Top 10 Amazon Prime Guilty Pleasure Action Movies & Comments

[Casimir Harlow]

Amazon Prime don't quite have the quantity of original content that Netflix promotes, but there are a fair few action movie guilty pleasures to be found from trawling their ever-changing catalogue titles.
Read the article.

 

[djcla]

I thought I'd seen nearly all the Van Damme films out there but I'm starting to wonder if I've seen universal soldier Day of Reckoning.

 

[Evinger]

Thank you Cas. I'll have to check this list on my Amazon.de account; many have the English Sound track, but sometimes not!

 

[LotusElan]

I thought I'd seen nearly all the Van Damme films out there but I'm starting to wonder if I've seen universal soldier Day of Reckoning.

Even if you haven't... you probably have...

 

[LotusElan]

I thought Peppermint was going to be awful but we watched it anyway. And we both thought it was actually quite entertaining with brain disengaged!

 

[2001will]

AWOL (Lionheart) is on Prime? Holy crap! I know what I'm watching tonight.

 

[Casimir Harlow]

I thought I'd seen nearly all the Van Damme films out there but I'm starting to wonder if I've seen universal soldier Day of Reckoning.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration and Universal: Soldier: Day of Reckoning are both worth watching. Terrible titles, 5th and 6th entries in a series that didn't even need a single sequel, but surprisingly atmospheric and utterly brutal.

Day of Reckoning's riff on Hearts of Darkness is just about the most audaciously impressive angle a DTV movie has ever taken IMO. I remember even seeing it in 3D and it's disturbingly hypnotic (LOTS of strobes). Their spin on the 'trip up the river to kill the super-soldier gone mad' is excellent.

 

[Ste7en]

Anna was terrible. Apart from one scene (in the restaurant). Couldn't believe it was a Luc Besson film.

I love The Losers. I actually prefer it to The Expendables.

Peppermint has been on my watchlist for ages. I'll have to check it out.

Thanks Cas!

 

[Casimir Harlow]

Anna was terrible. Apart from one scene (in the restaurant). Couldn't believe it was a Luc Besson film.

I love The Losers. I actually prefer it to The Expendables.

Peppermint has been on my watchlist for ages. I'll have to check it out.

Thanks Cas!

Yes, Anna didn't even make my cut for guilty pleasures.

And yes, I've got a soft spot for The Losers. I think The A-Team stole all its glory but it's more fun (and stylish) than both that and The Expendables.

One of the best bits is the last 90 seconds of this:

 

[djcla]

@Casimir Harlow I hope you do a Netflix version of this as there is a whole host of classics including arguably Van Damm's best movie and an all time favourite of mine Bloodsport.

 

[Casimir Harlow]

@Casimir Harlow I hope you do a Netflix version of this as there is a whole host of classics including arguably Van Damm's best movie and an all time favourite of mine Bloodsport.

It's just a few hyperlinks short of being marked for proofing. But it's not a Top 10... It's a Top 20!

 

[flashf1]

Does Free Fire qualify? Loved it, multiple times!

 

[Garrett]

Yes, Anna didn't even make my cut for guilty pleasures.

Not guilty about at all, it I enjoyed it and even more than some of the slew of female assassin films, and it has to be at least better than Batwoman ( joke for Cas) and one of the best what you saw you did not see when a flashback showed what really happened., and I don't even like flashback films, but then everyone takes something different from a film.

 

[Greg Hook]

Under Siege is above being a guilty pleasure for me, it's a pretty decent action film. Not amazing by any stretch, but a solid entry.

Under Siege 2 on the other hand is most definitely a guilty pleasure for me. It's a pretty ludicrous film when you weigh it all up and has easily some of the worst CGI/Blue screen work I've ever seen. But it's fun to watch.

If you turn your brain off, I actually liked Anna. Ignoring the tech nonsense, it's not too bad.

 

[Ryu]

Terminal Force on Prime starring Sam Raimi in a minor role and Bridgette Nielsen, is a Terminator style ripoff but well worth it for the laughs!

 

[Purperen]

Under Siege 2 on the other hand is most definitely a guilty pleasure for me. It's a pretty ludicrous film when you weigh it all up and has easily some of the worst CGI/Blue screen work I've ever seen. But it's fun to watch.

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory is my favourite good 'bad movie' of all time. I watch the USA blu-ray every couple of years and my enjoyment increases every time I watch it. From Broadway stage legend Eric Bogosian's over the top pantomime performance as one of the main villains (the brilliant Everett McGill plays the other main villain) to Steven Seagal's bizarrely sleepy delivery of every line (he moves like a rohypnoled sloth in the action scenes too). There are just so many wonderfully, unintentionally, quotable lines of pure comedy juxtaposed with extreme violence. The perfect late Friday night movie.

 

[bruce-leroy]

Nice list @Casimir Harlow - I’m spending lockdown revisiting plenty of action movies so this is great!

My take if I may:

Silent Trigger

Originally watched on VHS due to the involvement of Mulcahy. I didn’t get on with this and found it quite tedious. Prime also have The Shooter which I remember enjoying (also vhs rental). There is also Men of War which I’ve not seen but hope its as enjoyable as Red Scorpion was. Just found the latter was (in its original form before being doctored) scripted by John Sayles, and also co-stars the lovely Charlotte Lewis from The Golden Child.

Peppermint

I was really looking forward to this but is ultimately, run of the mill, revenge stuff from the director of Taken. Worth a watch for Jennifer Garner doing action - she is perfect for the role and its like a fly on the wall documentary compared the ridiculous Rhythm Section.

Bullet to the Head

Totally agree - not classic Walter but shows that he is not completely over the ’hill.’ Momoa is a formidable foe. The kind of film that used to do great on VHS rentals.

The Losers

Very apathetic towards this but sounds like worth a re-visit. JDM is effortlessly cool. Just seen Deseirto is on Prime and looks good/watchable from the trailer.

Falcon Rising

Never even heard of this but I like Jai White. Will check it out.

The Book of Eli

Yeah this is awesome post apocalyptic shenanigans.

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

I’ve only managed a bit of this but UniSol: Regeneration is awesome. AWOL/Lionheart is essential Van Damme. Prime also have Black Eagle. Worth a look for Van Damme showing off the splits before it became a cliche, and Sho Kosugi vs Van Damme - ninja versus kickboxer.

Angel of Fallen

Watchable. Not as good as the maligned London Has Fallen.

Safe

This is very good - reminded me a bit of Mercury Rising.

Under Siege

Prime Seagal. I really like the sequel too.

 

[Casimir Harlow]

Under Siege is above being a guilty pleasure for me, it's a pretty decent action film. Not amazing by any stretch, but a solid entry.

Under Siege 2 on the other hand is most definitely a guilty pleasure for me. It's a pretty ludicrous film when you weigh it all up and has easily some of the worst CGI/Blue screen work I've ever seen. But it's fun to watch.

If you turn your brain off, I actually liked Anna. Ignoring the tech nonsense, it's not too bad.

I think you're absolutely right, however I know I can be a bit biased when it comes to Seagal. Everybody has their preferred 80s/90s action icon, and despite the higher profile Sly and Arnie, and the clearly better effort - both in acting and action - afforded by the likes of Van Damme and even Lundgren, and despite just how cool Snipes is, I've always favoured Seagal's effortless aikido and quietly charming presence (less so his variable accent and increased laziness).

As a result, the only way I felt I could legitimately afford him the top spot was by putting Under Siege there. On reflection, I probably could have gotten away with Under Siege 2 and popping Under Siege as the 'alternative', with the caveat that it's actually good because, you're right, the reality is that it's a top tier Die-Hard-on-a... variant.

So many fun ingredients. And I'd never before seen someone attempt cross-shooting before - it seems so counter-intuitive but within the closed confines of a ship it must be the only way. From a reverse coordination standpoint I always found it surprisingly impressive:

 

[Casimir Harlow]

Nice list @Casimir Harlow - I’m spending lockdown revisiting plenty of action movies so this is great!

My take if I may:

Silent Trigger

Originally watched on VHS due to the involvement of Mulcahy. I didn’t get on with this and found it quite tedious. Prime also have The Shooter which I remember enjoying (also vhs rental). There is also Men of War which I’ve not seen but hope its as enjoyable as Red Scorpion was. Just found the latter was (in its original form before being doctored) scripted by John Sayles, and also co-stars the lovely Charlotte Lewis from The Golden Child.

Peppermint

I was really looking forward to this but is ultimately, run of the mill, revenge stuff from the director of Taken. Worth a watch for Jennifer Garner doing action - she is perfect for the role and its like a fly on the wall documentary compared the ridiculous Rhythm Section.

Bullet to the Head

Totally agree - not classic Walter but shows that he is not completely over the ’hill.’ Momoa is a formidable foe. The kind of film that used to do great on VHS rentals.

The Losers

Very apathetic towards this but sounds like worth a re-visit. JDM is effortlessly cool. Just seen Deseirto is on Prime and looks good/watchable from the trailer.

Falcon Rising

Never even heard of this but I like Jai White. Will check it out.

The Book of Eli

Yeah this is awesome post apocalyptic shenanigans.

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

I’ve only managed a bit of this but UniSol: Regeneration is awesome. AWOL/Lionheart is essential Van Damme. Prime also have Black Eagle. Worth a look for Van Damme showing off the splits before it became a cliche, and Sho Kosugi vs Van Damme - ninja versus kickboxer.

Angel of Fallen

Watchable. Not as good as the maligned London Has Fallen.

Safe

This is very good - reminded me a bit of Mercury Rising.

Under Siege

Prime Seagal. I really like the sequel too.

Love it. Definitely check out Falcon Rising. I'd have watched a whole franchise of those with White.

And give Day of Reckoning another shot. It's brutal, and painful, but it all comes out in the end, particularly when they, literally, take the trip up the river. On of the Adkins fight sequences towards the end is a single-take long-shot around an underground tunnel complex and it's just fabulously staged.

 

[Evinger]

So many fun ingredients. And I'd never before seen someone attempt cross-shooting before - it seems so counter-intuitive but within the closed confines of a ship it must be the only way. From a reverse coordination standpoint I always found it surprisingly impressive:

As we all know, the thing about human arms is they are quite long - with two weapons you need some room to either side of you to be able to open your arms in a wide Y arc. Cross shooting literally allows the width of your chest to "use up" a bunch of your arm-length, use your chest for some support. And arms work more effectively when turned in rather than the otherv way. Try lifting a weight with your arm turned in a little as against turned out.
Firing automatic weapons one-handed with any accuracy due to the "pull" of the weapon; well, that's another story!

 

[Casimir Harlow]

As we all know, the thing about human arms is they are quite long - with two weapons you need some room to either side of you to be able to open your arms in a wide Y arc. Cross shooting literally allows the width of your chest to "use up" a bunch of your arm-length, use your chest for some support. And arms work more effectively when turned in rather than the otherv way. Try lifting a weight with your arm turned in a little as against turned out.
Firing automatic weapons one-handed with any accuracy due to the "pull" of the weapon; well, that's another story!

Oh completely agree with the logic of it, it was the only option in those confined quarters, it's just quite impressive to see done with any degree of professionalism or even vague authenticity. Certainly blew me away as a teen, the way he clears those corridors.

 

[bruce-leroy]

Love it. Definitely check out Falcon Rising. I'd have watched a whole franchise of those with White.

And give Day of Reckoning another shot. It's brutal, and painful, but it all comes out in the end, particularly when they, literally, take the trip up the river. On of the Adkins fight sequences towards the end is a single-take long-shot around an underground tunnel complex and it's just fabulously staged.

Sounds good.

I never realised MJW did a sequel to Never Back Down (replacing the Djimon Honsou role) until I saw a fight scene on YouTube. Looks quite good actually. Didn‘t know much about Black Dynamite but it could just be the best blaxploitation parody after I’m Gonna Git You Sucka! On the subject of UniSol, I have seen UniSol: The Return with MJW appearing as an ally to JVCD if I remember correctly.

I’ll get around to watching DOR soon hopefully. Adkins is a ferocious screen fighter, and in a parallel universe, he is doing Hobbs Vs Shaw with The Rock. Seeing him go toe to toe/fist to fist with Donnie Yen in Ip Man 4 is awesome.

 

[Garrett]

Don't really have guilty pleasures just some people don't like films I do, but!

Haywire an other female assassin/agent film that gets a roasting but I enjoyed.

Limitless before Lucy there was this film.

Remember Two pensioners in a nursing home in there 80s and both former inmates at a concentration camp. Martin Landau sends Christopher Plummer who has problems remembering things sent on a mission to kill one of 4 people on a list who murdered there families in a concentration camp.

Two Nice Guys buddy romp detective romp worth a watch but nothing to write home about especially if you live at home.

 

[bruce-leroy]

Anna was terrible. Apart from one scene (in the restaurant). Couldn't believe it was a Luc Besson film.

Dubious available tech in the 80s aside, I actually found it watchable after the wretched Lucy. It’s the same idea from Besson recycled for the nth degree (with a slightly different slant to appear ‘fresh’) but I don’t mind, as I like unkillable female assassin films. Loved how he got such a good cast too (albeit wasted) - Mirren, Cillian Murphy and Luke Evans. It seems worse coming not long after Atomic Blonde.

Under Siege is above being a guilty pleasure for me, it's a pretty decent action film. Not amazing by any stretch, but a solid entry.

Under Siege 2 on the other hand is most definitely a guilty pleasure for me. It's a pretty ludicrous film when you weigh it all up and has easily some of the worst CGI/Blue screen work I've ever seen. But it's fun to watch.

If you turn your brain off, I actually liked Anna. Ignoring the tech nonsense, it's not too bad.

The Retro Ramble 80s/90s movie podcasters have done a very good session on Under Siege. I’ve just listened to it after reading Cas’ piece.

A very easy, entertaining listen with the brothers alternating between affectionate reminiscence and taking the mickey out of the film/actors. Their stuff on other films from the era is good too.

 

[ozzzy189]

Gary Busey in under seige was insanely good, certainly my fave character in the film. I loved under seige and it's sequel. Nice list cas.