Bad Ass

This is a low-budget entry in a sub-genre. The Geriatric, OG, Geezer, violent Vigilante Movie. With the aging Baby Boomers we are likely to see quite a few more. It has always been cathartic to see Superheroes and maybe regular Folks standing up to oppression and intimidation. From Robin Hood to Batman to Paul Kersey to Harry Brown, we get satisfaction from their noble efforts.

In this one Danny Trejo gets to show some good acting chops as an against type, soft spoken, good hearted Bad Ass. He is quite good here with more range than usual and demonstrates why he has so many devoted fans.

The Film itself is not very well constructed and has some barely needed and sometimes embarrassing subplots, like the fetching Female neighbor with the cute and wise-cracking Son. But the action is acceptable and quite violent at times.

Not a bad Movie but does not quite rise to the level of a Cult Movie with staying power or a gritty real-life Noir. It really does not know what it wants to be and for that matter and that lack of direction the Film fails to be better than a standard B-Movie.

First of all my husband I only watched this movie because we both love Danny Trejo. The previews made this movie look pretty good. It started out pretty good, but then it just became so bad we were laughing the entire movie. Even good actors can't save cheesy lines. The whole time we just kept saying that Trejo is in his sixties!! Unbelievable. That man is the epitome of the Hollywood dream. From criminal to D movies to great character actor and then starring roles. Awesome! This movie is great to watch Mystery Science 3000 style. We like to try and catch movie mistakes and look up actors while watching every movie. Its fun and funny. Don't try to make it more than that and you will enjoy it.

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.

..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.

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.