Bullet Points: Rage (1995)

Starting with a bit part in 1991’s Ring of Fire, Gary Daniels began his ascent up the PM Entertainment ladder. Final Impact and Deadly Bet would follow Ring of Fire and Gary would once again find himself in small supporting roles.

In 1993 Gary would make the big jump and play the sidekick to Chad McQueen’s leading man in Firepower. Two years later, Gary would reach the top of the ladder with his first starring role in a PM Entertainment movie, 1995’s Rage…

• That Escalated Quickly: Gary Daniels plays Alex Gainer, a husband, a father and second grade teacher. One minute Alex is teaching his class about monkeys and Jeffrey Dahmer and dropping his daughter off at a slumber party. The next minute Alex has a man on the run from the law hop in his car, point a gun in Alex’s face and force Alex to help him flee from the cops. The police pursuit doesn’t last long, as the cops box Alex in and then Alex and his unwelcome co-pilot are dragged out of Alex’s car and beaten unconscious by the cops.
• Lab Rat: When Alex comes to he finds himself on a gurney in a military lab and getting injected with chemicals. The doctors at the facility are talking about how Alex is the perfect physical specimen for their “super soldier” experiment… and everyone at the facility is about to find out how perfect Alex is as a super soldier because at one point Alex manages to get free from his restraints and starts fighting and shooting his way out of the lab… until he encounters Special Agent Parrish (Tim Colceri, Private Wars) and a shock stick!

• Be Careful What You Wish For: It is obvious by the way Alex was able to take out so many of the guards and technicians at the lab that whatever it was they pumped into his veins to make him a super soldier was effective, but for whatever reason the decision is made to eliminate Alex by putting him in his car and pushing it off a cliff. Alex manages to escape this fate (his car doesn’t survive) and Alex is officially on the run.
• Here Comes the Action: At this point Rage already had its fair share of action, but things were about to be taken to the level of action one would expect from a PM Entertainment film. Alex hitches a ride on a gasoline tanker truck, but when Alex sees that the police have set up a roadblock ahead he forces the driver out of the cab and assumes control of the vehicle. Once behind the wheel, Alex guns it and crashes through the roadblock… this leads to a high speed chase and the authorities trying anything and everything to stop Alex… including a big rig and a school bus. Another big action piece that happens shortly after the epic chase scene concludes and it involves Alex hanging off the side of a high rise building and eventually a helicopter because… PM Entertainment.

• The Media: It should be noted that the Alex Gainer story is all over the news. Most of the outlets are reporting that mild-mannered Alex Gainer snapped and he is now a crazed murdering psychopath. But there is one reporter who is not ready to crucify Alex Gainer… that reporter is old school journalist Harry Johansen (Kenneth Tigar, Riot). Harry along with his camera person Bobby T (Jillian McWhirter, Last Man Standing) manage to gain Alex’s trust after Harry manages to snag a brief interview when he finds Alex hiding out at his neighbor’s house while the rest of the media is camped outside the Gainer house next door. When Alex decides to tell the whole story of what happened to him, he calls Harry. I question Alex’s logic of having Harry meet him at the local shopping mall, given the fact that Alex’s face has been plastered all over the news going somewhere with so many people that could potentially call the authorities. But that lack of logic is forgiven once Alex battles the team looking to eliminate him (led by Special Agent Parrish) in an all PM Entertainment Video Store in the mall!

Rage is a favorite among PM Entertainment purists, in fact it was #1 on our Ultimate PM Entertainment Countdown. Rage established Gary Daniels as a leading man in the eyes of PM gurus Richard Pepin and Joseph Merhi and for good reason, Daniels comes across as the genuine article in the role of a family man that finds himself in an extraordinary situation. The image of a wholesome family man could be the kiss of death for an action hero, but since Daniels is a world class martial artist, he manages to pull it off and still come across as a badass. Even though we hear Daniels sing “The Wheels on the Bus” early on in the film.

Now before I go, allow me to sing the praises of this batch of Bonus Bullet Points…

• Out of Context Quote: “How many times did you piss on the carpet today?”
• If You Ever: …wanted to see Gary Daniels battle a dominatrix and her submissive partner, then 1995’s Rage is the movie for you.
• New Releases: Some of the PM Entertainment titles that can be seen at the all PM Entertainment Video Store include Final Impact, Steel Frontier, Ice, A Dangerous Place, Zero Tolerance, T-Force and Fist of Honor.
• If You Ever: …wanted to see Gary Daniels drive a mini-van through a living room window, then 1995’s Rage is the movie for you.
• The Name Game: Not to be confused with 1993’s Rage starring Richard Norton or 2014’s Rage starring Nicolas Cage.