Woodyanders A gang of dangerous criminals escape from confinement and take over a shopping mall in Texas. It's up to rugged mercenary and ex-Texas Ranger Rudy Ray (a credible performance by a pumped-up Mickey Rourke) to stop these no-count scum and rescue his wayward criminal brother Joe Ray (well played by Kevin Gage) who's mixed up in the whole mess. Director Matt Earl Beesley gets right down to exciting brass tacks in the opening scene and brings a blithely low-grade and enthusiastic pulpy sensibility to the derivative, but still lively and enjoyable premise: the brisk pace rarely lets up for a minute, the characters are drawn with some surprising depth, the violence is both plentiful and excessive, the rousing action set pieces are staged with genuine rip-snorting verve and flashy style, a coked-up slut in a g-string does a hilariously gratuitous pole dance just because she can, and there are even welcome moments of touching humanity amid all the brutal carnage (the strained relationship between Rudy and Joe proves to be unexpectedly moving, with the poignant and tragic last scene between them rating as a truly heart-breaking sequence). The solid professional cast helps matters a whole lot: Danny Trejo goes totally over the top with infectious maniacal glee as vicious and volatile psycho Wallace, Werner Schreyer does well as token sympathetic hard-luck young con Billy, Michael Wright brings real soul to his part of no-nonsense former Marine turned killer Sonny, Paul Ben-Victor is a slimy hoot as shrewd nd duplicitous gay ring leader Howard, Nina Savelle doesn't embarrass herself as sweet sales lady Tracey Deakin, Frederic Forrest is typically fine as amiable good ol' boy sheriff Mack, and veteran character actor James Gammon has a nice bit as Rudy's father. Keith L. Smith's slick cinematography offers lots of snazzy razzle-dazzle visuals. The thrashin' pulsating score by Stephen Edwards likewise hits the stirring spot. The big knock-down bash 'em up confrontation between Rudy and Wallace is simply priceless, with Wallace absorbing a ridiculous amount of punishment and refusing to die. An immensely fun Grade B action thriller.

kentasauras Years ago I saw the trailer for this movie on another video. Needless to say I was sold. The trailer featured the action scenes to the thumping music of Guns 'n' Roses' "Knocking on Heaven's Door" and showed an incredibly beefed up Mickey Rourke strolling through the carnage in slow motion like he was indestructible. After big budget high concept crap like "Con Air" and "Armageddon" this movie looked like a refreshing throw back to the good old days of 80's cinema. And in deed it was. The plot, a knock off of "Die Hard" and numerous others, isn't the central story. The main focus is on the Mickster, an ex Texas Ranger, who might have to kill his brother, a drug dealer, who along with his low life cohorts, has escaped from prison and taken over a mall and everyone in it hostage. Mickey does a good job playing the tormented former lawman and he also proves he's upto the action scenes. He is HUGE in this movie. Bigger than the rest to the cast. SPOILER ALERT!Credit must be given to Director Beesley. What could have been another dime store direct to video action stinker turned into a nasty, in your face movie that had some surprising moments, especially the final touching scenes between Mickey and his dying brother.Some people have complained the film has too much slow motion. I don't think so. At least an effort was made to distinguish this film from hundreds of others. Although it's not perfect it serves up action better than the last couple of Stallone movies and it is certainly the best thing Mickey's done in years.3 out of 5

poohpooh I got your message! I saw Point Blank last year, and I admit I was surprised by Mickey's new body. He looked huge compared to how he looked in his earlier years. But personally, I still thought he looked swell smoking that cigarette! I watched the movie and observed the new Mickey. I don't know if this movie has ripped off other movies because I have not seen any of them! But this was new for Mickey and I thought it worked quite well. If Mickey is failing to deliver the same kinds of movies he did before, it's because they aren't being offered to him. Point Blank was a tough guy action movie, and I'm not mad that it got made. At least Mickey takes risks and he is always fun to watch. You know you're not gonna get the same old thing, ya know? I have so much fun just seeing what he's gonna do next. This movie was good for a laugh and to check out Mickey doing something different. Check it out if you are an admirer of his. It was worth it to me. It may not be the best of his movies, but it is a movie! See it at least once! Mickey, at least in this movie, looks macho as he they say he is.

King 80z This is the worst movie Rourke ever made. I am a huge 80z Rourke fan but this is just pathetic. Not because it is a rip off of other movies. Not because it is a stupid B-movie. Not even because Rourke has destroyed his looks. It is awful because Mickey actually thought he was giving a good performance. This is the standard he now sets for himself. That's just sad. Is this really the same guy who was in Diner?