Recoil (1998) Poster

(1998)

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6/10
He was our baby... and you threw him out in the street!
sol-kay9 April 2005
(There Are Spoilers) Inept yet very unintentionally funny police drama about a big time mobsters son who instead working as a top man and white collar executive in the family business gets hooked up with a bunch of local bank robbers and ended up being shot to pieces after an half hour shoot-out and car chase that destroyed half of downtown L.A.

Big time mob boss Vincent Sloan gets the bad news on the TV that his hot-headed and crazy son Marcus was gunned down after the biggest shootout in L.A history that also cost the lives of four of his co-bank robbers pals.

Finding out the names of the five policemen who did in poor Marcus the Sloan Mob rubs out within two days four of them leaving only the cop who actually put Marcus in the city morgue Det. Ray Morgan as the only surviving Marcus shooter.

Tracking Det. Morgan with the help of the police brass, who are really working with the Sloan Mob, the gangsters end up killing Morgans wife and two children after shoving his van with them down a cliff, Det. Morgan though badly hurt survived. Being placed at Father Navarras Holy Innocence Missonery outside L.A by his partner Det. Cassidy, in order not to have the corrupt cops tip off the Sloan Mob where he is. Ray slowly recovers and then takes on the entire Sloan Mob.

Ridicules story thats so bad that it's funny with Morgan in a number of incredible car chases and shoot-outs, that look like they were done without the use of computer photography enhancement, that make up for the terrible acting and unbelievable storyline with Morgan seeming to pop up and disappear out of and into thin air in many of the scenes he's in. There's a number of shoot-out where the bad guys are shooting round after round straight at Morgan, who in many cases is no more the ten feet away from them, but never could hit him. It's as if he has an invisible force field around him.

Taking out most of the Sloan Mob and two of his sons, Andrew and Devon, Morgan has it out with the remaining mobster at their drug/coke factory outside the city at the end of the movie. Knocking off almost half of the mobsters at the factory before the top hoods even know that he's there Morgan blasts and kicks away at the remaining mobsters, as well as their police cohorts. Turuing both mob chieftain Vincent Sloan and his remaining son Nicky into toast and grill cheese by the time the film is over.

The crooked cops working for the Sloan Mob are so bad and ineffective that they only help Morgan in putting the Slone's mobsters, as well as themselves, out of business. Gary Daniels as Det. Ray Morgan is very good in the action sequences but when it calls for him to show any feelings or emotions he comes across looking has if he's having a very severe attack of gastro-enteritis.

What I think was the acting highlight of the movie was that of the hysterical and uncontrollable Robin Curtis playing mobster Vincent Sloane wife Julie. Curtis was so corny and off-the-wall in her scenes where she screamed shirked and pleaded, very unconvincingly, for Vince to get out of the crime business that her actions looked like they came straight out of the Madonna & Brittany Spear school of bad acting.
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Simple and somewhat typical plot, but a very good action movie overall.
aloep20 August 2004
Warning: Spoilers
*Mild spoilers*

After Deadly Target, Rage and Riot, this is the fourth movie from PM Entertainment to star Gary Daniels in the lead. While not as entertaining as Rage or Deadly Target, or as good as other PM Entertainment productions such as Executive Target and Last Man Standing, Recoil is nevertheless a very solid action thriller with fantastic action scenes including several vehicle chases, bloody shootouts and a couple of great fight scenes.

The plot is strictly by the numbers, and the movie plays out quite strangely. For example, the first fifty minutes would lead you to believe it will be a buddy cop movie in the mould of Lethal Weapon, but then the lead characters family is killed, his partner killed and then it takes a turn as a vigilante actioner for the last half hour. Despite this sudden turn, both parts are played out well, the action scenes are solid and happen between reasonable intervals, so at no point is the movie dull.

I noticed another reviewer made the comment "This movie is like a XXX movie with all the nudity replaced by pointless fighting.". I would just like to point out that this is entirely untrue, as there are no fight scenes till after the story takes the vigilante turn which is over 50 minutes into it. Although it stars Gary Daniels in the lead, this definitely can't be classed as a martial arts thriller, as most of the action is made up of chases and shootouts. Although it's credited as being directed by Art Camacho, it feels like a Joseph Merhi/Richard Pepin production from every angle, from the massive opening shootout leading to a chase, to the climatic chase scene leading to a shootout. Fortunately all the action scenes work fantastically. Tons of stuff blows up and looks good doing it, sparks fly, slow motion isn't overused and in the few fight scenes that are there, Gary Daniels gets to show off his skills and the choreography is excellent and there's tons of crazy stunts in the PM tradition to top it all off. It's these kind of things that I really miss in new big studio action movies, which nowadays are full of CGI and overly large budgets.

Gary Daniels isn't bad in his role. Considering his background comes from the kickboxing side of things first and acting second, it shouldn't surprise too many people that he isn't a very good actor, but he makes a likeable action hero and in this movie creates a lot of sympathy when his family are killed and the chemistry between him, his family and his partner is good. I instantly recognised Richard Foronjy as Tony Sarvo from Midnight Run, in this playing the lead villain as Vincent Sloan. He looks believable as a crime boss, but somehow came across a little too soft for the role. Robin Curtis is a terrible actress and does nothing but sob and complain in the role of Sloan's wife. Fortunately though, she doesn't have much screentime.

Although there are better movies from Gary Daniels and PM Entertainment, Recoil is a well paced and thoroughly entertaining action movie and if you like this kind of stuff, it's definitely worth a go. Again it's a movie not made to make us think, but to entertain and it definitely satisfies.
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3/10
Purely an insult to one's intelligence
Sagsag14 February 2000
The budget for this film was obviously completely spent on the stunts and the explosions, leaving nothing to the writers. How can one explain this film otherwise?

Out of all the B-movies I have watched lately, this one must have been the most predictable yet inconsistent, irrational, inaccurate and downright plain dumb, making it purely an insult to the viewer's intelligence. In fact, I have found myself laughing out loud in scenes that were probably supposed to be very dramatic.

Gary Daniels is playing Ray Morgan, a police detective making the mistake of killing the son of an obviously very important man in the local underworld (Sloan). From this point on, Morgan's life turns into a living hell, as Sloan decides to wage a little war against the ones responsible for the death of his son in particular, and apparently against the rest of the world in general, namely the local police station, families, friends and other innocent people passing by. When the fog of war clears up, Morgan finds himself alone, discovering all that are close to him are either dead or affiliated with Sloan. Being left only with a vengeance, Morgan sets out to destroy the man who destroyed him.

This pretty standard setting, along with a lousy script and a lousy post-production job, created an action packed comedy (well, I've found it quite hilarious). When overlooking the flaws of the film, you get quite a good action flick: there are grand chases (quite stupid, but grand nonetheless), loads of explosions, numerous shooting scenes, a high body count and finally a naked woman (the lovely Griffin Drew) -- all of which are essential ingredients for a decent action flick. However, there are a lot of flaws to overlook. I won't even start to list the inconsistencies of this flick or explain the foolishness presented in the flick, since doing so will generate quite a long list. On the other hand, if I were to give only a few examples, the whole image would not have been perceived, and you would have probably called me a perfectionist or a snob, so I won't do that either.

So if you're looking for pure action, choosing this flick might be a good choice. However, if you fear knowing reality or having good taste will damage your satisfaction, go for another feature (True Lies is good...).
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1/10
pure garbage
deadsenator1 July 2000
How do these movies get made? Asinine script, predictable plot, terrible acting, bad scenes, and awful stunts add up to one of the worst Hollywood has spewed forth. Don't waste your time. This movie was made for 12-yr old boys. I can say nothing good and not enough bad about this phlegm. That's right, it's not even a 'film'.
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1/10
Awful!
stustee9 July 2002
This is one of the most awful movies I have ever seen. The last time I saw a movie this bad was the 13th Warrior. This movie is like a XXX movie with all the nudity replaced by pointless fighting. The acting is bad, the fighting is unconvincing while the bad guys stand waiting to be kicked or blasted. The story is pointless and totally predictable. The first scene leads you into thinking that it may be a good movie, but after that it rolls out all the old clichés.

You actually start feeling sorry for the bad guys after a while, which could have made for an interesting turn-around, but this movie unfortunately has nothing new to add.

If you've enjoyed anything Steven Seagal has made since Under Seige, here's another no-brainer for you.

Don't waste your time with this: your time would be better spent watching Lethal Weapon or Die Hard for the 20th time.
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7/10
YES! Top notch Daniels-action
sveknu27 November 2005
This is a really great action movie starring the master himself, Gary Daniels. The movie has lots and lots of action scenes. The fighting scenes are GREAT. Daniels delivers, and shows us that he is one of the best martial artists actors out there. Just keep in mind that, despite this being a Daniels-movie, there aren't that many fight scenes in it. But there's much action, for example a really long car chase scene, and shooting as well. Pretty standard action-plot, but that's exactly what action fans want in a movie like this. People who think otherwise should watch a crappy drama movie instead. Verdict: 7 stars out of 10. Well deserved.
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1/10
I'm sorry but.....
sprivateryan23 June 2000
This is one of the worst movies EVER! I can't explain clearly how bad this movie is! I know I said to myself that I would never write a comment on a bad movie, but people should know NOT to see this movie. If it is ever on STARz, or Showtime(which isn't a big surprise why it's on Showtime), trust me. DON'T WATCH IT! Unless you want to see guns going off without discharges flying out, bad acting, stunt doubles of a different color then the main star, or just how cool Gary Daniels is. Uh-hem, sorry I have a cold. Anyway, this movie would be better if there were some type of recoils from the guns. Sorry bad action lovers!(0 out 10 stars)
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7/10
Every kind of fu
Estraven13 July 2000
Great action movie with cool car/bike/truck chases. Gary plays a cop whose family is wiped out by a drug boss. After he recuperates he sets out for revenge and some great martial arts sequences ensue. Gary seems to be going from strength to strength. Definitely check this out. As Joe Bob Briggs would say, gun fu, car fu, kung fu galore.
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3/10
FUTURE STORMTROOPERS
bikemat26 June 2018
There is no doubt in my mind that all the bad guys in this movie are future Stormtroopers in the Star Wars saga simply because THEY CAN'T HIT SQUAT! This is a great cheesy late night action schlokfest because you don't really have to pay attention to the movie itself. The shootouts were a joke as were the chase scenes. I never knew that ramps are placed in front of pallets in a pallet factory just in case some idiot rides his motorcycle through the factory. The Blues Brothers had a better chase scenes than this crapfest. The fight scenes were just ridiculous. The speed at which they were throwing punches and kicking is as fast as CHUCK NORRIS and BRUCE LEE practice their choreography! But like I said, it'a great distraction while you wait up for your daughter to get home and it's 4am! I'm going to cleanse my movie palate and watch a JCVD movie. I'll have your daughter home in an hour and a half!!! LOL
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10/10
The Best Gary Daniels Movie Ever!
magilvilla14 November 1999
Why isn't Gary Daniels a big star yet? This movie should have been released in theaters. It sure beats anything Van Damme or Seagal have done lately. It has car chases, shootouts, and fighting galore! The car stunts were amazing! Gary Daniels fighting skills are fantastic. If Hollywood producers were smart, they would stop wasting their time on has beens like Seagal and try to make Gary Daniels the next big thing in action movies.
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7/10
Blistering action
Leofwine_draca7 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
RECOIL is a blistering US action flick from the team at PM Entertainment and so far the best I've seen from them. It sees straight-to-video action man Gary Daniels playing a cop responsible for the accidental shooting of a gangster's kid. In revenge, the gangster puts a hit on Daniels but accidentally kills his family instead, leading our heroic cop on a dark spiral of revenge.

All I've seen is negative reviews of this movie, so I must be in a minority here, but I absolutely loved this one. The action is fast and frenetic and never-ending, and it's amazing what they pull off on a low budget. I much prefer the action contained here than you see in the bloated Hollywood blockbusters of the era, or even the big films they're putting out these days like RED, a few exceptions aside. RECOIL is an incredibly fast paced film packed with martial arts bouts and vehicular chases. It has some of the craziest car crash stunts I've ever seen with one spinning-in-the-air shot taking my breath away. Daniels excels as the macho lead and the violence is gritty and hard-hitting. RECOIL is a real hoot.
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3/10
"Move it move it move it....nobody move" an actual line in the film, hahahahahhaha"
M85ALIVE3 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Impressive action scenes, the film feels like it was made for the action first and the plot, "characters" second, it's very predictable and the acting is cringeworthy.

15.50 mins in ....they have the last robber cornered and no ones gonna try and shoot him?

21:20 there was conveniently a person in that area with a video recorder to document the event? really? that's VERY VERY convenient for the plot.
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7/10
Fun Gary Daniels ride
ellisandre22 January 2020
I expected nothing going in, aside that I knew PM Entertainment had an excellent reputation for stunts. I was not disappointed. The action was very executed the plot holds you, I was entertained.

The film has interesting vibe because it does feel American but the Action is closer to a Hong Kong film. That is the only aspect I found distinctive.

A must for all Gary Daniels fan, and a good to start if one want to explore his films.
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7/10
action movie
bonjomonjah1 November 2014
Excellent action movie , Gary Daniel's spot on.... The mob boss is great and his troops. The movie has a good feel and tons of good action. I rate this as one of the best action movies with a good script.. I bought this for one pound and was money well spent.Cold Harvest,Riot,Rage,Game of Death,Forced To Fight and Recoil are Daniel's best films in my opinion. Good to see him in the first Expendables, as a villain once again the role suites him.

If you like action, Norris, Billy Blanks then this is a must see in my opinion, fast moving and perfect for a lazy afternoon. Gary is underrated but at least hes had some recognition.
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8/10
Recoil is an entertaining, uncompromising and fully engaging movie!
tarbosh2200013 May 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Det. Ray Morgan (Daniels) is an LAPD cop on the edge. After the pursuit of a suspect, Morgan and his team of detectives, Boorman (Maurice Lamont), Grant (???), Vasquez (Frank Rivera) and Chang (Kelly Hirano) - as well as Morgan's devoted friend and partner Cassidy (McKinney) - open fire on this very dangerous and violent criminal. After killing him, evil mob boss Vincent Sloan (Foronjy) declares war on the cops, with a particular emphasis on Morgan and his family. Vincent's son Marcus was killed in the police shooting. After losing everything at the hands of Sloan and his goons, Morgan has nothing left to lose and devotes his life to revenge - with awesome results.

Gary Daniels once again brings the potent combination of likability and top-notch martial arts skill in his role as Ray Morgan. He's another lovable family man (his wife is played by Kelli McCarty), forced to fight to even the score. Frankly, Recoil is one of the best PM's we've seen to date. It's nothing but action and incredibly impressive stunts, and with an interesting religious subtext. It's very tough as well and takes no prisoners. With fan-favorite Gary Daniels at the helm in this revenge thriller, Recoil can basically do no wrong.

The sinister Sloan family proves no one named Sloan or Sloane is any good. Interestingly, the family seems like an Italian crime family, made up of men from mobster flicks - perhaps they shortened their name from Sloanelli or something like that.

It's hard to believe director Art Camacho also directed the dire Deadly Reckoning, 1998 (in the same year, no less). But then again, here he had the power of PM to back him up. Clearly his years in the action movie biz gave him the ability to know what fans want and how to deliver a satisfying action production.

While the overall tone is somewhat cynical, or perhaps nihilistic, and way too many cops die in the film for our liking, Recoil remains an entertaining, uncompromising and fully engaging movie, one of PM's best.

For more action insanity, please visit: www.comeuppancereviews.com
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8/10
Action galore
caa82112 November 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I put the "spoiler" label to try to ensure following the parameters for this site -- but I don't think anything here would ruin any element of this movie for anyone. There is absolutely no doubt as to what is going to happen next, and very, very little as to when or where.

Chan, Norris, Segal, Van Damme. It would take this guy 20 seconds to dispose of all four -- 30 seconds, tops! Stallone in full "Rambo" mode, plus Swarzegenner as the "Terminator," Harry from "True Lies," or any other of his macho personas -- another half-minute. The whole "A-Team," including Mr. T at his meanest, maybe 45 seconds, since they usually have some armored vehicles. Now to penetrate (alone) a Mafia Don's home, with more button men than the Corleone, Tattaglia and Barzini families combined, it takes a few minutes because of the numbers involved and the size of the estate. (He also has to be certain none of the lady guests are harmed, since there is a party involved.) Later, tackling the remainder of the crime boss' force in a large factory site, another few minutes.

I got into this film shortly after it had begun, surfing to the CW channel. It was during a local programming period, and the local listing of the title was erroneous, so I was able to get to this site only after seeing the credits at the end.

I had flipped-on the record button, and so was able to count the number of stunt performers in this picture -- count'em -- sixty-five (65)!!

Frankly, I had not heard of Gary Daniels until this flick. Part of the fun of doing these comments (for me it is great relaxation therapy), is sometimes reading the other comments as you are doing yours.

I see several from obvious Daniels aficionados, and some with criticism of the acting. "Sol" from Brooklyn had an enjoyable comment to read (and I'd guess someone named Sol, from Brooklyn, ought to have some degree of affinity and familiarity with this genre), and others noted Daniels' less-than-Di Nero- or -Pacino- level of acting talent -- but these do not diminish the superior action elements of the story. Daniels' obviously prodigious abilities in the martial arts make his level of activity in dispatching the bad guys very believable (even though the extent, circumstances and numbers of adversaries involved may stretch this believability a tad).

I got into the film just as the several policeman, who were involved in the bust where the Don's son was killed, were being debriefed. So I missed the initial car chase referenced by others, but there were certainly more to come, in quantity, in this presentation.

Regarding references to Daniels' acting - I have commented about Patrick Swayze, referencing Leonard Maltin's depicting Swayze's acting range as "from A to B." It's possible Daniels' range could be considered "from A to A-minus." Also, the histrionics of the Don's wife were on the "Spears" or "Madonna" level, as described elsewhere here.

Even Sollozzo, the drug dealer who had the nerve to attempt to whack Don Corleone in "The Godfather," or the always rash Bugsy Siegel, would hesitate to initiate the extreme level of carnage the crime boss revengefully ordered in this picture.

But that was what set the tone, and this still was fun to view. And the car chase scenes obviously were either bereft of a lot of computerized enhancements, or were so artfully-added as to be undetectable. They were on a level of those in big-budget films we remember, involving Gene Hackman, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, etc.
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10/10
Classic Revenge Flick
sydneyswesternsuburbs13 August 2011
Director and writer Art Comacho has created a gem in Recoil.

Starring Gary Daniels who has also been in other classic flicks, Game of Death 2010, The Expendables 2010, Bloodmoon 1997, White Tiger 1996, Rage 1995, Riot 1997 and another classic revenge flick, Cold Harvest 1999.

Also starring Gregory McKinney.

Also starring Thomas Kopache who has also been in other classic flicks, Breakdown 1997 and Leaving Las Vegas 1995.

Also starring Kelli McCarty who has also been in other classic flicks, Girl for Girl 2002, House Of Love 2000 and Hollywood Sex Fantasy 2010.

I enjoyed the chase scenes and shootouts.

If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic revenge flicks, Angel of Vengeance 1981, Already Dead 2007, Bounty Tracker 1993, Cape Fear 1991, The Crow 1994, Death Sentence 2007, Death Wish 1974, Death Wish II 1982, Death Wish 3 1985, Double Impact 1991, Drive Angry 3D 2011, The Exterminator 1980, Faster 2010, Hobo with a Shotgun 2011, Payback 1999, The Punisher 1989, The Punisher 2004, Punisher: War Zone 2008, Stiletto 2008, Urban Justice 2007, Viligante 1983, Wake of Death 2004, I Saw the Devil 2010, Recoil 2011, I Spit on Your Grave 2 2013, John Wick 2014, Naked Vengeance 1985, Skin Trade 2014 and Walking Tall: The Payback 2007.
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