The Fourth Angel (2001)

The Fourth Angel (2001)- * * *

Directed by: John Irvin

Starring: Jeremy Irons, Forest Whitaker, Charlotte Rampling, and Jason Priestley

Jack Elgin (Irons) is a hardworking magazine editor. He loves his wife, son, and daughter, and he decides to combine work with a family vacation when they all fly to India. Unfortunately, terrorists hijack the plane and kill a lot of people along the way - including two members of the Elgin family. Suddenly, the genteel Elgin becomes irritated and aggressive, and has revenge on his mind. After, typically, trying all the traditional channels to get justice, he realizes the only true justice will come by his own hand. 

Along his road to revenge he meets CIA agent Davidson (Priestley), FBI agent Bernard (Whitaker), and reconnects with old contacts such as a woman named Kate (Rampling). Will our unorthodox hero iron out the bad guys once and for all...or will he find out he has too many IRONS in the fire? Find out today...

Before Taken (2008), Before Harry Brown (2009), before The Gunman (2015), and before the trend of what Hollywood snidely dubbed “GeriAction”, we had The Fourth Angel. If a bunch of high-class British people made a Death Wish sequel in their own milieu, and instead of Charles Bronson got Jeremy Irons, The Fourth Angel would be the likely result. There’s something awesome about Jeremy Irons one minute wearing white pants and a polo sweater or off pheasant hunting, and the next minute he’s wearing the time-honored Revenge Jacket, speeding down the street on a motorcycle, smoking a cigarette and blowing away the bad guys with an arsenal of guns and grenades. 

Director John Irvin, who has had a long and distinguished career but would be known to us and fans of the site as the director of the classic Arnie vehicle Raw Deal (1986) - no one gives Schwarzenegger a Raw Deal, just in case you forgot - and Dot.Kill (2005), does more than a solid job; he is in control of the proceedings and directs with style, excitement, and fluidity. The Fourth Angel rarely gets boring, and you really care about Jack and his son. You truly want Jack to blow the baddies to kingdom come, but with style, aplomb, and some classic British restraint.

The movie delivers the goods on a lot of levels, and is a satisfying watch. Irons is backed up well by his co-stars: Rampling has a small role but always adds something to whatever she’s in, Forest Whitaker we all know has charisma and commitment, and Jason Priestley is too old to be a teenager, but too young to be a CIA agent. He’s caught in the middle, age-wise, but we’re glad he’s here. We guessed the filmmakers thought Luke Perry would be too much of a Himbo to take on the role. So naturally they got Priestley instead.

The Fourth Angel is certainly what you would call a classy revenge film, which shows that our favorite subgenre has many flavors and varieties. Just when you think you’ve seen ‘em all, along comes Jeremy Irons to show terrorists the true meaning of “Class Warfare”! We give a hearty recommendation to this fine film. 

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Bloodsport (1988)

Bloodsport (1988)-* * *1\2

Directed by: Newt Arnold

Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres, Roy Chiao, Forest Whitaker and Bolo Yeung











It’s definitely time we reviewed this classic! As you surely know, Frank Dux (Van Damme) is an “American” martial artist who has gone through rigorous training since he was a kid by his master Tanaka (Chiao). When Frank takes part in the most underground, no-holds-barred, to-the-death fighting tournament in the world, the Kumite, most people try to stop him. That includes love interest Janice Kent (Ayres), and Dux’s army superiors Helmer (Burton) and Rawlins (Whitaker). But Dux becomes buddies with Ray Jackson (Gibb), a charismatic tough man, and they support each other. But will anyone have what it takes to defeat the sinister, murderous fighter Chong Li (Bolo)?

Man, did Cannon really hit one out of the park this time. Not only did it set the careers of Van Damme and Forest Whitaker in motion, it almost singlehandedly set the mold for all the many Punchfighters to come. Of course, to the Bloodsport people, it’s not just fighting, it’s a “martial science”. I guess martial arts are just too lowbrow for them. The Kumite has no weight divisions, so hulking brutes fight against skinny wimps without a second thought. Guys even have quirky, unique styles, and even the “knockoffs” are quality productions - look at Shootfighter (1992). And the “knockoff” even spawned a sequel! Such is the awesome power of Bloodsport.

But they say the word “Kumite” many times, so that’s this movie’s version of Best of the Best 2 (1993)’s constant repetition of the word “Brakus”. When these action movie people come up with a good word, they really don’t let you forget it.

JCVD never gets tired of showing us that he can spread his legs widely (and weirdly), and he has plenty of funny facial expressions. He’s supposed to be American, but his accent is pretty thick - “Belglish” is a bit more like it. He and Ogre have good chemistry together. Sure, Gibb is great, and he brings the movie up, but what would it be like had the role been played by Jack S. Daniels? But Van Damme as the “spiritual warrior” and Gibb as the brash basher is a winning combo.

It’s colorful, it’s fun, it’s entertaining, and it’s fast paced. It also has some great songs and Hong Kong locations. What more could you ask for? Also there are some first-generation tasers on display, as well as other cool 80‘s stuff like the Karate Champ arcade game.

If you haven’t yet, see the much-imitated but never duplicated charm of Bloodsport.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

A Little Trip To Heaven (2005)

A Little Trip To Heaven (2005) -* * *

Directed By: Baltasar Kormákur

Starring: Forest Whitaker, Julia Stiles, and Peter Coyote









A Little Trip To Heaven is a well-acted drama.


The Plot: Abe Holt (Whitaker) is an insurance investigator who is sent to a small town to find out about a car accident. He meets Isolde (Stiles) and realizes that the truth could also be a scam.



Forest Whitaker is excellent in the role. He brings a lot of sadness and humility to it. His accent, while unnecessary, works for him. Julia Stiles also does a good job, and Peter Coyote, as Holt's boss, is always worth watching. The climax\ending doesn't work but it could have ended worse.




A Little Trip To Heaven is definitely a hidden gem that's being thrown onto the video market. It works well on the small screen however.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty