Skin Traffik

Unthinkable and disgraceful exercise in action movie-making by computer. The CGI graphics are as bad as the score, and the incredible cast must have been paid a lot of money to participate in something this bad. It's hard to pin-point just where things aren't wretched throughout the movie, as it comes so fast, supported by the vocabulary of modern B movie camoflauge--like, ooooh, drone shots. A truly magnificent botch. You would think any writer or director would compensate such a solid cast with decent characters and some surprises. But it's not the case here. The action cliche's and sloppy fight scenes don't play out in 3,000 cuts a minute, but the realism and effects re: bruise and injury makeup are as absent as in the most B-movie efforts of the 1950s. Might as well not have people clutch their CGI wounds like victims did their absent ones in old films, as this movie is so transparent it almost seems like the sets and locations themselves aren't real.

When I realized a movie had come out in 2015 which counted as members of its cast- Rourke, Roberts & Hannah, I decided to go for it. I took a chance on a movie I had never heard of. This movie is about as different from "The Pope of Greenwich Village," as any film could be. The star of this movie is an actor I was not familiar with who plays the role of a hit man - so deluded that he believes his mission has been to do "good" in the world - at least until he began asking hard questions. You should take the title, "Skin Traffik," to mean exactly what you think it means. The main characters differ in how they relate to said, "traffik," and the varying degrees of moral relativism each of them possesses. A missed opportunity with this cast.

One of the best direct-to-video pieces starring Gary Daniels in recent years (another strong notable being the surprisingly excellent Tekken adaptation), Skin Traffik is an entertaining, fast paced thriller that delivers hard action. Daniels plays Bradley, a stoic yet rage-filled hit-man who is the best at what he does.

After an ordered job goes awry, the emotional trauma that results sidelines the former killer for hire into a quiet, subdued life in low-rent surroundings. One day, an aggressive pimp gets the idea that it might be a good idea to beat around his girls in front of Bradley, and chaos ensues. The power structure of the entire human trafficking ring is slowly targeted and lethally dismantled with cool, cruel efficiency.

Gary Daniels once again puts forward a physically believable character performance, fitting perfectly into the role of the remorse-filled reaper of death. His martial arts form looks as strong as ever, delivering his trademark roundhouse kicks with blurring speed, and a side dish of close-combat choreography to boot. Directed by Ara Paiaya, the camera work is quite adequate, and the story flows along at an extremely brisk ~96 minutes.

This necessitates a lot of quick camera work and a lack of exposition at times that leaves the viewer guessing as to how certain events may have played out in the interim, which is effective as a technique at times and somewhat distracting at others. Nonetheless, the decision to keep the film moving at a breakneck pace was a smart one, as the worst thing an action movie can be is boring. Viewers will certainly not be bored by the amount of fights and shoot-outs in the film.

It seemed that Bradley was a one-man killing machine throughout the entire running time which is gratifying for fans of the classic 80s-era action motif. Though some of the foley effects are a bit weak, at other times they are very effective, lending credibility and realism to an over-the-top premise. The acting is also fairly strong, particularly Daniels, Jeff Fahey, Michael Madsen, and Eric Roberts. Eric Roberts nearly steals the show as the soul-sucking Executive, countering Daniels perfectly as opposition. Also worthy of note would be the performance of Dominique Swain as Anna Peel, the first friendly face in Bradley's world in a long time.

A last yet excellent surprise was the narrative surrounding the character of Vogel, played by Mickey Rourke, again showing his chops in a light-hearted but ultimately dead-serious role that seems to flit in and out of our memory as Skin Traffik steams along. Fans of Gary Daniels and the other cast should not be disappointed by this rather modestly budgeted revenge film. The formula may be predictable but there is not much wasted screen time and Skin Traffik achieves exactly what it seeks to do — deliver hard-hitting action at a breakneck pace.

Most definitely a guy's movie. It has a very nice retro feel to it. Like a throw back to the 80's. Classic cast of Hollywood veterans seen for the first time all together. Blood, guts and a lot of action from the start to the end. The best part is Gary Daniels he has never looked better and finally the fight scenes are done right with a Hong Kong flavor and in a Hollywood movie. He gives the proper intensity and he's back to his best performance ever!. Damn he looks good for 50 years + old! Essentially it's an all star cast movie about a hit man who kills hundreds of bad men to avenge a dead hooker and save her little sister from human trafficking. Prepare to watch the hero engage in hand-to-hand combat, then shoot, one person after another, non-stop, for the entire 97 minute run time of this movie. Every scene has a famous face in it and it's one for the action movie collection especially for fans of all these Hollywood legends.

Here's another of this grind house sort flicks, British style and pretty bad at that. Another indie sort, that does have it's share of action, it's lead, a likable bad arse. Daniels plays a hit-man, who makes a fatal error, ending the life of an innocent party, the daughter of his objective, a swelled, puffed up libosuctioned faced Rourke, in a why bother film. Daniel's who gone off the radar of his agency, is implored by a young Russian prostitute (an annoying overacted Dominique Swain who needs a good whack in the head) to find her younger sister, caught up in the rackets (stereotypical sexy scenes of young groomed girls, in sexy lingerie, going off reluctantly with older clientele) Daniels visits an illegitimate model agency, run by that memorable cockney guy from Snatch, and finally ends up seeing a guy (Jeff Fahey) who's mistaken for the infamous executive, who has the missing girl. High kicks and fistfights go hand and hand in some great choreographed sequences, but is just bottom b grade. It's frightening to see good actors wasted in crap like this, where more here, it's crap with a trashy b grade style of it's own. Again likable bad arse Michael Madsen and Daryl Hannah, who looks terrible here libosuctioned lips share screen time as hit man accomplices, Madsen, providing one shocking amusing moment. The head of the agency, Daniels works for, is played with slimy sleek professionalism by Eric Roberts, (him and Fahey, the best actors in the movie). Daniel's does make a great action hero, but take Skin Traffik for what it is, trashy entertaining CRAP, nothing more.