Bad Ass

For a movie of this caliber, then "Bad Ass" wasn't actually too bad.

"Bad Ass" is about Vietnam veteran Frank Vega (played by Danny Trejo) who moves into his mother's house after she passes away. He is enjoying an overnight Internet stardom as his acts of beating up two skinheads on a bus was caught on phone camera. Frank's friend gets killed, and seeing the police doing nothing about it, Frank decides to take things into his own hands.

This movie sort of have elements from "Gran Torino" and also some of the old Charles Bronson movies. Sure, it is all stuff that has been seen before, but it actually did come together nicely enough in the movie and worked out great. And Danny Trejo proves that, despite up there in years, that he still can perform and do physical movies.

The story-wise was sort of funny, sure it was unrealistic, but still it proved to be entertaining enough. However, the part with the young neighbor falling in love with him, was a bit too much, and not really a necessary part for the movie in whole. The showdown between Danny Trejo and Charles S. Dutton (playing Panther) was actually fun to watch.

Just don't expect to be challenged by a complex storyline, because it just ain't there. And try not to pay too much attention to the shoddy dialogue, just watch the movie for what it is; an aging Danny Trejo out for revenge.

"Bad Ass" is a no-brainer type of movie, just put it on, sit down and disconnect your brain. This movie is fun to watch and is actually entertaining. However, I doubt that I will watch it a second time at any point, the movie just didn't have enough weight to support that, at least not for me.

Alright I think all of us know that this for Danny Trejo's sake was not going to be anywhere near the caliber of Machete, that was funded in the millions & written very well. What we have here is a decent low budget VOD or netflix watch. The story is very simple, Trejo a man who served 7 years in the Vietnam war & upon arriving back to society he faced what every soldier faced upon returning home, a place to fit in. He struggled through the next 40 years running his hot dog stand & minding his own business. Then one day on a public bus he kicked the crap out of two punks harassing an old man & it was filmed by another bus rider & leaked onto the internet. It goes viral & he is proclaimed by the public as "Bad Ass". A title he wasn't looking for but he was happy to finally be fitting in with society.

After his one & only friend was murdered senselessly he became the man the public wanted him to be & started on journey of ass kicking his way to find answers. This film won't win any awards but it was certainly entertaining for 90 minutes, and all you punks giving it a 1 rating should go sky diving without a parachute because obviously your brainless body is just in the way. It's 5/10 solidly, actually it's worth more than that for the great message it leaves the viewer. So to belittle this fine piece of film is in itself a crime!

I couldn't help thinking of Gran Torino & Harry Brown a bit at times due to the fact of all three characters being in a war, all being senior citizens & all they wanted was a little peace & a bit of happiness and they were "called" back into duty for something they truly believed in.

So... I just watched Danny Trejo's Bad Ass, which is based on the the Epic Beard Man events.

It is a somewhat entertaining film, definitely clichéd and riddled with one liners that are so bad you have to laugh at them, think Batman and Robin with Arnold as Mr. Freeze using his goofy one liners, then take scenarios like a bus running over parking meters and Trejo's Frank Vega saying, "Sorry I don't have any change." I am not trying to say that these eye rolling moments don't make the film hard to watch, in fact given their context they work to an extent.

The film is of course based on Thomas Brusco, the senior citizen who beat up a bus patron and became a You Tube sensation about 2 years ago. Here the filmmakers twist the yarn and give Epic Beard Man, a somewhat touching, if not mushy back story of being lost in today's world. They do try to keep the action moving even to the point that they inter-cut footage from the Arnold Schwarzenegger film RED HEAT to help provide the films climax.

People will try and compare this film to Machete, and in a way I can see where they might get the inclination to make such a comparison, but believe me they are not int he same class.

The primary cast are senior citizens, and if you want to watch a bunch of seniors kicking ass and taking names, this is definitely worth a look. If you decide to walk into the film, keep a VERY open mind. It is a B movie from start to finish.

The best way to describe it is a Die Hard for seniors, but I may be giving it too much credit in saying that but overall, if you're looking for a way to kill 90 minutes on a Sunday afternoon (Or in my case, a Saturday morning) then give it a whirl.

..So says a police officer that is on Frank Vega's (Danny Trejo) side. The film is a by the book revenger. There are probably a thousand and one films like "Bad Ass." But Danny's the star, and that makes all the difference. Also, he's a nice guy in this one and doesn't start beating people up until the bad guys force him to beat them up. Lots of action, some blood, and a whole lot of butt kicking. If you're a fan of revenge films, it is recommended.

I don't really care where the idea came from, this film was a lot of laughs. Imagine Danny Trejo doing his old and tough routine, but doing it with humour and a physicality that few could achieve aged 68. And it wasn't just him. Ron Perlman did a bait and switch again, appearing only a few scenes into the movie, instead the role of the villain being taken by Charles S. Dutton, who also appears only a few times, but it is obvious he is having just as much fun as Trejo did. Add in a little bit of Harrison Page and you have your geriatric A-team in a film that felt pretty close to real. Even Richard Riehle did a small appearance.

Of course, it wasn't all fun and games. The hero of the city for beating up a few guys, maiming and killing a few others, that wasn't realistic or cool, really. The explosions and gun shot effects were shoddy and low budget, but let's face it, the movie wasn't about special effects. And the girlfriend stuff... let's say it was completely unnecessary and threw me off a little.

But bottom line, this is a low budget, yet very fun film, without being a true comedy. It is full of good humour and references to other films of the genre, like Death Wish. I liked it a lot.