Bad Ass

Alright I think all of us know that this for Danny Trejo's sake was not going to be anywhere near the caliber of Machete, that was funded in the millions & written very well. What we have here is a decent low budget VOD or netflix watch. The story is very simple, Trejo a man who served 7 years in the Vietnam war & upon arriving back to society he faced what every soldier faced upon returning home, a place to fit in. He struggled through the next 40 years running his hot dog stand & minding his own business. Then one day on a public bus he kicked the crap out of two punks harassing an old man & it was filmed by another bus rider & leaked onto the internet. It goes viral & he is proclaimed by the public as "Bad Ass". A title he wasn't looking for but he was happy to finally be fitting in with society.

After his one & only friend was murdered senselessly he became the man the public wanted him to be & started on journey of ass kicking his way to find answers. This film won't win any awards but it was certainly entertaining for 90 minutes, and all you punks giving it a 1 rating should go sky diving without a parachute because obviously your brainless body is just in the way. It's 5/10 solidly, actually it's worth more than that for the great message it leaves the viewer. So to belittle this fine piece of film is in itself a crime!

I couldn't help thinking of Gran Torino & Harry Brown a bit at times due to the fact of all three characters being in a war, all being senior citizens & all they wanted was a little peace & a bit of happiness and they were "called" back into duty for something they truly believed in.

So... I just watched Danny Trejo's Bad Ass, which is based on the the Epic Beard Man events.

It is a somewhat entertaining film, definitely clichéd and riddled with one liners that are so bad you have to laugh at them, think Batman and Robin with Arnold as Mr. Freeze using his goofy one liners, then take scenarios like a bus running over parking meters and Trejo's Frank Vega saying, "Sorry I don't have any change." I am not trying to say that these eye rolling moments don't make the film hard to watch, in fact given their context they work to an extent.

The film is of course based on Thomas Brusco, the senior citizen who beat up a bus patron and became a You Tube sensation about 2 years ago. Here the filmmakers twist the yarn and give Epic Beard Man, a somewhat touching, if not mushy back story of being lost in today's world. They do try to keep the action moving even to the point that they inter-cut footage from the Arnold Schwarzenegger film RED HEAT to help provide the films climax.

People will try and compare this film to Machete, and in a way I can see where they might get the inclination to make such a comparison, but believe me they are not int he same class.

The primary cast are senior citizens, and if you want to watch a bunch of seniors kicking ass and taking names, this is definitely worth a look. If you decide to walk into the film, keep a VERY open mind. It is a B movie from start to finish.

The best way to describe it is a Die Hard for seniors, but I may be giving it too much credit in saying that but overall, if you're looking for a way to kill 90 minutes on a Sunday afternoon (Or in my case, a Saturday morning) then give it a whirl.

This is a low-budget entry in a sub-genre. The Geriatric, OG, Geezer, violent Vigilante Movie. With the aging Baby Boomers we are likely to see quite a few more. It has always been cathartic to see Superheroes and maybe regular Folks standing up to oppression and intimidation. From Robin Hood to Batman to Paul Kersey to Harry Brown, we get satisfaction from their noble efforts.

In this one Danny Trejo gets to show some good acting chops as an against type, soft spoken, good hearted Bad Ass. He is quite good here with more range than usual and demonstrates why he has so many devoted fans.

The Film itself is not very well constructed and has some barely needed and sometimes embarrassing subplots, like the fetching Female neighbor with the cute and wise-cracking Son. But the action is acceptable and quite violent at times.

Not a bad Movie but does not quite rise to the level of a Cult Movie with staying power or a gritty real-life Noir. It really does not know what it wants to be and for that matter and that lack of direction the Film fails to be better than a standard B-Movie.

"You killed my best friend, how do you want to die?" When Vietnam vet Frank Vega (Trejo) returns to the US he has big plans for his life. When a few things don't go his way life begins to pass him by. He is now 60 and lost. While taking the bus one day he defends an elderly man who is being picked on and finds himself a local hero. After his friend is murdered and the cops don't do enough he decides to take the law into his own hands. I have to start by saying that only Danny Trejo could play this part, it is so perfect for him. Perfect blend of over the top action and comedy and realistic action that only he can pull off. That said this is really nothing original combining parts of "Falling Down", "Gran Torino" and "Hobo With A Shotgun" but what the movie is is very entertaining. There are some movies that suck you in with a story and keep you interested and guessing. This is not one of those movies but if you are looking for a movie to put in and be entertained for an hour and a half with out much thinking then this is perfect. Overall, not a good movie per se, but a very entertaining one that is worth a watch. I give it a B.

..So says a police officer that is on Frank Vega's (Danny Trejo) side. The film is a by the book revenger. There are probably a thousand and one films like "Bad Ass." But Danny's the star, and that makes all the difference. Also, he's a nice guy in this one and doesn't start beating people up until the bad guys force him to beat them up. Lots of action, some blood, and a whole lot of butt kicking. If you're a fan of revenge films, it is recommended.