Skin Traffik

Skin Traffik excels, unapologetically, at what it seeks to be: a fun, violent action romp, built upon a amazing cast and plenty of action where Bradley (Gary Daniels) kills mobsters, assassins and all the middlemen in between. As for the actual narrative: it's blessedly simplistic and unsophisticated, with no illusions of grandeur: Bradley's hit goes sideways with Vogal (Mickey Rourke) and his old employer (Eric Roberts) wants him dead. He drops out the game and is hiding out in London where he comes across a hooker (Dominique Swain) who needs help. He makes a promise to help her find her little sister and from that point everyone who gets in Bradley's (Gary Daniels) way as he makes his journey of vengeance ends up in a body bag. Simple. The invincible tough-guy archetype and action mixed with the amazing cast of EVERYONE!!!!! which include MICKEY ROURKE, ERIC ROBERTS, DARYL HANNAH, MICHAEL MADSEN, JEFF FAHEY, DOMINIQUE SWAIN, ALAN FORD ! This is an independent film written, produced, directed, filmed, edited, action, fight choreography and co-starring all by one man ARA PAIAYA. The action and cast are the most enjoyable aspects of the film. Paiaya creates both the visual and physical dimensions of the film it's no surprise that the director is able to put together some of the slickest action sequences seen in an independent film with such a high profile cast being a martial arts expert according to IMDb Trivia and looks to have starred in a bunch of low budget DTV chop socky flicks. Certainly a step up from the usual Hollywood shaky cam action fare. The action is very well executed, slick and polished in design. When the violence and action isn't taking place, some good production and set design plus some nice cinematography help keep the eye reasonably satisfied whenever things slow down. It's action, it's British and it has an all star cast not the greatest story in the world but it's a little action gem.

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.

The promo looked good. In the first 10 minutes i knew i wasted my money. Acting bad, filming bad, plot worse. Its just compounded all together. I don't like to say it, but an Adam Sandler movie is better. Please trust me and move on in your search for a good action movie to watch. As with previous reviews, the director wears too many hats. The lead could be reading his lines from someone yelling to him off side. Action actually not that bad, its the shot angles and editing that i found disjointed. All, the other stars probably saw this as a quick buck. It is painful to see these quality actor go through the motions. It all looks rushed as if to get in to DVD release asap.I feel bad for me and any other who see the preview, as that was all you need to see to not enjoy what little there is.

A fast paced, stylish and ultra-violent extravaganza that provides the stars with a much-needed infusion of cool featuring hard-core action and an amazing cast list of A list stars. There are enough pleasures going on in Skin Traffik to elevate it above just another dumb action movie. The film has a tendency to embrace the action genre's more obnoxious elements, but there's a proudly no-nonsense air throughout Skin Traffik won't redefine action movies, but it perfectly exemplifies what I want from an action film. The filmmakers expertly deliver one action highlight after another in a near-nonstop thrill ride it's the kind of fired-up, ferocious B-movie fun some of us can't get enough of. You know who you are!

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.