Retour en force

Just a minor note: some have said Back in Action was a direct-to-video release in the U.S. which isn't accurate. It was released for a brief run in the Southwest in 1993, playing at United Artists theaters including the University Quartet in Little Rock. Based on my memory, however, the lure of the 35mm prints did not attract huge audiences although I think it made a second week of release at one location as a split run. While Shaprio-Glickenhaus Entertainment did handle the Foreign Distribution Sales, it arranged with United International Pictures (UIP) for the domestic theatrical run in the U.S., probably just for the video store campaign as much as anything.

A vigilante trying to clean up the streets and save his sister from a life of crime, with a maverick cop not prepared to play by the rules. Banks, and Piper, provide a perfect buddy movie.

Their chemistry shows on screen, which is why they would re-united a few years later. The plot is not overly complicated, a simple drugs operation with a powerful overload, mean and incompetent head honchos, and inept muscle, perfect combination.

A good movie for one of those days when you are ill and need to spend the day on the sofa. It is raining outside but Banks and Piper bring a little sunshine to the day.

A detective whose partner is murdered by drug dealers teams up with an ex special-forces martial arts expert who also has a beef with these criminals, on account of them having abducted his sister.

Back in Action, the title says it all. There was a time in the mid 90's when I remember reading a newspaper report that said that there was a crisis in the b-movie world as a result of there being a dangerous shortage of generic action-themed titles left to use. Because of the plethora of action movies between the mid 80's to the mid 90's a huge number of these textbook titles that promised everything while suggesting nothing had been used up. And yeah, well, Back in Action is a pretty good example of one of those forgettable titles.

This is one of those two-strangers-who-don't- get-on-then-do-get-on films. So you pretty much know from an early point where this one is headed. It's another buddy film with lots of testosterone fuelled action. It's very generic overall and nothing really occurs that is particularly unexpected but what keeps it being watchable are the stars Rowdy Roddy Piper and Billy Blanks. Both these leads are proper action stars who do their actual fighting but equally importantly they have genuine charisma and work well bouncing off each other. This still can't prevent this one from being a pretty by-the-numbers effort but Piper and Blanks are definitely good value here for sure.

For a movie that is largely sold (on posters, taglines, etc.) on the strength of the Billy Blanks - "Rowdy" Roddy Piper teaming, "Back In Action" doesn't really feature as much of their teamwork as you might expect - it's only in the last half hour that they join forces to go after the same targets. It's a bit of a shame, too, as these two do have some strong chemistry (in their first scene together, they fight each other, and it's amusing to see Blanks' kickboxing vs. Piper's brawling), and the rest of the "plot" is far too weak to hold your interest in other ways. The action in general is nothing really special in quality, but it's hard to complain about the quantity at least. The two women in the film, Bobbie Phillips and Kai Soremekun, are gorgeous, but it seems a bit of a waste to cast Phillips in a martial arts actioner and give her only about 10 seconds of fighting in total, considering how much a$$ she kicked in the same year's "TC 2000" (also with Blanks). Also be warned: this is an extremely violent film. I wasn't surprised to read on IMDb that it was originally rated NC-17 in the USA, and banned (!) in the UK. ** out of 4.

This is an excellent "B" movie. Blanks and Piper work really well together. The story is decent. But story doesn't count, action does. And there is more than enough action to keep people happy. Blanks and Piper are good in the numerous fight scenes. Overall a really good movie that any action fan should check out.