Blowback

People are so sensitive these days, and seem to look for problems everywhere. A lot of people go out on TikTok and complain about everything, no matter if it is about relationships, the latest season of The Bachelor, or even if they did not get the right coffee they ordered at Starbucks. Back in the 80´s it was completely different. You would fist fight a guy, and no matter who won you solved the problem that way. There was no need for TikTok, the fist did the talking instead. Even if you hit his balls, it would still be a better way to solve the problem than go out on social media. I did get beat up, but looking back now it was still a way to learn how to deal with life. The 80´s was a hell of a good time either way, so when i see the young generation today on social media i feel depressed. My advice to them is, learn Muay Thai or any other combat sport. Speaking of the 80´s, this was the glorious time of action films, when you can blow up 8 cars, empty your ammo of 564 bullets, do some special kicks, and feel that everything was in control. Action films in those days didn´t care on what environment activists or extreme feminists thought, when all you needed was to show some muscles and kick some ass. It was during the 80´s you saw wrestler´s such as Hulk Hogan go into films such as Rocky 3 and No Holds Barred. Even if not every film Hulk Hogan made turned out to be successfull at the box office, he was still respected as a wrestler. The legacy of wrestle´s in action films continued into the 2000´s. Wrestler´s such as John Cena have been in several action films, and i especially remember the 2006 film known as The Marine. A classic action concept story of a marine soldier called John Triton ( John Cena ), who´s wife is kidnapped by a group of diamond thieves. If you just want to watch an action film that is entertaining and simple, The Marine is a good choice Speaking of wrestler´s, another well known name in action films that includes a wrestler is of course Randy Couture, who is also a 6 times world heavyweight champion in UFC. Even if he have been in several action films over the years, his most famous role has to be as Toll Road in The Expendables franchise. I recently sat down to watch his latest action film known as Blowback, to see if it would be any good. Is this the perfect film to enjoy this upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, or is Blowack a perfect example of a straight to DVD release that will dust on a shelf?

Nick ( Cam Gigandet ) is in need of money, and accept a mission to do a heist with gym owner Veronica ( Michele Plaia ) with a team of criminals including Jack ( Randy Couture ). At first everything seems to be going smooth, until one of the heist gang members shoot Nick, and steal his part of the heist. Nick have been tricked, and need to find a way to strike back towards the people who betrayed him.

I was hoping Blowback would be a fun throwback to the action films of the past, but unfortunately this is another typical example of a straight to DVD action release. Does this mean that there is nothing positive to say about this film? Even if i have some things to say from a critical perspective, i will say this. If you just want a simple heist action film, you could do worse than Blowback. There are a few scenes where you at least feel like they are trying to go back to action films of the past, even if you can tell that the budget is limited. And for that i am thankful, that they don´t care what is trending right now, let´s just go old school instead. If they only would have made the action scenes more powerful, this could have been a fun ride. Now to the problems with Blowback. First of all there is no real chemistry between the heist gang, and you don´t really care what will happen to them. If you remember the classic heist gang of Quentin Tarantino´s cult film Reservoir Dogs, that is how you do a heist team. In Blowback it just feels like this team is here to pick up their money, and don´t even care about doing this job either, If you are making a heist film, i think you need some kind of chemistry between a criminal gang, or why even bother making a criminal gang? The acting is not very good by some of the characters, and this does not help the heist scenes either. I will say this, lead actor Cam Gigandet ( who i enjoyed in the 2010 action horror film Priest ) is the most interesting character in this film, playing the character Nick. If he would have been given better dialogue, and a better script, he might have been able to make his character even more interesting. Randy Couture as Jack do have a few good scenes, but i would have liked to see him more violent and feel more evil, since he is supposed to be one of the bad guys. One surprise though is actor Robert Giardina as the character Joey Delfanzo. If he would have been in the heist gang, this could have actually been a much more interesting film. I like the way he portrait his character, like an old school Italian gangster. How are the action scenes in general? Not that impressive honestly, so this is another detail that should have been fixed. Director Tibor Takács ( director of the 1996 film Sabrina - The Teenage Movie, and the 1998 film Sabrina Goes To Rome, both masterpieces of course  ) is clearly a fan of old school action films. For some reason he doesn´t seem to know how to make a solid heist film, and just make too many simple decisions instead. Blowback could have been great, and what we are left with is just another action release that will most likely be forgotten. I suggest you watch Quentin Tarantino's cult classic Reservoir Dogs from 1992 if you want a really good heist film. Blowback has too little to offer, and that is not a good sign if you enjoy action films in general. 

Rating: DD