20 Reasons Why You Rock: Action Jackson
The box office may have not given Action Jackson the love it deserved.
The studio may not have given Action Jackson the opportunity to truly prove itself.
But true fans of Action Jackson know it is among the best action films of the 1980’s, because true fans of Action Jackson know that the movie rocks…
#1- A group of assassins show up, shoot a fireball at automobile union executive Frank Stringer (Ed O’Ross) sending him plummeting from a high rise with his burning body crashing through the skylight of a restaurant below and ultimately crashing through a table among the restaurants horrified patrons… now that’s how you start an action movie!
#2- Action Jackson’s opening credits features the song “He Turned Me Out” by the Grammy Award winning group, The Pointer Sisters. In this man’s opinion, “He Turned Me Out” is just as good as other Pointer Sisters’ jams like “Neutron Dance” and “Automatic”.
#3- Action Jackson was the first feature directed by action expert Craig R. Baxley… it was a helluva debut! Baxley would follow up Action Jackson with I Come in Peace starring Dolph Lundgren and then Stone Cold starring Brian Bosworth… we like to refer to these films as “The Baxley Three”.
#4- Jericho “Action” Jackson is Top 5 action hero name material.
#5- The introduction to Jericho “Action” Jackson is well done with Officer Lack (Roger Aaron Brown) and Officer Kornblau (Thomas F. Wilson) really building up the legend of Action Jackson to Albert, the young ne’er do well that got picked up for his ill fated attempt at stealing a purse. Albert does his part too to sell it when he passes out at the mere site of Jackson. Stay cool!
#6- Bill Duke could have played the stereotypical ranting and raving police captain but he took his character Captain Armbruster in a different direction. Armbruster was more refined, subdued and only barked when he really needed to.
#7- I believe Craig T. Nelson’s portrayal of power, hungry automobile tycoon, Peter Dellaplane, is overshadowed by the fact that a little under two years after Action Jackson was released Nelson had moved to the small screen on the long running sitcom Coach. So fans who may have discovered Action Jackson after the fact at their local video store or on premium cable, went into “Coach Hayden Fox is the main villain!!??!” mode and discounted Nelson’s delightfully evil performance in this one. I believe Jericho Jackson said it best when he described Dellaplane as a greedy, conceited, two-faced, back stabbing asshole!
#8- Action Jackson wisely utilized Vanity’s musical talents along with her acting skills. Vanity plays Sydney Ash, Peter Dellaplane’s side piece/nightclub singer. This made total sense, because if you are going to cast Vanity, why not showcase all her talents, which leads me to…
#9- For those of you who believe R rated action movies should include nudity… both Vanity and Sharon Stone (who plays Peter Dellaplane’s naive wife Patrice) deliver the goods in this one.
#10- If you need more proof that Peter Dellaplane is a top notch villain, his driver is portrayed by one of the best henchmen in the action movie game… Al Leong! And who is Dellaplane’s sparring partner while practicing the martial arts… none other than James Lew!
#11- If you are a fan of jokes like, “What do you call a guy with no arms and legs and sits on a wall? Art.” then Action Jackson is the movie for you.
#12- I spy a Predator poster! There are posters for the 1987 classic Predator plastered on a wall in “downtown Detroit” and can be seen as Jackson and Sydney leave the pool hall. Let me go on record and saying anytime a movie references Predator in anyway… that movie is instantly made better. If a Hallmark Christmas movie had one of their male leads mention that he was just going to stay home, crack open a beer and watch Predator before he got talked in to going to the local Snowman Festival where he would meet the love of his life, it would instantly be the greatest Hallmark Christmas movie of all-time.
#13- Speaking of Predator, Action Jackson is something of a Predator reunion with Carl Weathers, Bill Duke AND Sonny Landham! Landham plays drug pusher Mr. Quick, who tangles with Jackson and gets a taste of his own medicine.
#14- Bob Minor jumped up to the majors in Action Jackson. The long time stunt performer, who had minor roles (pardon the pun) in dozens of movies and television shows, had his biggest role to date (and as far as I can recall, ever) in Action Jackson were he plays another one of Dellaplane’s henchmen, Gamble.
#15- It has been said Chino “Fats” Williams could light up a room with his smile and I believe it. Much like Bob Minor, Action Jackson gave Chino his meatiest of roles and the character of Kid Sable provided some memorable moments in Action Jackson from his recommendations on everything from bath houses to crab cakes, to watching The Flintstones, to his fancy footwork… Kid Sable is gold!
#16- Prince Hughes plays Edd, Sydney Ash’s personal bodyguard. If I were ever going to do an Unsung Heroes post on Action Jackson (and chances are good that will eventually happen). Edd would make it on that list for taking his job seriously… even if it means going against the guy who is paying him to do that very job. Plus, if Edd didn’t show up when he did, Jericho Jackson would not have made it to the end of the movie.
#17- When Action Jackson says he is going to catch a cab, he means it quite literally. The scene where Jackson has his first confrontation with Gamble is one of the most action packed and memorable from the film…
#18- …Jackson’s final encounter with Gamble at Peter Dellaplane’s fancy party ends in spectacular fashion when Gamble is impaled on a wrought iron fence… I’m a sucker for a good impaling scene.
#19- The build up to Jackson’s final encounter with Dellaplane can be described with three words… HOT… HOTTER… HOTTEST! Jericho Jackson drives a car INTO Dellaplane’s mansion (Killing that bald bastard Cartier in the process), UP the stairs and INTO Dellaplane’s bedroom… it is about as ridiculous as you can get and I LOVE IT!
#20- Action Jackson gives us a happy ending as Jackson earns his Lieutenant stripes back seconds after blowing away Peter Dellaplane and saving Sydney… and the chemistry between Jericho and Sydney is off the charts at this point. Carl Weathers and Vanity made a great team and it is a damn shame that we never got an Action Jackson sequel, because there was plenty of meat left on the bone to tell at least one more tale.
