Froid comme l'enfer

If Hulk would have made movies like this in the 80's - early 90's he would have cult action hero movie status. Shame it came to late, and under the strait to video level. Great old school action scenes, and story line. Nothing too deep, but good old 80's - early 90's style fun.

Well this 1998 action movie starring none other than Hulk Hogan himself is pretty much standard late 1990s action cheese.

Sure, as I sat down to watch "The Ultimate Weapon" here in 2021, I can't really claim that my expectations were super high for the movie. But still, I opted to sit down and watch it and give it a chance.

Turns out that writer Robert Paul and director Jon Cassar actually managed to put together an action movie that was adequate enough. I mean, it did follow that stereotypical how-to-make-an-action movie that was going on with most action movies back in the 1990s. So at least the movie had that going on. So there is some nostalgia to be experience here, cheesy as it was.

Then there was the part about Hulk Hogan in the lead. Yeah, that part wasn't really a winning bet. I mean, sure he was good on the screen back in the 1980s when I was watching WWF on TV. But as a movie star and an actor? No, that wasn't really his strong side. But you just bear over with it as he stumbles through the movie.

And to make things even better. You would assume that a physical man such as Hulk Hogan would be doing his own action scenes and such. But no. There was a stunt double to do this for him. And they didn't even bother to get one that remotely looked like him. In all scenes with the stunt double, you just curl your toes as it is so blatantly obvious that it is not Hulk Hogan himself doing it. I mean, even running up hill on an obstacle course they uses a stunt double. Boy, oh boy. And I was cracked up when they used a stunt double that had a mullet. Yeah, a mullet. It didn't even match Hulk Hogans hair in the movie at all.

There is actually a fair amount of action in the movie. Adequate action actually, not great action mind you. So director Jon Cassar managed to pull that off well enough.

"The Ultimate Weapon" is a movie that you can watch a single time. Trust me, this movie does not have the contents in storyline or action contents to support more than a single viewing.

My rating of the 1998 movie "The Ultimate Weapon" lands on a less than mediocre four out of ten stars. Truth be told, then the movie was actually somewhat better than I had anticipated it would be.

Often imitated, but never duplicated, this is the movie that started it all - the bombshell that sparked a revolution in action movies that continues unabated to this day. As soon as it was released you knew that no action movie could ever be the same, and indeed, the influence of "the Ultimate Weapon" will probably be felt 50 years hence. Gone are the days when a top grossing action flick could expect to get by on marginal acting, low brow humor, a few car chases and exposed breasts, some brief colloquial dialog occasionally interrupting the constant bombardment of seizure inducing special effects. "The ultimate weapon" has changed the landscape forever. So much more is demanded now. Gone are the flat, one dimensional action heroes, little more than walking assortments of infantile one-liners and agonizing clichés. Enter Ben Cutter: a character so psychologically complex, affecting emotional states so vivid and true to life, that he seems almost to jump out of the screen and merge seamlessly into the viewers surroundings. He has a tangible, corporeal presence that the audience finds difficult to shake off even after the movie has ended. The framework of this movie is disarmingly simple. The plot seems to be yet another rehash of the same tired action formulas from decades past. But the movie manages to invest all these familiar thematic elements with an energy and aura all its own, something so difficult to describe and awe inspiring to behold, that no review can claim to do it justice. The truth is I can't really pin down what makes this movie so great. I'm able to discuss plenty of other great films with others, but when "the Ultimate Weapon" comes up an inexplicable silence falls on the conversation, and all that remains is certain knowing and strangely communicative glances between all involved that seem to convey a common understanding, wordless and enigmatic, between those who have had the privilege of witnessing this movie.

Since this film is brought to you by the same guy you directed 24 and Kung Fu The Legend Continues ("look I'm not my father, I don't do Kung Fu, I'm a cop, thats who I am, thats what I do!"), Id have to say this falls right in lock-step. This is an action film with no action. Let me explain, there is no tension, there's nothing to grab you and shake you about, it is a dry run at half-speed. Watch it for yourself and tell me if any of the action looks anything but Hasselhoff-staged. Not since Knight Rider has there been such action and adventure. Hulk Hogan with hair-doo and sidekick couldn't have less chemistry, the bad guy is a frightening as Ferris Bueller's father. This is a dry, moldy, wet noodle of a movie and I smell conspiracy: Jon Cassar "who are you working for!" Another Jack Bauer classic is: "what are you talking about!" This is what I would yell at Director Casser for such an opus.

This is honestly a really good action movie. It is one of Hogan's best movies by far. It's good action in the same style as most good 80s or 90s action movies. It's obviously a B movie it doesn't have a lot of the production and what not as Schwarzenegger or Stallone or Van Damme movies do. But for what it is, it's actually really good, I really enjoy it. Hogan made some stinkers back in the day, this movie isn't one of them. Obviously movies like suburban commando, and no holds, barred or his best movies, but this movie along with the thunder in Paradise movies and the assault on devils island movies are his best work. This is vastly underrated and flies under the radar when talking about most action movies. But give it a watch with an open mind and I bet you'll enjoy it. Seriously, it's Hogan at his best. Great plot, great acting, pretty well put together and some great action scenes. It's just a fun movie, it's nothing too serious, it's nothing that you have to Spend time and energy trying to figure out. It's just a fun and easy movie to watch.