Why was Action Jackson denied its own franchise? With such macho-flick pedigree — Lethal Weapon’s Joel Silver as producer, stunt man Craig R. Baxley as director and, of course, Apollo Creed himself in the starring role — it looked like Carl Weathers was poised to jump from the Rocky series to his own soon-to-wear-out-its-welcome character.
I blame The Pointer Sisters being on the soundtrack. But I also blame a stupid screenplay and Silver/Baxley for allowing it to dip itself into the pool of ’80s excess.
Weathers is Sgt. Jericho “Action” Jackson. This cat is so cool that the first words we hear out of his mouth are “Mellow out.” Plus, as we learn in the opening minutes, he can run as fast as a speeding taxi. Repeat: as fast as a speeding taxi. Because the boss’ wife has a Parcheesi game, Jackson is asked to attend a Man of the Year dinner for Peter Dellaplane (Poltergeist pops Craig T. Nelson), who happens to be the father of the sexual psychopath who got Jackson demoted, despite his ability to run as fast as a speeding taxi.
Jackson and Dellaplane naturally exchange words at the frou-frou event, as our Harvard-educated supercop sees right through the sleazy auto magnate’s do-gooder public persona. Sure enough, Dellaplane likes to deal with his competition by truly eliminating them. Catch my drift? (Murder, yo.)
For every kick-ass element to Action Jackson, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Example: Sharon Stone nude in a steam room; Herbie Hancock’s “wacky” sax licks. Another: Vanity; Vanity. But the worst of all is the dialogue, presumably written as a string of intended catchphrases, particularly in its third act. Following one character busting in on trouble with a hearty “Hello, I’m Mr. Ed! You called about a paint job?,” you get Jackson setting an enemy aflame after cracking, “Barbecue, huh? How do you like your ribs?” Oooooh, burn! —Rod Lott
The only thing I remembered about this movie was the trailer and that NASA joke.