Falcon Rising (2014)

I had very little expectations to the movie, as I hadn't even heard about it prior to stumbling upon it by sheer luck on Netflix. I decided to watch it solely because Michael Jai White starred in it.And it turned out that this action flick was actually rather entertaining. Sure, the storyline was generic and something that definitely has been seen before in other action movies. But the combination of the storyline, the action, the acting, and the cast, then the end result really worked out as an entertaining action movie with that late 1980's feel that action movies had back then.The story, in all its simplistic glory, is about a an ex-marine (played by Michael Jai White) who travels to Brazil, where he takes up fighting the Yakuza in the slums of Brazil, because the Yakuza attacked her sister and left her for dead.There is a lot of action and fighting throughout the course of "Falcon Rising", and I will say that the action sequences and the fight scenes were quite nicely choreographed and executed on the screen. Which only added to the enjoyment of the movie, of course."Falcon Rising" is definitely worth the time of watching if you are a fan of old school action movies.

Chapman is an ex-marine in Brazil's slums, battling the yakuza outfit who attacked his sister and left her for dead. Falcon Rising is unlike most B movies it's action packed, well directed and with some excellent fight sequences alongside some solid good acting. The plot was also interesting and there were some great twists and turns along the way as for Michael Jai White? He has never been better than this, this might be his best film since Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing and as for the final big fight? It was awesome and freaking action packed. Some good old comic relief can be seen threw out the film as well. Overall 'Falcon Rising' was an impressive and well made action movie.

John "Falcon" Chapman (MJW) is a suicidally depressed ex-Marine with PTSD whose emotional problems are exacerbated by alcohol abuse. That may seem dark, but things start to look up for Falcon when a new mission gives him renewed purpose in his life. Unfortunately, though, the mission involves his sister Cindy (Ali), who was attacked and hospitalized while in the favelas of Brazil. Falcon arrives in Sao Paulo and proceeds to beat up a bunch of people in his quest for answers. Teaming up with old contact Manny Ridley (McDonough), as well as gaining some new friends and foes along the way, Falcon discovers some surprising revelations about the crime syndicates of Brazil - the Japanese Yakuza is all over the place. Will Falcon find out who his sister's attackers were without getting himself killed in the process? We love Michael Jai White, or MJW as we call him, and we're happy to report he's still "got it". His Martial Arts abilities are cool, brutal, and top-notch. By far the best thing about Falcon Rising are the fight scenes, all of which involve White. Unfortunately, the movie AROUND it isn't so hot. The plot is paint-by-numbers and you don't get hooked in to the storyline like you could or should. We know a lot of people criticize action movies, saying that they're dumb and the plots are perfunctory window dressing so that the action setpieces can exist. In the case of Falcon Rising, that's a valid observation.If you take another DTV movie we watched recently, Green Street 3, it doesn't compare to Falcon Rising at all, because GS3 works any way you slice it - with action, without action, low budget, high budget, whatever. It's just a good movie that satisfies the viewer. The acid test for action is - would the movie be good if you took out the action scenes? In the case of GS3 the answer is yes. In the case of Falcon Rising it's no. Director Barbarash was responsible for the Van Damme films Assassination Games (2011) and 6 Bullets (2012) so he should know the rules by now. And he commits another no-no… We don't like CGI bullet hits. We don't like CGI blood. We don't like CGI anything. "Speeding up" the action to cover it up doesn't work, and turning the blood into a "mist" is not a valid masking device either. Is doing this less expensive than squibs? Is it somehow an improvement in the development of mankind that nerds on a computer can now hit Alt-B for blood and Alt-E for explosion? This is considered acceptable and good? Especially when you have a charismatic and talented Martial Artist like MJW at the helm, CGI stuff should be eschewed.Michael Jai White fans - and action fans in general - will appreciate the action scenes, which are quite good. The movie around it, not so much.

After watching two Steven Seagal movies this weekend, I have a basis for comparison to say that this is fine action entertainment. Surely, the plot/story could have been better, but it's far from boring, and one does get to care for the characters. Most of the actors playing Brazilian didn't quite speak proper Brazilian Portuguese, but unless you speak Portuguese you won't notice it, and I didn't care that much, although it does take away some of the authenticity. There's some predictability, so if you're expecting something very original, you'd be disappointed.This movie delivers different scenes and locations, a story that makes you wonder a bit what's going to happen next, great martial arts fighting from Michael Jai White and even some cool Capoeira moves from Lateef Crowder. The gun fights are also pretty good. If you love action, this movie is fun and leaves you wanting more. Wish there was a sequel...