Pretty Good

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

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.

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...

Pretty good action flick. The usual stuff showed up. Pistols with endless magazine capacity. Why doesn't the guy pick up the guns of the other guys he kills etc. The hand to hand fights aren't "TOO" bad. It's not like bad Kung Fu movies with ninjas jumping around waiting for their turn to fight the guy in the center. It's close, but not quite to that point. Generally a watchable movie. I'll watch more in the franchise.The blurbs can't seem to make up their mind. "He's an Ex-Marine". First off, you're never an "EX" Marine. The blurbs also call him a SEAL. Photo early in the movie shows him in a USN uniform as a PO2, but no Trident. I don't think the uniform is accurate for his rate. And I'm not even sure the single breasted coat he's wearing is a USN uniform item at all. Sometimes little continuity and factual background stuff like that turns me off to a movie. I mean, come on, get the easy stuff right. Someone, somewhere in the production organization was in the Navy or the USMC.

As much as I think MJW is highly under-appreciated as a action star.. this film was poorly executed with minimal production, feels more in line with a TV production, with action sequences and panning equivalently equal to a modern day show like NCIS. You cannot simply vote this high, even if you are a MJW fan, for the most part he does"OK" but its a boring convoluted plot line, that adds nothing to the actual development of the film. The entire thing is dragged down and there isn't enough action sequences to overcome the stark reality of how mediocre the actual story is. I was brought to the film by MJW, but he cannot make more like this and expect me to return to his films.