Written by Bill Bodkin and Justin Matchick
Release Date: September 4, 2015
Starring: Jackie Chan, Adrien Brody, John Cusack
Director: Daniel Lee (Black Mask)
Pre-Trailer Thought: Just as Bill hadn’t heard of The Program before last week’s Trailer Tuesday, I hadn’t heard of Dragon Blade until Bill suggested it for this week. Once its established that this is an historical epic starring John Cusack and Jackie Chan it’s really hard not to get excited. -JTM
Pre-Trailer Thought: I’ve been hearing about this movie forever, but when I finally saw an American release date on this, I knew I had to finally watch this trailer. -BB
Rate the Trailer: 3 out of 5. Let’s get this out of the way first: John Cusack looks absolutely ridiculous here as a Roman army commander. While Jackie Chan and Adrien Brody have sunk into their roles a bit, Cusack just looks out of place. Speaking of Brody, it seem as though 90% of his dialogue in the movie will be yelled at the top of his lungs and he looks to be having the time of his life while doing it.This looks like a great mix of overacting and well-directed action sequences, with Chan still seeming on top of his game even as he is now over 60. – JTM
Rate the Trailer: 3 out of 5. Color me, impressed! Sure, there’s a lot that looks absolutely silly (anything Jackie Chan said), and sometimes even downright stupid (John Cusack in full Roman armor). Yet, there’s an element about this trailer that intrigues me. This looks like it could be a hell of a lot of fun – big sweeping action and martial arts sequences, and the hope for some Cusack quips. –BB
Theater, Rent, Undecided, No Thanks: Rent. These types of films can be a lot of fun, but they can sometimes wear out their welcome after the first hour or so once the overacting and endless battle scenes start to drag. I’m not exactly rushing out to the theater for it, but I can definitely see myself watching this on Netflix one night a few months from now. -JTM‘
Theater, Rent, Undecided, No Thanks: Rent. This the kind of movie you rent, heat up a big pile of popcorn, and enjoy the crap out of. Now, while this film has the potential to be fun, my hope is that this film isn’t deadly serious. It definitely has that potential, but I feel the action sequences will make up for it. –BB
