Action Jackson
              
Director: Craig Baxley
Year: 1988
Rating: 6.0
Such a perfect example of 1980's action flicks. It has the catchphrase "Now you really pissed me off", the witty repartee every time they kill someone "How do you like barbecue ribs", the drop dead dumb dialogue, the cool car, the slimy villain and of course the tough silent guy who doesn't deal well with authority and of course wraps it all up and kills everyone. The way action films used to be. At the time when this came out, I pretty much nailed one prediction. I said Vanity would become a huge star and that the other actress - a run-of-the-mill blonde would disappear in the Hollywood machine. And we never heard of Sharon Stone again. They don't give her much of a role here which seems odd as she had starred in those two mediocre Allan Quatermain films - but this was made with a black audience in mind. 



Carl Weathers aka Apollo Creed teaming up with Vanity, who was a successful singer and had been adopted in a sense by Prince made for an attractive duo. And throw in the creepy evil white guy and you have a near throwback to the 1970's Blaxploitation films. It is very slow by today's standards with a relatively small kill count but almost every one of them gets a farewell note. "Chill out" as he burns one alive. "Crime never pays" as his large friend plunges a dagger into a guy's heart. Not great but they tried.



Action Jackson is in the Detroit police force, demoted from Lt to Sgt for some unapproved action in the past. He does the paper work in the precinct and is not allowed to carry a gun. In Detroit in the 80's he must have been the only person not carrying. He also of course has a law degree from Harvard. A few men in a union are being killed by a group of professionals and Jackson is sure it leads to his old nemesis - played by a scurvy and truly nasty Craig T. Nelson. He began his role as the much beloved Coach the following year. The producers must have seen a kinder gentler actor beneath the psychopath in this one. He is newly married to Stone and sleeping with Vanity on the side. Quite a side I should say. She is a singer and a drug addict. Years later Vanity became an Evangelical and must not have looked back on this film very fondly because like the character she had troubles with drugs. Action Jackson gets set up and goes rogue with Vanity at his side. The kill count begins to creep up.