Direct-to-video action films

Question

This piglix contains articles or sub-piglix about Direct-to-video action films

Answer 1

The Detonator

The Detonator

The Detonator is a 2006 American action film directed by Po Chih Leong, and starring Wesley Snipes, Silvia Colloca, Tim Dutton and William Hope. The film was released on direct-to-DVD in the United States on April 25, 2006.

Undercover C.I.A. agent Sonni Griffith (Wesley Snipes) travels alone to Romania to expose an arms dealer and stop the sale of a nuclear weapon. When the arms dealer is tipped off to Griffith's identity, he lands himself in prison...but is quickly released by the C.I.A. only to be given a new mission: to escort a beautiful Russian woman named Nadia (Silvia Colloca) back to the United States.

Griffith soon learns that strong-willed Nadia is being hunted by the very arms dealer that he intended to destroy, but this evil dealer will stop at nothing to get the information out of Nadia that he needs: the location of the $30 million she has hidden that will buy him a nuclear bomb. As the leak within the C.I.A. continues to expose the location and identity of Griffith and Nadia, they must fight the arms dealers to the death to save themselves and the world!

It is set and filmed at Bucharest Romania, in 49 days, between June 30 and August 18, 2005.

DVD was released in Region 1 in the United States on April 25, 2006, and also Region 2 in the United Kingdom on 18 September 2006, it was distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

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Answer 2

Demolition University

Demolition University

Demolition University is a 1997 direct-to-video action film starring Corey Haim and Ami Dolenz. It is the sequel to 1996 film Demolition High.

The film opens with Middle Eastern terrorists breaking into a secure area, to obtain a certain solution. The terrorists have a man on the inside, who betrays his fellow officers and aids the terrorists. The base is destroyed as the terrorists leave the area.

Lenny Slater (Haim) is in all sorts of trouble with his college football team, when he and the quarterback, Bruce McGuinness (Erin Beaux) have words during practice. Meanwhile, the terrorists have dispatched their vehicle on a highway and obtained a new means of transport.

After practice is broken up, Slater chases after Jenny (Dolenz) who was doing sprint training next to the football field. Slater engages her in a flirty conversation, trying his best to convince her to let him take her to the homecoming dance. Jenny says yes to Slater's offer of a date if they survive the terrorists. The bus is en route to the same water and power plant, as a field excursion.

As the other students file off the bus, Slater is left by himself. He notes a couple of men who sport machine guns, and watches them, as they perform some type of liquid extraction in their van. Inside the plant, Jenny and Slater stick together; Jenny accepts his offer, the pair then notices they get the go ahead for the school trip. The rest of the students and the professor are ordered to the hostage area.

Slater and Jenny are forced to evade numerous attacks on them, as they run and hide in various locations around the plant, meanwhile the military start to gather around the perimeter. The pair shouts out to the military but instead get shot at by a terrorist, which starts a shooting frenzy between the military and the terrorists.

In the plant, the hunt continues for the two missing teenagers, Slater and Jenny, who take it upon themselves to try to foil the attack on the water supply. Jenny creates a distraction, as Slater is able to grab the terrorists, as Jenny uses her athletic speed to get to the small bomb in time and throw it off the water supply entry. Slater then grabs the VX solution, which he saw being extracted earlier when he was left on the bus. Slater and Jenny rejoin the hostages as McGuinness also helps, as they overthrow the few remaining terrorists. The party survives, despite McGuinness getting injured from a shot in the shoulder. The military arrive, arrest the terrorists and save Santa Monica.

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Answer 3

Demolition High

Demolition High

Demolition High is a 1996 direct-to-video American action film starring Corey Haim, Alan Thicke, and Dick Van Patten.

A group of terrorists led by Luther (Jeff Kober) take over a high school. Whilst outside, authorities work to negotiate with the terrorists, a group of students lead a revolt in order to prevent a disaster, led by Lenny Slater (Corey Haim).

In 1997, the sequel Demolition University was released with Haim reprising his role as Lenny and Ami Dolenz as Jenny.

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Answer 4

Excessive Force II: Force on Force

Excessive Force II: Force on Force

Excessive Force II: Force on Force is a 1995 direct-to-video action film, starring Stacie Randall and Dan Gauthier. It was written by Mark Sevi and directed by Jonathan Winfrey. The film is a sequel to Excessive Force (1993), despite not bearing any relation with the original movie and its storyline.

Harly Cordell is an agent looking for revenge against her ex-boyfriend, now a criminal, who tried to kill her by shooting her in the head.

TV Guide gave the film two out of four stars and stated: "The original Excessive Force was a ridiculous vehicle for low-level action star Thomas Ian Griffith; that film's only virtue was its colorful supporting cast. This film (originally written as a stand-alone project) is easier to take seriously, but lacks much in the way of colorful details to distract from its generic plot. The cast, writer Mark Sevi and director Jonathan Winfrey (a veteran of the Roger Corman stable) do what is expected of them, but their work lacks the spark that would set this movie apart from the countless other action mini-epics crowding the video shelves. "Monster Hunter" wrote: "It’s as forgettable as its star (Randall has numerous credits, but has anyone ever been in so many sequels with the number "4" in the title?) and you’ll find yourself sympathizing with the wooziness Harly’s head trauma causes her as you struggle through this one. It can’t even muster up the perverse entertainment of the laughably bad Thomas Ian Griffith unrelated predecessor, Excessive Force." Scott Weinberg fom DVD Talk gave it two out of five stars, stating: "Notable for being the only movie in the history of cinema to use the word "force" three times in its title, Excessive Force 2: Force on Force is your ultra-standard lady-cop ass-kick cable flick chestnut. It offers not one whiff of an iota of originality or real craftsmanship, but for what it is, EC2 delivers the goods with only a minimum of unintentional hilarity." Mitch Lovell from "The Video Vacuum" gave it two and a half stars and said: "Overall, I think Excessive Force 2: Force on Force is about on par with its predecessor. It doesn't have that film's great supporting cast, but I think it's a better made film than the original. It's not great, but as far as Part 2's go, you can do a lot worse. And as far as movies with the word "Force" in the title go, this is about as good as it gets.

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Answer 5

Out of Reach (film)

Out of Reach (film)

Out of Reach is a 2004 American action film directed by Po-Chih Leong, written by Trevor Miller, and starring Steven Seagal and Ida Nowakowska. The film was released on direct-to-DVD in the United States on July 20, 2004. Seagal plays William Lansing, a former covert agent turned survivalist, tracking a human trafficking ring and trying to rescue his pen pal, a thirteen-year-old orphan from Poland whom he has taught to use secret codes.

Vietnam veteran William Lansing, a former CSA agent who works on a wildlife refuge in Northern Alaska, has been exchanging letters in a pen-pal relationship with Irena Morawska, a 13-year-old orphaned girl in Warsaw, Poland that he's helping out financially. When the letters suddenly stop coming. However, Lansing heads to Poland to figure out the reason. He discovers that the orphanage that Irena was staying in, which is financed by honest – and unsuspecting – good intentioned Samaritans, is a front for a human trafficking syndicate being run by a crime boss named Faisal.

The operation is worth billions and all the girls are sold and traded to the highest bidders from all over the world. Through his letters to Irena, Lansing has taught Irena how to use secret codes, which she uses to keep him updated on where Faisal is taking her to. Lansing stays on Faisal's trail, teaming up with local cop Kasia Lato to rescue Irena and the other girls, and bring down Faisal's human trafficking network.

The film was shot in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. Production began in August 2003.

For large portions of the movie, Seagal was dubbed over by a voice over artist. So at certain times during the movie he speaks with his own voice, but then at other times with a dubbed voice which can be detected very easily as being dubbed. The reasoning for the dubbing of Seagal and other actors in the film was that changes were made in the storyline after most of the film was already shot.

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released the DVD in Region 1 in the United States on July 20, 2004, and Region 2 in the United Kingdom on August 23, 2004.

Robert Pardi of TV Guide rated it 1/4 stars and wrote, "Segal's declining career found him making low-rent thrillers like this awkward, European-financed mix of social causes and unconvincing kickboxing sequences". Beyond Hollywood called it the strangest and most unintentionally funny Seagal film, in part due to the dubbing. Carl Davis of DVD Talk rated it 2/5 stars and wrote, "Out of Reach isn't a bad waste of time, but it is a bad waste of talent." Mitchell Hattawa of DVD Verdict called the film too confusing to understand. Daniel Bettridge of The Guardian included the film in his list of Seagal's silliest roles.

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Answer 6

Pistol Whipped

Pistol Whipped

Pistol Whipped is a 2008 American action film directed by Roel Reiné in his directorial debut. The film stars Steven Seagal, and was released on direct-to-DVD in the United States on March 4, 2008.

Matt Conner is an unemployed, drinking deadbeat. Once he was a police officer who lived with his wife Liz and his daughter Becky. Then, his partner disappeared, along with a large stash of police-impounded money. Due to the fact that Matt was an avid gambler, he was the prime suspect for the crime, but his colleague Steve lied that he and Matt were playing poker, thus giving him an alibi. Since the police still suspected Matt of the crimes, he was thrown off the police force. Matt's wife files for divorce and marries Steve. Matt's daughter Becky stays with Steve while Matt spends his time gambling and heavily drinking.

Some time later, Matt's markers from extended gambling are mysteriously picked up. Eventually the collector, called the "Old Man", sends him a messenger named Blue. Matt is told that he must work off his debt as a hitman for the Old Man's vigilante organization. He begins to receive contracts to kill criminals who avoid arrest with their money and influence.

Matt deals with his first assignments without much difficulty. Matt also surprisngly learns that his new girlfriend Drea is also an operative for the Old Man, like Blue. Later, Matt is ordered to kill Steve. He refuses and confronts Blue, the Old Man, and Drea with the assignment. Matt is told that Steve is actually a dirty cop who deals with criminals; Matt refuses to believe this. Elsewhere, Steve kills an innocent chaplain because in a prior confession to the priest Matt had talked about his history with Steve. Steve uses this to frame Blue for the crime. When Matt returns to the church, he swears that he'll avenge the clergyman's death, despite Steve's urgent requests to stay out of the situation. Unwilling to heed Steve's request, Matt is then arrested by Steve for being a "material witness" and released after two hours because Steve hopes to find the Old Man and kill Matt and Blue through following Matt. Still, Matt and Blue manage to escape. At the priest's funeral, which Matt later attends, Steve and his associates plan to kill Matt.

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Answer 7

Pentathlon (film)

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Answer 8

Missionary Man (film)

Missionary Man (film)

Missionary Man is a 2007 American action film co-written, directed by and starring Dolph Lundgren.

A lone stranger named Ryder (Dolph Lundgren) comes into a small Texas town on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle for the funeral of his good friend J.J., a local Native American carpenter. Ryder spends his time in town reading the Bible while drinking straight tequila sans salt and lime. Ryder talks to J.J.'s sister Nancy (Kateri Walker) who says that J.J. drowned in a river, but J.J.'s teenage son Junior (John D. Montoya) doesn't believe that. Local businessman John Reno (Matthew Tompkins) introduces himself to Ryder and tells Murphy (Charles Solomon Jr.), one of his employees, to keep an eye on Ryder. Sheriff Acoma (James Chalke), who seems to be alcoholic, tells Ryder that now that J.J.'s funeral is over, Ryder should leave town.

Ryder beats up a group of Reno's thugs who are beating a local drug user named Billy (Jonny Cruz). White Deer (August Schellenberg), the father of Nancy and J.J., talks to Nancy's 15-year-old daughter Kiowa (Chelsea Ricketts), who is Junior's older sister. Kiowa believes that J.J., who was a member of the tribal council, was killed because he knew something about Reno. Kiowa thinks that some of the tribal council members might be on Reno's side.

Chief Dan (Richard Ray Whitman) announces that Assistant Chief Lance (Titos Menchaca) has suggested that the council still discuss the Gaming 3 proposal – a proposal for the building of a state-of-the-art casino on tribal property by Lance's construction group. That proposal would bring many new jobs and much revenue for the tribe's people, but the council is concerned with the many negative aspects of the proposal. J.J. had proposed a plan that offers more highly skilled jobs and training for the tribe's people, and takes advantage of gaming profits without the negative aspects.

Billy tells Ryder that Reno runs the town, and that everyone's afraid of him, and Reno had J.J. murdered. Nancy tells Sheriff Acoma something has to be done about Reno. Sheriff Acoma says that the last time he tried to investigate Reno, a judge quickly called the investigation off. Kiowa and Junior go to the Save More Grocery Store, where clerk said that J.J. came in and got a case of beer on the day of his death. But Kiowa knows that J.J. did not drink, but Reno is a drinker.

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Answer 9

Mercenary for Justice

Mercenary for Justice

Mercenary for Justice is an action film starring Steven Seagal, and also starring Luke Goss and Roger Guenveur Smith. It was released direct-to-video on April 18, 2006. Principal photography was on location in Cape Town, South Africa.

CIA dirty deeds man John Dresham (Luke Goss) and Black Ops organiser Anthony Chapel (Roger Guenveur Smith) hire John Seeger (Steven Seagal) and his crew for a mission in the French-controlled Galmoral Island in Southern Africa. They tell them they are helping the locals when in reality they just want to get rich on oil and diamonds.

John gets steamed when the mission goes wrong. Some of his soldiers take the French Ambassador (Rudiger Eberle) and his family hostage for leverage and later blow them all up. The French close in on them, his best friend Radio Jones (Zaa Nkweta) is killed, and Maxine Barnol, his spy posing as a journalist, suggests CIA involvement.

John heads back to the U.S.A. and goes to the home of Radio's wife Shondra (Faye Peters), tells her the news, and then promises her that he'll take care of her and her young son Eddie (Tumi Mogoje). While there he kills two of Dresham's men sent to kill him and discovers Dresham's implication.

Chapel again hires the team of mercenaries, kidnapping Shondra and Eddie to force John into cooperating. The mission involves rescuing Kamal Dasan, the son of prominent gun runner Ahmet Dasan (Peter Butler), who has been arrested and thrown into the Randveld Prison outside of Cape Town, South Africa, and is due to be transferred to the States.

Dresham discovers the job but not its object and when he bumps into Maxine he forces her to work for him instead of Chapel. Maxine leads him to believe that the target is the safe of the bank of South Africa and Dresham uses his CIA influence to be shown round the security installation. Maxine listens attentively and takes photos.

John leads Dresham in circles but when the mercenaries break into the prison Kamal isn't there any more and the bad elements of the team get killed. Next stop the bank. In the safe John persuades the Greeks to arrest Kamal's father, then escapes making sure Dresham will be arrested too.

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Answer 10

Maximum Conviction

Maximum Conviction

Maximum Conviction is a 2012 action thriller starring Steven Seagal and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and directed by Keoni Waxman.

It should be an easy day's work for former black ops operative Cross (Steven Seagal) and his partner Manning (Stone Cold Steve Austin). They and their group have been hired to oversee and orchestrate the decommissioning of a secret military penal facility, and organize the transport of the inmates to their new civilian prison.

Cross shows who's boss early on by beating up a large inmate who steps out of line, while Manning is given the task of running the prison's garbage facility. The day gets worse when a rolled up note is found that was accidentally dropped by an inmate, detailing times and locations for an attack on the facility.

Cross, on his way back to the prison from running an errand, and Manning, still dealing with that garbage facility, are suddenly involved in a foothold situation as Chris Blake (Michael Pare) and his mercenaries, posing as marshals, take over the complex.

Blake and his men are after the two newest inmates—Samantha Mendez (Steph Song) and Charlotte Walker (Aliyah O'Brien)—for their own purposes—Blake wants the information that's in an implant that's inside of Samantha, who is a CIA courier, because it could lead to a lot of money for Blake, and it turns out that Charlotte is working for Blake. It's up to Cross, Manning, and their team to stop Blake and his men.

MP Fields turns out to be a traitor and kills two of the others. Blake cuts off Warden Samuel's finger to force him to know where the detainees are. Manning is attacked Collins and his team. He manages to kill two and flee the area. Cross returns to the complex and kills two of Blake's men. Blake holds Warden Samuels hostage, forcing him to do anything so Blake can reach Charlotte. Later on Charlotte escapes as she wants to get paid. Eventually both sides meet up. Blake thinks he has Cross and Manning outgunned and then flees the scene, with Cross pursuing him. Manning catches up with Collins and kills him by impaling him on a bench. Samantha kills Charlotte, while the remnants of Blake's mercenaries including MP Fields are killed by Bradley and the others. Cross and Blake exchange gunshots till both run out of ammo. Blake attempts to strike Cross only to be thrashed around and badly injured. Cross talks to him about being a warrior in which Blake replies 'well that's me im the f***ing bad guy'. Cross says he's the good guy then hurls Blake into the laser trip wires, killing him. He reunites with Samantha and Manning. He jokes that 'in ain't over till we're dead'.

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