Often shrugged off as a base form of entertainment, the action genre has carved out its place in the cinematic phalanx. Spy capers, heist films or just a good old-fashioned shoot ‘em up have all become, in some why or another, a part of our lives in the form of witty one-liners such as ‘I’ll be back,” Detective John McClane saving Christmas (twice) and The Rock being— The Rock. Memorable moments which have become ingrained in our memories.
Unfortunately, other films, though noble in effort, fall short when trying to be too big. Built on a firm foundation of tropes, poor acting and an aimless screenplay, Vigilante Diaries tries to run with its big budget predecessors, but sorta feels like a kid playing with his dad’s gun.
Cannon Fodder
Modern action audiences have grown accustomed to a certain level of pulse pounding excitement, near misses and snappy one-liners crafted by studios each year. The high octane thrill rides of yesteryear have matured through technological advances and film technique, better fight work and a more savvy viewer. Movies such as Commando and Cobra have gotten the spit and polish treatment from Hollywood in the forms of The Fast and Furious Series and comic book flicks.
Thankfully, with the advent of these advances the methods of producing a movie have become affordable, paving the way for future talent to tell their stories. Unfortunately, this can lead to less thought-out projects as well.
Action films produced by Cannon and Dino De Laurentiis, for example, had a certain amateurish charm along with a hefty bankroll, giving the pictures a leg up in setting a certain standard for an action movie blueprint. Often emulated by lower budget companies, a slew of B-Grade movies were produced for the home video and cable markets. Fast forward to the YouTube age where one can render an explosive action sequence in the comfort of their basement. But again, innovation breeds copycats.
Vigilante Diaries is the feature length version of the television show of the same name from 2013. Written/directed by Christian Sesma and co-witten/starring Paul Sloan as the titular vigilante, this film seemed to have had some money behind it. Flashy cars, fancy suits, sexy women, and a bevy of firearms of every caliber. All the eye candy an audience could want. Right? But pretty will only take a movie so far. Substance, plot, and something new would have been much more helpful in this case.
The story follows The Vigilante (Sloan) who has made a name for himself as a savior of the public after videographer Michael Hanover (Jason Mewes playing himself) puts videos of V’s murderous heroics online. Now caught by one of the many crime organizations he has made enemies of, The Vigilante must survive a series of torture until his team of good guy mercenaries can rescue him.
What follows is a mishmash of every action movie stereotype, location and situation the writers could conjure up with little to no regard for continuity, story structure or an explanation of the goings on for those unfamiliar with the show from which it spawned.
The Gang’s All Here
What good is a hero if he doesn’t have a team to back him up? Young sidekick? Check. The Muscle? Check. Guy who smokes in every scene even though the enemy would definitely smell his cigar from a mile away? Check. Nerdy tough guy who builds cool gadgets, yet they only comes in handy once? Check. And lest we forget, the tough as nails love interest who gets captured in the third act for the hero to rescue? Double Check. Cliche is an understatement. Even down to the bad guys the audience is given a parade of forgettable, bored actors who we have seen in other films.
Even with touting excellent action talent such as Michael Jai White, who slowed punches for the less seasoned fighters to not look so clunky, the combat felt pointless and derivative. Slow motion, cool guy swagger moments pepper this film only adding to the already overly long story while the comic relief fell flat in every scene. The funny moments they try for are just plain unfunny.
And they do try— and try— and try. Familiar faces like as a cameo by Danny Trejo as Crazy Joe still can’t pull the movie out of the skid although his was a nice distraction. Surprisingly, one of the best performances, besides the aforementioned Michael Jai White, would have to be from Michael Madsen. A fun presence on screen, yet not always the strongest player, Madsen delivered his character with some of the best bravado he has mustered up in years.
Conclusion
To be fair, knowing something about the television show proper might have helped in finding some fun in Vigilante Diaries The Movie, but all and all it feels like an inside joke that no one is let in on. Which is a shame considering the trailer was very enticing.
Vigilante Diaries is overly long, annoyingly unthreatening baddies and a script that had more plots than the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe combined. Had the creatives stuck to a main story line, shaved off about twenty or so locations and invested in more creative calamitous sequences this could have been a nasty piece of action cinema. Not to say that there’s not a market for Vigilante Diaries. Albeit a niche one.
Everyone likes a bit of the ultra violence from time to time. We’d love to know what action films you think have shaped the way modern filmmakers approach the genre. Comment below and join the discussion.
In select US theaters and on iTunes June 24th. On Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand July 5th.
https://youtu.be/tiIIqckfV3k
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