Action

Ultraman: Rising

  • Title: Ultraman: Rising
  • IMDb: link

Ultraman: Rising

Combining elements of a reluctant hero, evil government agencies, the struggles of early parenthood, estranged father-son relationships, selfish characters learning to care about others, and Kaiju leaving mass destruction in their wake comes Ultraman: Rising inspired by the Japanese series and its various spin-offs. Our main character is prima dona Ken Sato (Christopher Sean) who returns to play for the local baseball team and to take over his father’s secret role as Japan’s protector Ultraman.

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Bad Boys: Ride or Die

  • Title: Bad Boys: Ride or Die
  • IMDb: link

Bad Boys: Ride or Die

Bad Boys: Ride or Die is exactly what you would expect from the franchise known for its inconsistent consistency. We get plenty of action and explosions, overly convoluted plot leading into some humorous (and some groanworthy) situations, and a hefty dose of nostalgia and nods to fans for a franchise that is now nearly 30 years old. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence return once more, this to to clear the name of their former captain (Joe Pantoliano who appears in flashbacks and shitty artsy-fartsy dream sequences). Thrown in are the obvious bad guy hiding in plain sight along with the returning Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, and Paola Núñez.

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Bad Boys II

  • Title: Bad Boys II
  • IMDb: link

Bad Boys II

Like most action sequels, Bad Boys II is bigger and louder than the first film. However, it’s not necessarily any better. On one hand, the sequel spends a bit more time on the script than the original actually creating reasons for the constant bickering between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence and the crazy antics and action. On the other hand, things inevitably get out of control in the bloated script with a final act that more resembles Commando that any sort of believable police story.

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Bad Boys

  • Title: Bad Boys
  • IMDb: link

Bad Boys

1995 answered the question of whether or not two black television stars could launch a successful franchise built largely on action sequences and recycled themes and plots from the genre. The film was a commercial success earning back more than three times its budget domestically and quite a bit more overseas and spawned three sequels over the next three decades. Whether or not these two can eventually make a good movie together is still a question that nearly 30 years later has yet to be answered. 

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Rush Hour 3

  • Title: Rush Hour 3
  • IMDb: link

Rush Hour 3

To date the last of the Rush Hour films, Rush Hour 3 is the weakest (by far). Every aspect of the film feels tired, pulling lesser versions of villains from both the first two films, and throwing Lee (Jackie Chan) and Carter (Chris Tucker) together ending up in Paris. We get the the abduction of Soo Yung (Jingchu Zhang) like in the first film, the evil philanthropist (Max Von Sydow) in plain sight like the first film, a villain (Hiroyuki Sanada) tied to Lee’s past like in the second film, and bigger stunts, goofy sequences (including Carter’s groanworthy fight sequence in a dojo and the molestation by French cops) and exotic locales in an attempt to hide the script’s many, many problems.

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