Released: March 1989
Director: John Stewart(not THAT one)
Not Rated
Run Time: 97 Minutes
Distributor: MVD Rewind/Vinegar Syndrome
Genre: Action
Cast:
Gregory Scott Cummins: Osborn
William Hubbard Knight: McKinnon
Barri Murphy: Carmen
William Smith: Conover
Cameron Mitchell: Frankie Navarro
Ross Hagen: Drago
Hoke Howell: Hitch
There are movies in this world that are of such grandeur and design that they elevate the art form to an entirely different level. To Kill A Mockingbird, The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, Alien, the many different adaptations of William Shakespeare, Seven Samurai. These movies have launched careers and told stories that have been retold throughout the years. They are some of the most iconic films that one would be wise enough to have in their collection. It would help establish you as a veritable consumer of the arts and elevate your status as a film connoisseur. These films would allow you to look down upon the little people and turn your nose up at their silly little adventure and family films. Then you have movies like Action U.S.A. which is absolutely NONE of those things. Ah, who the hell am I kidding? I LOVE movies like Action U.S.A. There are few things more satisfying than watching a movie that knows exactly what it is and what it wants to deliver. Action U.S.A. is one of those action movies that definitely delivers on what it promises.
Action U.S.A. opens with a 20-minute chase sequence that involves a guy falling out of a helicopter into a lake, a high speed car chase through downtown Waco, Texas, and big explosions. Oh, wait, were you expecting a story summary? How about this: A drug dealer’s girlfriend is being protected by a pair of FBI agents after her boyfriend is gunned down by a low-rent Freddy Mercury. She’s in protective custody because the mob seems to think that SHE knows the whereabouts of some diamonds. That’s it. Nothing more. Let’s be honest, shall we? In a movie with a title like Action U.S.A., would you really expect some kind of life-changing narrative? If you’re expecting that, you’ve come to the wrong movie. No, the “story” is just threadbare enough to tie all the action sequences together. In fact, I would say that Action U.S.A. is less of a movie and more of a stunt reel. Just look at the trailer. This was a movie that was directed by a professional stuntman. It’s essentially a look into the toolbox of stuntmen during the 80s.
For acting purposes, we have Gregory Scott Cummins as Osborn, an FBI agent and low-rent version of detective Martin Riggs from Lethal Weapon. William Hubbard Knight plays the low-rent version of Detective Roger Murtaugh. Barri Murphy plays Carmen, the plucky young woman that they’re protecting. You’re going to see the term “low-rent” being tossed around with this movie, because a lot of that is true. Action U.S.A. is a low-budget movie that was made for almost half-a-million dollars. While you can definitely see the fact that it is a low-budget film at times, you really can’t ignore the fact that the action sequences are incredibly spectacular. Every single kind of stunt that you’ve seen during the 80s is in here. High falls, people being set on fire, car crashes and jumps, high-speed chases. It’s all in here. The best thing about it is that it was all done for real. No miniatures, no CGI, no green screen; just a bunch of stuntmen doing what they do best: Throwing themselves off of buildings and blowing themselves up for our entertainment. Stuntmen really don’t get the recognition that they deserve, as they serve an incredibly important function. Unless you happen to be Tom Cruise, then you would have to have a stunt double to do the more dangerous aspects of action sequences.
As far as the acting goes, it’s not terrible. The actors do the best they can with what they’ve got. The problem is that the majority of the cast is made of stuntmen. The issue is that they aren’t really actors per se, even though they are “performing.” Acting is not what they do. They put themselves in harm’s way so that the main actors don’t have to. That said, it does help the immersion when you know that one of the actors is performing a dangerous stunt, because said performer is a stuntman. I’ve seen a lot of action movies where you can absolutely tell that it’s a stuntman and he/she looks NOTHING like the actor they’re doubling. Cummins does a lot of his own stunts in the film, so that’s pretty cool, but he’s not exactly leading man material, I can tell you that. Knight does a better job. This was Barri Murphy’s first role and it was almost by accident. The original actress left after 3 days without telling anybody, so they had to find somebody, and Barri did a pretty respectful job. As far as the characters go, Carmen is strangely the most competent of the characters. I do like Ross Hagen as Drago and his interactions with his cohorts is a hoot.
One of my favorite stunts in the film is when a character named Lucky gets punched out of a 15-story window. You don’t really see these free-falling stunts a lot anymore. It’s a very high-risk move with an airbag at the bottom. Most falling sequences these days involve either CGI or what is called a descender, in which a stunt-person is hooked up and basically dropped. Towards the bottom the descender slows the person’s descent. The problem with those, is that they are fairly obvious when they’re being used. The free-fall is far more spectacular as there are no wires attached. It’s funny, though. Usually in an action movie, the action and stunts tend to ramp up during the last twenty or so minutes, but with Action U.S.A., it hits the ground running. The first twenty minutes of the film are bonkers. But it only gets crazier from there. It’s pretty much balls-to-the-wall right from the get-go. It’s never boring.
With everything that I just said, is Action U.S.A. a good movie? No. It’s a b-movie from the late 80s. But it is one of the better ones. The writing in the movie is pretty bad. A lot of the dialogue was made up on the spot, because the script kept changing. The dialogue and acting is so campy that I feel like I should be roasting marshmallows over an open fire. Strangely enough, the camp and cheese factor add to what I already consider to be an incredibly enjoyable action flick. There’s a ridiculous bar fight that happens, just because. It’s ridiculous, because you don’t see any hits landing. It’s one of those movies that is so over-the-top that I love it. Then again, I’m a sucker for these kinds of movies. I love 80s action movies, even the bad ones. There is something to be said for seeing stunts that actually happen, and not on a blue/green screen. Again, this was the 80s, so everything was done for real. The fact that Waco, Texas let the film-makers do what they want is incredible. Apparently, they loved having the crew there and doing stuff like this. I don’t think they would’ve allowed anything like this to be made in their city after immediately after 1993, though.
There’s no doubt that Action U.S.A. is one of the cheesiest action movies ever made, but there’s really talent behind what you see. The stunt-work is second-to-none and the action is fast-paced and exciting. As corny and campy as the narrative gets from time to time, there’s never a dull moment here. Every single stunt and action sequence is shot incredibly well with the director not taking the camera off the action, which makes it even more spectacular. Screw all that hyper-editing and shaky-cam bullshit, THIS is how you film action. So, who would I recommend this movie to? Would be to the effete cinema snobs that ONLY watch high-caliber films? Nope. This ain’t for them. This is for the pop-corn munching fans who just want a good time. On that level, I give my full recommendation. It’s bad, but it’s awesome.