Direct to DVD Dissection this week looks at a new Danny Trejo movie, simply titled BAD ASS.
The Specs
Release Date June 5th, 2012
Rated R
Runtime 90 minutes.
Director Craig Moss
Studio Fox
The Story
After a viral video of him gives him fame as a bad ass, Frank Vega, a disenfranchised former veteran, is seen as a local hero among his community. He soon starts to turn his life around. However, after the murder of his best friend and the hesitance of the police to track down the killers, Vega steps up and goes out onto the streets to seek vengeance and kick some ass. Loosely based on the internet video featuring “The Epic Beard Man”.
The Cast
Danny Trejo as Frank Vega, a Vietnam veteran and near-homeless drifter who wins fame after defending an old black man from 2 skinheads on a bus.
Patrick Fabian as Officer Malark, Franks’ friend on the force that checks in on him after he turns vigilante.
Charles S. Dutton as Panther, leader of a group of criminals who keeps a close watch on Vega.
Joyful Drake as Amber Lamps, Vega’s neighbor who he gets close to because of her current issues at home.
Danny Trejo as Frank Vega
The Dissection
BAD ASS is a strange one, to say the least. On paper, it seems like a regular exploitation film of sorts. However, in execution, it plays sort of like a twisted super hero movie mixed with the grindhouse feel. It’s sort of similar to CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE, though it’s more subdued that that movie.
The story of Frank “Bad Ass” Vega plays out like a superhero origin that would make Spider-Man’s seem jolly in comparison. He returns home to find out his high school sweetheart married someone else, he can’t get a job, and the job he does get as a hot dog vendor is soon ruined by a food truck. His mother passes on, and his friend is killed on the street. This eventually leads him to go around the neighborhood and do battle with local thugs and criminals.
One of the more strange moves in the movie is that it really tries to play up how much of a bad ass Vega is, while at the same time trying to play him as a man tired of all the violence and wanting things to be quiet again. As well as that, during the fight scenes, Trejo has some impressive moves and takedowns for a graying old man. The rest of the characters suffer from this as well. You have typical gang bangers and thugs in one scene, and then you have a midget with a shotgun and a British Samoan in a suit and top hat in another. It’s sort of a mish mash, to be honest. The cops themselves also pull a 180 during scenes, going from competant but limited to what they can do, to people who just don’t give a damn about non-whites.
Vega fighting stylish goon Churchill (Tyler Tuione)
I know it sounds like the movie isn’t very good, but that’s the strangest thing. Even with all the problems mention, this movie is still massively entertaining. Eventually, those problems kind of disappear, or are put to the side. It is a movie that you don’t really start thinking about until after it ends. It’s more interested in the spectacle, and there’s never really a big lull in the action to leave people bored in it. It’s the kind of movie that is second nature to Trejo at this point. The rest of the cast do well when they don’t overdo it and act serious, but some of the lower points of the acting belong to people who know too much they’re in a movie like this. There’s also an annoying kid, the son of Amanda, who seems to use every kind of annoying kid technique from a sitcom.
The Extras
The movie features English audio track, along with a commentary track that features the director Craig Moss. It also features subtitles in English, French and Spanish. It also features a small feature called “Birth of a Bad Ass”, featuring the cast speaking out the film and how they got involved.
The Verdict
It’s a ridiculous film that wouldn’t normally work, but it does due to the execution of the film. It works well to give fans of Trejo something interesting beyond small cameo roles that usually make up his DVD catalog. It’s worth a rental.
Rent BAD ASS at Redbox
http://www.redbox.com/movies/bad-ass
Watch BAD ASS on Amazon Instant
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007TGNIY8/ref=atv_feed_catalog?tag=imdb-amazonvideo-20
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