the summer blockbuster season this year. Mad Max: Fury Road and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation were the only memorable films of the few major blockbusters that I cared about. Furious 7 was decent, Age of Ultron was average, Jurassic World was alright, and Terminator was a piece of crap. As far as action adventure films go, this was one of the worst summer blockbuster seasons yet. 

This summer also revealed some interesting facts about today's movie going society. For starters, team centric films that travel the globe dominate blockbuster plots. Furious 7, Age of Ultron, and M:i:5 all feature teams who travel across the globe at various points throughout the film's run time. The summer season also revealed that audiences no longer care about Arnold Schwarzenegger. Once the king of the summer back in the late 80s and early 90s, Arnold is now a relic of his younger self. Generic audiences turned out in droves for Vin Diesel and Dwayne The Rock Johnson, but not for ol' Arnie. 

And even though M:i:5 was successful, it wasn't a massive hit. Therefore, you could say that even Tom Cruise is no longer as popular as he used to be. Although, Cruise has stayed relevant throughout all of his career unlike Arnold. And finally, guns and stunts are no longer enough for audiences. They want superheroes and dinosaurs. Even though both Mad Max and M:i:5 featured plenty of gun play, car chases, and were the two best action films of the summer, they did not dominate the box office. Instead, mediocre to decent films like Age of Ultron and Jurassic World owned the planet.