Samuel L. Jackson and planes just don't get along. The movie hits blu-ray tomorrow.
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| "Yes, my outfit is uncomfortable. But, tell me. Do you like my accent?" |
This week, Big Game
is available on blu-ray. It's the latest in a long line of low budget features to star Sam Jackson and is way more fun that it should have ever been. Strangely enough, Mr. Jackson is one of the only leading Hollywood stars that can cross over into lower budget fare like this without tarnishing his career. Luckily for him, Big Game is still a quality feature that has a whole lot of heart while paying direct tribute to former movies about a U.S. President in trouble. Big Game is like Air Force One crossed with Cliffhanger and a little shot of Rare Exports all mixed into a strange concoction that feels like an old school coming of age tale topped off with The Most Dangerous Game.
is available on blu-ray. It's the latest in a long line of low budget features to star Sam Jackson and is way more fun that it should have ever been. Strangely enough, Mr. Jackson is one of the only leading Hollywood stars that can cross over into lower budget fare like this without tarnishing his career. Luckily for him, Big Game is still a quality feature that has a whole lot of heart while paying direct tribute to former movies about a U.S. President in trouble. Big Game is like Air Force One crossed with Cliffhanger and a little shot of Rare Exports all mixed into a strange concoction that feels like an old school coming of age tale topped off with The Most Dangerous Game.
Borrowing heavily from the Amblin Entertainment rule book, Big Game takes an absolutely silly premise and turns out an extremely short action flick high on gun play and brainless fun. However abbreviated it may be, this is one of those strange little gems that most people will never hear of. Big Game could have easily extended its running time. With an additional twenty minutes and a few more nonsensical action scenes, this little feature could have been a cool under the radar cult hit. Sadly, once the movie gets going, it's over too fast, wasting its awesome cast on prototypical plot points and twists you'll see coming from a mile away. Where most movies seem to overstay their welcome, Big Game seems like it was ready to cut and run way too soon.
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| "Call me Obama one more time!!" |
Starring a huge cast featuring Jackson, a calculating Ray Stevenson, an a-typical Felicity Huffman, Ted Levine, and Jim Broadbent, it's rather shocking that Big Game didn't get more notice. Everyone here brings their best to a movie that I really shouldn't have enjoyed this much. While Jackson is never really outside his comfort zone, it's cool to see him taking over the Harrison Ford type presidential role while all these other respected actors lend a hand to a film with a minuscule budget of $11.5 million. Even more shocking are the hammy action sequences that somehow don't ever feel cheap or poorly edited. Director, Jalmari Helander created something unique out of familiar genre scenarios and somehow made a film that just might have a life outside its very limited release.
Big Game is not going to win any awards and its core story is one you've seen before. However, there's something special about this little flick that may ignite something with old school '80s action fans. The main villain speaks with a heavy accent, the president's plane is a target, and an untrained President survives all types of death defying acts. We've seen it all before. But with just enough luster in the editing room and a little bit of goofy foreign heart, Big Game does exactly what these types of movies should do. It entertains.
SCORE:
-CG