Blast (2004)
It’s Die Hard…
on an oil rig.
Is the main character an average Joe?
Partially, Lamont Dixon (Eddie Griffin) is a simple tugboat captain but is also an ex-firefighter (on land and in the Navy). He jokes around about being an Ex-Navy SEAL and responds to “really?” with “Nah, that’s Steven Seagal”.
But he does know how to fight really good.
Sidekick?
Jamal (Breckin Meyer) is a computer expert and gives Griffin someone to quarrel with.
Any personal problems?
He switched jobs after he saw his best friend being killed in a fire. He now takes care of his friends son.
Is the lead character there by coincidence?
No, he was working on his tugboat getting the rig to its destination.
Are there any friends or family in danger?
The earlier mentioned kid…
What’s at stake and why aren’t the authorities doing anything?
Vinnie Jones is planning to detonate an electromagnetic bomb over the US. The authorities are doing something; they unknowingly sent in Breckin Meyer and are planning trying to negotiate. They even send a SEAL-Team but when you’ve seen The Rock you know what happens with SEAL-Teams. And of course there is an air strike that has to be aborted in the final scenes.
Any charismatic villains?
Vinnie Jones plays a terrorist posing as environmentalist in the usual Vinnie Jones way. With lots of menacing looks and tough talk. A bit low on charisma although he does get spout some one liners including the trademark “lovely”.
Is it any good?
It’s your typical straight-to-dvd action flick directed by Anthony Hickox who did a couple of notable movies in the early 90’s (Hellraiser III for instance). Fun fact: this movie was written by Steven E. de Souza, the same guy responsible for Die Hard. You can read my review here.
They are planning a remake, I would go for Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Joe Manganiello, Milo Ventimiglia, Tom Welling, Chris Evans, Chris Pine, Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Runner, Derek Theler, or D.J. Cotrona as Gabe Walker; and Billy Zane, Kevin Spacey, Dominic Pace, Alec Baldwin, Gil Banks, Hugo Weaving, Robert Knepper, Brian Van Holt, Travis Fine, Skeet Ulrich, or Dash Mihok as Qualen.
I think there is a way to improve The Taking of Beverly Hills, like instead an undercover Fed helped crippled a militia group and imprisoned many members including their leader. But the leader’s brother and a few members of the group plant bombs all over Beverly Hills, and threaten to set them off if the leader is not released, and the undercover fed seeks out the bombs while his partners buy him time.
Blast is good, but it would be worthwhile to note that, Agent Lisa Reed (Vivica A. Fox) finds out that Michael Kittridge (Vinnie Jones) is actually a mercenary named Skyler Talbot and had killed the real Kittridge and stole his identity to throw off authorities.
I would like to see Christmas Rush. Anyone know where to find it?
There are some sites that list it as streamable, but I don’t know how legit they are. If you own an XBMC player I would advise you to look on that network.
What is an XBMC Player? I have never heard of one.
In most cases they are mediaplayers running Android. Because they run Android they can download an app named XBMC from Google’s Play Store. XBMC allows you to search and stream movies
Don’t forget the other scenarios like Terminal Rush, Interceptor, Crash Dive, Counter Measures, 12 Rounds: Reloaded, 12 Rounds: Lockdown, Project: Shadow Chaser, Command Performance, Demolition University, Cyberjack/Virtual Assassin, Final Voyage, and Air Rage.
For Speed 2: Cruise Control, it should have been Direct to Video, and not a sequel to Speed. The lead villain should have been a pirate instead of soft ware designer turned mad bomber trying to blow up a ship.
Every time I see “Air Force One” I remember that in the Tom Clancy novels, the character of Jack Ryan becomes president. This film could have been part of the saga starring Harrison Ford, if he had continued it.