Rage (1995)

Alex Thomas Gainer (Daniels) is a second grade teacher beloved by all his students. He also has a great home life with a loving wife and daughter. After leaving the house and saying "I'll be right back" (never a good sign), Gainer is carjacked and then kidnapped. He is taken to a secret lab trying to manufacture SuperSoldiers. Alex manages to escape and now he is on the run. With corrupt sheriffs, insane scientists, and tons of law enforcement after him, his story becomes a media frenzy. Even though some people died in one of the many melees, no one believes Alex's innocence - except reporter Johansen (Tigar) and his camerawoman Bobby T (McWhirter). Will Alex be able to clear his good name? It is impossible not to like Gary Daniels. He tops himself in likability here - as the good natured elementary school teacher and devoted father. PM and other companies must always use him because of this, as well as his stellar martial arts abilities. He's the perfect action star to root for. Rage is simply one big action set piece after another. It's truly non-stop stunts, explosions, shooting, and car chases (both Fruit Cart and otherwise). The angle of the experimental SuperSoldiers makes things a little different, as does the subplot about "media vultures" who convict people in the court of public opinion regardless of their guilt or innocence.Only PM could include this social satire along with its classic style of blow-ups - and include references to the show Hard Copy, the OJ trial as well as Geraldo - and also include something they often use in their movies - transvestites. It's not known why. The actor David Powledge almost steals the movie as corrupt sheriff Sherman Kelly. But sadly he's not the main baddie. It's crazy - this guy has been a character actor since the early 80's but he is virtually unknown. Some people toil in the entertainment industry their whole careers and get little to no recognition, and are great (like Powledge), and some actors are hugely popular but are annoying and talentless. You can name your own example. It's a cryin' shame. Take Luis Beckford as Sgt. Beckford in the film. He's truly an American hero.But back to the subject at hand, really the only flaw with Rage is that it needed a more prominent and more evil villain. Other than that, the movie is a wildly entertaining ride. The world of PM references itself a few times here: Last Man Standing's McWhirter appears as the camerawoman, Alex's last name, Gainer, is also Erik Estrada's last name in Night of the Wilding (1990), and in one of Rage's best scenes, there is a fight at a video store, and the store is decorated with nothing but posters from other PM movies! Now that's a store we would have loved to have visited. Apparently it was in the Long Beach mall (the whole mall scene is a standout) - although surely the local glassworkers were working overtime after these fights were over.While Rage might not be on the level of the top PM's (Zero Tolerance (1994), Last Man Standing (1996), The Sweeper (1996) and Recoil, 1998) - it still is well worth seeking out.For more action insanity, please visit: www.comeuppancereviews.com

what a disgrace to movie making. bad acting,and the most unbelievable script. the star of the movie(who should have stuck to his Karate skills instead of trying to act,who I will not even try to remember his name and hope he retires from the business. Maybe he should have been the new superman for the unbelievable number of times he should have been killed in the movie yet barely gets a scratch.Do film makers think that making a movie with a large number of stunts,destroying vehicles etc make a film. To the writer and Director go back to school and learn your craft.This movie is a disgrace.I did find one nice feature of the film. The scenery and color are nice. Life is too short to waste watching junk.

'He can run, and he can hide, but he cant escape.... what they put inside him!' After seeing a trailer with THAT line in it I could hardly contain my excitement. My only regret about watching Rage is that now I am constantly plagued by the thought that I will never see that movie for the first time again, yes it is that good! The tag line says 'Somewhere between sanity and madness there is Rage' and only a true genius could have made this film. As Elliot Carver says, 'the difference between genius and insanity is measured only by success,'and if this is true then Joseph Merhi is the worlds greatest genius. After hitting old school with Shotgun in the late 80s and having a few misfires in the 90s, Coldfire and To Be The Best spring to mind, PM Entertainment really had found themselves by 1995, as in this year they made To The Limit AND in the incomparable Rage.Alex Gainer, a mild mannered kindergarten teacher with a great singing voice, is kidnapped by masked lunatics and injected with a drug... Rage. This turns him into a mindless killer. Sweet. However he still has a heart, after the police are onto him all he wants is to help his family! Everyone could do with taking a page out of Gainer's book thats for sure. But this movie isn't all philosophy and love, oh no, this movie contains some of the best action, only rivalled by Executive Target. After then scene at the top of the sky scraper I needed to have surgical nail implants as I had bitten all of mine off, it was so tense. There is a great car and truck chase as well towards the beginning, but the final shoot out in the mall was the mad note. The stunts were exceptional and the choreography was breath taking.Well PM Entertainment proved they were still the best with this film, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did Good day friend

I usually like movies from this company (P.M. Entertainment), and you have to admit one thing: they try VERY HARD to deliver the goods! This is no exception. There are car chases, machine gun fights, falls, breaking glass, and a wild finale at a shopping mall. It IS very silly, though - but it somehow adds to the fun of the experience.