Bad Ass (2012)

Number Rolled: 12

Movie Name/Year: Bad Ass (2012)

Tagline: They messed with the wrong senior citizen.

Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime

Length: 90 minutes

Rating: R

Production Companies: Amber Lamps, Silver Nitrate

Producer: Jim Busfield, Ben Feingold, Ash R. Shah

Director: Craig Moss

Writer: Craig Moss, Elliot Tishman

Actors: Danny Trejo, Charles S. Dutton, Patrick Fabian, Joyful Drake, John Duffy, Harrison Page, Richard Riehle, Winter Ave Zoli, Tonito Castro, Andy Davoli, Patricia De Leon, Frank Maharajh, Jillian Murray, Shalim Ortiz, Craid Sheffer, Chris Spencer, Ron Perlman, John Dixon, Kevin Patrick Burke

Stunt Doubles: Damien Bray, Norman Mora

Blurb from Netflix: Loosely based on a true incident, this tale follows a lonely Vietnam vet who bravely takes on two menacing hoods on a bus.

Selina’s Point of View:

I was expecting a much lower quality B-movie than I got. I was incredibly happy with this film.

I really love Danny Trejo (Shoot the Hero, All About the Money, Enter the Fist and the Golden Fleece). He’s entertaining as all hell to watch. I know I say a lot about ‘old guy in an action flick’ type of films, but this totally doesn’t qualify. Trejo is not an old guy in an action film. He’s the embodiment of the action genre. Seeing him outside of an action film is weird and, quite frankly, most action films could benefit from his involvement.

If he ever retires from acting, he should at least stay on as some kind of consultant, because Trejo knows what he’s doing.

As for the rest of the film… I’m in love with it. It was brutal and dramatic, but kind of funny. It was exactly the kind of action movie I gravitate toward.

I didn’t like the guy they used for the young version of the main character (Frank Vega). The actor, Shalim Ortiz (Lady of Steel, American Curious, Loki 7), was fine. He did perfectly well in his part. His acting wasn’t the issue. I just don’t think he looked enough like Danny Trejo for me to believe that he was a younger version of Vega.

That one issue could have been fixed by a little more work from the makeup department. I think it was the makeup department head, Myriam Arougheti (The Good Neighbor, Benched, Trophy Wife), that dropped the ball. I don’t think it was the casting directors, Shannon Makhanian (A Dark Reflection, Intruders, Dirty Lies) and Mary Jo Slater (Perception, The Forger, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective).

I’d recommend this film in heartbeat.

Cat’s Point of View:

I was excited to ‘roll up on’ this movie. (I couldn’t help it.)

Danny Trejo (The Ridiculous 6, Cyborg X, Storks) is always entertaining to watch – whether he’s delivering a tongue-in-cheek performance of a character stereotyped to his looks, or a role of more substance.

This film was no exception.

This was the perfect movie to cap off my 4th of July holiday festivities with. It had heart, comedy, and plenty of action. There was some heavy stuff going on but it didn’t feel too much. The dark humor helped that a lot, I think.

There were a few moments I gasped, and others that I cringed – but not in the bad way. I can honestly say that the story was refreshingly unexpected. Of course, elements in this sort of film are easily predictable if you are trying; but I wasn’t. I was just enjoying the ride.

I also find it fascinating that this was somewhat based on a true story – as far as the older bus-line hero goes, at least.

I would have no qualms whatsoever in recommending this movie, and I’m actually looking forward to watching the sequel.

Languages

Speech Available: English

Subtitles Available: English

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 20%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 39%

Metascore - None

Metacritic User Score – None

IMDB Score – 5.5/10

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4/5

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4.5/5

Movie Trailer: