Falcon Rising

I had very little expectations to the movie, as I hadn't even heard about it prior to stumbling upon it by sheer luck on Netflix. I decided to watch it solely because Michael Jai White starred in it.

And it turned out that this action flick was actually rather entertaining. Sure, the storyline was generic and something that definitely has been seen before in other action movies. But the combination of the storyline, the action, the acting, and the cast, then the end result really worked out as an entertaining action movie with that late 1980's feel that action movies had back then.

The story, in all its simplistic glory, is about a an ex-marine (played by Michael Jai White) who travels to Brazil, where he takes up fighting the Yakuza in the slums of Brazil, because the Yakuza attacked her sister and left her for dead.

There is a lot of action and fighting throughout the course of "Falcon Rising", and I will say that the action sequences and the fight scenes were quite nicely choreographed and executed on the screen. Which only added to the enjoyment of the movie, of course.

"Falcon Rising" is definitely worth the time of watching if you are a fan of old school action movies.

You will probably find "Falcon Rising" to be entertaining the more that you are in an undemanding mood when you sit down to watch it. I'm not saying that it is a bad movie, but there are several things holding it back from being a great B movie. The faults with the movie do not concern its star, Michael Jai White. Although his acting is only adequate, he does make up for it by his strong presence and animal magnetism, and when he thrown into an action scene, he acquits himself very well. The main problems with the movie generally fall with the script. The story (which is to a large degree very predictable) is kind of padded out, and takes forever to get going (over a third of the movie goes by before White's character really starts to get down to business.) Also, the movie gives White less of a chance to show off his martial art skills or gunplay than you might think. But when the action does come, it's pretty decent, not the best I've seen but also far from the worst. So the movie ends up being an okay effort, best saved for a casual viewing experience rather than when you are really craving a lot of gratuitous violent action.

Well, this enter the "you seen that before" category from the get go. There is nothing original about the plot. Ex Marine Falcon is out of the battlefield with post war trauma, the only thing he care for in this world is his sister. She get attacked and left for dead in Brazil and he goes after the people doing it.

The rest is your typical plot of any movies of that sub genra... BUT the main focus here is that this movie star Michael Jai White, the guy can be pretty impressive on screen. Not only does he has an intimidating presence and know how to act, but he fight really good too.

This is what makes the movie. Its true there is not as many fights as one would like, but when they happen, they are pretty good, and its really what i consider a very cool B action movie. If you like what veterans like Lundgren, Van Damme, Seagal or such do these days, you will love this one as its a bit above in my book. The thing is, MJW can fight, and its obvious the only reason why this movie does not shine more is the lack of fighting sequence for a plot development, which can't be seen badly either.

I had fun watching this, and i heard they plan it to be a series of movies, so i am interest to see what Falcon has in store next.

7.5/10

I agree with A_Different_Drummer's review for this movie and his Blood and Bone review. MJW is one of the best action stars out there and is still under-utilized. While this movie started off slowly, the second half was very entertaining and worth it. Predictable story but who cares, it's all about the style for this movie.

MJW needs more roles, I will watch anything with him in it. If you haven't seen Blood and Bone or Black Dynamite yet, go ahead and do yourself the favor.

Though this one isn't his strongest movie it beats the usual 6's and 7's on IMDb that are churned out by Popllywood.

After watching two Steven Seagal movies this weekend, I have a basis for comparison to say that this is fine action entertainment. Surely, the plot/story could have been better, but it's far from boring, and one does get to care for the characters. Most of the actors playing Brazilian didn't quite speak proper Brazilian Portuguese, but unless you speak Portuguese you won't notice it, and I didn't care that much, although it does take away some of the authenticity. There's some predictability, so if you're expecting something very original, you'd be disappointed.

This movie delivers different scenes and locations, a story that makes you wonder a bit what's going to happen next, great martial arts fighting from Michael Jai White and even some cool Capoeira moves from Lateef Crowder. The gun fights are also pretty good. If you love action, this movie is fun and leaves you wanting more. Wish there was a sequel...