Bad Ass (2012) – 6/10
A Vietnam veteran’s life changes forever after defending someone on a bus.
Danny Trejo stars as Frank Vega, a man who has lived a pitiful existence since returning from the Vietnam War. A struggling hot dog vendor with few friends and little family, Vega’s life changes forever when he beats up a pair of skinheads on a bus after the two were threatening other passengers. Vega’s fight was caught on camera and uploaded online, going viral and propelling him to minor celebrity status, being dubbed “Bad Ass”. Soon enough his 15 minutes expires and life returns to normal. However, following the murder of a close friend, Vega pulls up his socks, tightens his fanny pack, and vows to solve the crime vigilante style…
Bad Ass was directed by Craig Moss, and written by Moss and Elliot Tishman. The film is loosely based on the viral 2010 AC Transit Bus fight. When trailers launched for Bad Ass, many people online thought they were spoof trailers, akin to the original 2007 trailer for Machete. Danny Trejo originally didn’t want to accept the role due to below rate pay, but his agent implored him to take it, seeing potential in the movie. How does it fare?
It’s good! I usually don’t go for these direct-to-video/streaming action movies featuring a “name” star (i.e. Nicholas Cage, John Cusack, etc.) who filmed all of their scenes in one or two days. One might assume that’s what Bad Ass is, as Danny Trejo has (literally) hundreds of movies that fit that description.
Bad Ass, though, is a legitimately well-made movie that just happens to have a small budget. Trejo gives a good performance as the sympathetic Vega, who has let life kick him in the teeth for far too long. The film plays up his age to comedic effect, which adds to its charm. Though Trejo’s character becomes a vigilante, Bad Ass is no Death Wish (1974). There’s a decent amount of violence, but most of the movie feels light and popcorn-y.
Bad Ass has a pretty good cast too. Personal favorite Patrick Fabian has a supporting role, as do Joyful Drake, Charles S. Dutton, Ron Perlman, and Richard Riehle. The plot surrounding solving the murder is serviceable, if not generic. It gets the job done in setting up the set pieces, but it’s pretty easy to figure out who the killer is.
The most impressive thing to me is how well Bad Ass conceals its budget. It never looks like a cheap movie… except when there are explosions, which look horrible. But because the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, it’s easy to let it slide. The movie also uses stock footage from Red Heat (1988) during a stunt sequence, which is pretty funny. Speaking of which, my biggest complaint is a scene involving two busses, with characters in opposing busses belting out decent one-liners directed at each other. But the filmmakers didn’t think to have them say those one liners into the two-way radios! What a missed opportunity, c’mon man!
Overall, Bad Ass is a fun movie with some heart beneath the surface. It’s a throwback to 80’s action movies, but felt fresh. I could not find any budget or earnings information for Bad Ass, which was released direct-to-video.
Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses (2013) – 6/10
A Vietnam War veteran teams up with an agoraphobic convenience store owner to solve a murder.
Danny Trejo returns as Frank Vega, who has now opened a community boxing center. The building is shared with Bernie Pope (Danny Glover), a former minor-league hockey player and convenience store owner who suffers from agoraphobia. After one of Vega’s disciples is murdered, the heartbroken “Bad Ass” teams up with Bernie to solve the crime, vigilante style…
Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses was written and directed by Craig Moss. It’s the sequel 2012’s Bad Ass (yeah, I couldn’t find even the smallest anecdote about this movie’s production). How does it fare?
It’s also good! Having watched Bad Ass 2, it’s hard to imagine the first movie didn’t have Danny Glover. He and Danny Trejo have great chemistry, forming a modern-day buddy-cop tandem. Except they're not cops… they’re really old people, who ride the bus, have to remember to take their medication, and wear fanny packs.
But they’re also Bad Asses, who can both handle dozens of young thugs due to their backgrounds in the military and ice hockey. Combining the geriatric jokes and fight scenes is a super fun mix that creates buttery good entertainment. The plot is probably less tight than the original Bad Ass (2012), but it’s off-set but the overall entertainment being higher due to Danny Glover’s addition. Patrick Fabian reprises his supporting role, and it was nice to see Jacqueline Obradors pop up in a role outside of the TV series Bosch (2013-2021). Loni Love also co-stars.
As was the case with the first movie, Bad Ass 2 looks good for its small budget, with the exception of explosions/fire effects, which look atrocious. Additionally, the movie hilariously uses stock footage again to fill in for a car chase scene, this time from the movie Narrow Margin (1990). It is extremely obvious because the sequence is shot on film, and keeps bouncing back and forth between the stock footage and close ups of Glover and Trejo shot in crisp digital. I don’t think this hurts the movie, though; I actually think it adds charm.
Overall, Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses is a good – possibly better – follow up to the original, and a fun way to kill 90 minutes. Bad Ass 2 had a budget of $5.5M, and was released direct-to-video.
Bad Asses on the Bayou (2015) – 6/10
Two elderly men take the law into their own hands after their friend is kidnapped.
Danny Trejo and Danny Glover return as Frank Vega and Bernie Pope, who travel to Louisiana for the wedding of their police officer friend Carmen (Loni Love). Carmen’s father Earl (John Amos) is wealthy, and is hosting the wedding on a family owned plantation. However, following the rehearsal dinner, Carmen is kidnapped and held at random. With local police proving to be incompetent, Vega and Pope once again take the law into their own hands to rescue Carmen…
Bad Asses on the Bayou, aka Bad Ass 3, was once again written and directed by Craig Moss. Also once again, I can’t find squat about this movie’s production. How does it fare?
It’s also good, this time on the bayou! When I saw the title of this movie and the poster – which looks
like a paintball gun exploded - I figured this series was finally going to let me down. Well, I was wrong: it’s another fun Bad Ass entry. In fact, it’s the highest rated Bad Ass movie on Letterboxd (2.8/5)… but the lowest rated on IMDB (5.3/10), so make of that what you will.
At this point, the series formula is down pat. Two old geezers, equipped with fanny packs, baggy clothing, and prescription medicine kick some bad guy tail while bickering with each other and belting one liners. This time we’re in Louisiana, with our heroes battling confederate flag waiving country folk. There’s some situational humor that comes out of this, like when Frank and Bernie go looking for clues at an all-white club, but for the most part the movie is very similar to the earlier entries.
I don’t think that’s a bad thing in this case. No, the artistic quality isn’t high, but sometimes you just want to shut your brain off and watch Danny Trejo and Danny Glover kick some ass. I’m actually surprised at how good, and consistent, these three Bad Ass movies are. I had never even heard of them until recently, yet they’re probably the closest to a modern day Lethal Weapon-esque series out there. Not nearly as good as Lethal Weapon obviously – these are direct-to-video fare, after all – but serviceable and fun nonetheless. Speaking of consistency – Bad Ass 3 once again uses stock footage, this time from Air America (1990).
Overall, Bad Asses on the Bayou is another fun buddy action movie. To date, it’s the final Bad Ass movie, which is unfortunate because a fourth movie – Bad Asses in Bangkok – was teased before the end credits. I think this is a fun series to watch with a beer in hand on a lazy Saturday afternoon, so it would've been cool to have another entry, but I think the three that we got have some rewatchability. Bad Ass 3 had a budget of $5.3M, and was released directly-to-video.