 | Watch BlackJacks (2014) online Run time: 80 min Rating: 3.8 Genres: Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller Stars: Kristina Anapau, James C. Burns, Tina Casciani |
| Storyline After losing contact with a clandestine energy research facility, a powerful venture capitalist contracts a private team of elite military operatives to retrieve a physicist who holds the key to an unprecedented alternate energy source. | |
| Plot Keywords: team, physicist, color in title | |
| Details: | |
SPOILER ALERT : Cheesy music of the B-C grade quality of films. Weak plot and average acting. The best are the military action sequences with a semi-polished team of soldiers. Believable in the style of Acts of Valor. I'd skip this movie ... and a 2-star rating is really for the military action. The mysterious element isn't interesting enough. One languorous and slow sexy shower scene gets some air time but you wonder why the director had to put a scene in which doesn't really have anything to do with the plot. But a beautiful body nonetheless. Oh...at the very end, I felt like it was a VERY poor version of the Alien franchise without any kind of suspense or believabilty. I still can't believe I watched it to the end
ReplyDeleteThis movie is very similar to the original Predator and Resident Evil movies but it lacks their quality. The strongest side of the movie is the military action, which is on par with the best of the genre. The team is well equipped and the tactical element is well handled except maybe the use of scope indoors. However, the story is somewhat weak (goes with the genre) and the special effects quite cheap so when it comes to the sci-fi stuff and explosions, this movie feels 10 years old.
ReplyDeleteGenerally, if you are a fan of either Predator or Resident Evil, this movie will not disappoint. If not, stay away from this one.
I based my decision to watch this on the rather positive review and was disappointed.
ReplyDeleteThe story is flimsy, there doesn't seem to be much of a connection between events.
The characters are flat, as a viewer I didn't see any personal side of the roles being portrayed, as a result of this, none of the potentially heavy events (deaths) moved me in the slightest.
The acting is poor, especially one 'grumpy character' is being portrayed in an overdramatised way, there's a sense of high-school-play.
the effects are rather fake and some shots have obviously been used several times (bullets hitting, undefined movement) The black and white stills didn't quite add anything either.
there is no buildup of tension whatsoever.
Wouldn't recommend anyone to watch.
I just watched this recent flick with a friend. We wanted something to accompany our corn chips and cream cheese, and various forms of libation. We thought the joke would be that the movie would go well with the "cheese." We were both pleased to find that the movie, an action/military/science fiction film, was actually well done. The opening scene was a rather cleverly done shooting range/simulation test where a new recruit of the "BlackJacks" seeks to qualify. The BlackJacks are an elite, highly trained, ex-military, blah blah blah... ala the Navy SEALs. You get the idea, although no actual SEAL seems represented. From there, we were hooked.
ReplyDeleteThere are no big stars in this movie, a couple I know I have seen here or there, and some who have done voices for action/military genre video games. They all do their parts credibly to provide an enjoyable view. Eric Roberts is the only one with a household name. And he does his usual good job adding some class and sophistication to his role. He is a CEO who sends the 'Jacks into Afghanistan to his super-secret but malfunctioning lab to recover the genius in charge of some experimental energy research.
The action is fairly constant but not overdone. Hardware and tactics seem authentic and believable. It has the look and feel of one of those action/military video games like Call of Duty, with good cinematography instead of expensive special effects. The science fiction comes in when stuff goes wrong and it becomes clear why the lab is off-line. There is also some gore here, but it's not overdone either. That and some brief nudity get it an R rating.
All in all, this movie held our interest and was fun to watch. If you like action movies with a military flavor, I recommend this movie to you.