Assault on VA-33 (2021) User Reviews

Poor Movie With Terrible Acting

[baltar-tommy · 3/10 · 15 March 2021]

This B movie had the perfect formula to make a half decent generic action film. The story is the standard bad guys taking over a building with the good guy trapped inside. So what could go wrong?

Well first up the acting is so dodgy it is laughable. You could actually replace the actors with wooden dummies and the film would have been better for it. lol

Now the lead good guy is wasted until the latter half of the film until he man's up to start taking out the bad guys. At this point Bruce Willis had taken out a fair amount of them in Die Hard. But I guess this was done on a shoe string budget.

Some of the supporting cast were wasted in their roles like Michael Jai White playing a bumbling cop. Also Mark Dacasos as the sniper should have had a better role. He's always a decent supporting actor when he turns up in various roles. As for the lead, he was good but I'm sorry to see him in another cheap straight to dvd movie. Someone in Hollywood please give this guy a break!

All in all a standard generic action story that we have all seen before spoiled by terrible acting and pacing. I swear one of the hostages, a blond women had a grin on her face when the bad guys were pointing a gun at her. Woeful!

Open minded

[ape-08136 · 5/10 · 17 April 2021]

If u go into this movie with no expectations it's not bad. It's worth watching once. It's by far not the worst movie I've seen.

Amateur Hour

[bazcaz · 2/10 · 16 March 2021]

Oh my God how can film producers spend money on such rubbish.I stuck out the whole movie just to see if got worse ,and it did, the local Theatre group would have acted better than this lot,a big waste of time,stay well clear of this disaster!!

Die hard on a 1000$ budget

[kaefab · 2/10 · 15 March 2021]

I know its pack with action stars flannery is a real BJJ black belt, Holden got old and hit the wall solid sad, Jai White decassco, Rob Van Damme..

But the movie is bad, and cheap, it really looks amateur and cheap don't even waste your time with this one not even worth a rental

A five year old could write a script with fewer plot holes

[matthewyclark · 1/10 · 20 October 2021]

This movie is terrible. The plot holes are so abundant it is laughable. No-one in the movie seems to hear gunfire in their building. The FBI surrounds the building- except for the front door where the protagonists daughter is standing who also does not hear gunfire and explosives going off nearby. This is to allow her to be taken hostage to move the broken plot along. Simply pulling the fire alarm would have allowed the protagonist to alert everyone in the building to danger, but of course that would make for a very short movie.

The premise is based on the appearance of a general in the army for counseling regarding a mission he led. Generals don't lead missions, their officers do that. The whole concept of the movie is fatally flawed from start to finish.

Stupid film.

[TepesTheImpaler · 2/10 · 8 July 2021]

I'm watching this and wondering.

Why when the the first shots were fired, did no one not here anything?

Why when the police ignored him did he not pull the fire alarm?

Why?

Why?

Why?

It could have been a decent film. If they had used a better director. Better actors and a better script.

Fourth rate Die Hard wanna be

[Lokisgodhi · 2/10 · 13 April 2021]

No one going to ever confuse Sean Patrick Flanery with Bruce Willis. No ones going to confuse Weston Coppola with Alan Rickman. No one's going to confuse an abandoned hospital for operational Veterans Administration hospital. Even one in the economically depressed ass end of western upstate New York.

The premise that a four star Marine general would travel to the ass end of up state New York to see a psychiatrist is laughable.

Most of the characters are caricatures. They're not fleshed out in any shape or form.

The writing is cliched.

The special effects like gunshot wounds are atrocious.

If you can watch this for free on the internet and have some time that really needs killing, give it a shot. If you pay to watch this, you'll be pissed you wasted the money. I guarantee this.

'Assault on VA-33' is nothing you 'aint seen before, and, sometimes, that's precisely what I need!'

[Weirdling_Wolf · 7/10 · 10 May 2022]

The son of infamous B-Movie impresario Fred Olen Ray proves he's a chip off the old schlock with his boisterous DTV actioner 'Assault on VA-33'. Very similar to recent low budget JCVD shoot 'em up 'Kill Em All', with likeable action man Sean Patrick Flanery playing PTSD sufferer Jason Hill who has his therapy session royally fubar'd by the unexpected incursion of trigger-happy, hospital hijacking mercenaries, cartoonishly headed by the ponytailed 'Adrian', one of the more pleasingly 90s-styled Ruskie villains, a tailor-made role for maestro Billy Drago, but, sadly, the viewer will just have to make do with Weston Cage Coppola.

After Jason predictably goes full McClane, 'Assault on VA-33' proves itself to be a serviceable, if undeniably formulaic actioner, and while the conclusion is never really in doubt, ruggedly handsome, fleet-fisted Flanagan makes for a sympathetic pistol-packing patriarch, with charismatic action icons Michael Jai White and Mark Dacascos doing the best with their somewhat undernourished roles. While perhaps not the best in show, Christopher Rey's toothsome DTV shoot 'em up has enough mongrel charm for me to overlook its flaws. I really don't need every film to subtext me into dazed submission, just like the man said, if I wanted a message I'll listen to Marvin Gaye, sometimes I just like to watch noisome, lunkheaded, high test B-movies that energetically take my mind of the dismal day-to-day dross of modern life. 'Assault on VA-33' is nothing you 'aint seen before, and, sometimes, that's precisely what I need!'

B film and movie mistakes

[charlie7313 · 2/10 · 15 April 2021]

Dont waste your time. Low budget wannabe die hard film. And littered with movie mistakes.

A Decent Action Movie, relative to the Budget

[wsqsfzwk · 6/10 · 5 April 2021]

This movie has to be critiqued in relation to the low budget.

It's a well paced escapade with obvious odes to big budget blockbusters in the action genre, but it would be whimsical & fastidious to compare this to such movies.

So Go in with expectations relative to the and you may actually enjoy the ride.

There're are some decent actors who have appeared in films such as John Wick that add to the played out narrative and whom help usher this movie along in a fair pace.

Realistic enough action sequences that avoid becoming laughably outlandish, the director and producers were aware of the limitations and didn't try to overcompensate, so sequences such as the helicopter being shot down and exploding are carried out with aplomb.

A predictable story line that is moved along at a fair pace as to not be a complete bore. Dodgy accents, arbitrary one-liners, and decent action. Just above Average B- action movie that is completely watchable until the end.

I could have killed him

[nogodnomasters · 5/10 · 23 May 2021]

Stop me when you know this film: Hostages are taken in a building by a well-dressed man with a foreign accent. A man with special abilities is in the building and his wife is one of the hostages. He is taking out bad guys one by one and is in hiding. He is also giving important information to an African-American police officer outside.

Needless to say, they ripped off "Die Hard" with no apology. Jason Hill is a PTSD vet being treated at the hospital in Buffalo. The bad guys want to know where one of their comrades was taken by the General visiting the facility. They did the correct thing by circling back with the issue with the daughter, in fact, you see it coming. They had an opening teaser than a regression that was totally unnecessary and a bit of a spoiler. Weston Cage Coppola is no Hans Gruber, but he does try. There were some hand-to-hand scenes they should have redone. The radio banter from "guy in the van" had some light humor to it.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity. Brittany Underwood plays the hot bad chick.

Very Amateur Acting

[docm-32304 · 2/10 · 25 September 2021]

The production quality is the highlight of the film as the acting is out and out the worst I've ever seen. There are also continuity problems with time of day and with the disappearing injuries of the lead during fight scenes. The actor who portrayed police chief and the second in command terrorist are particularly terrible in their amateur performances. I made it through the film just to see if it could get better, but it was the same all the way through. I wanted to like it, but the bad acting killed it.

Cheap and mistakes in it

[kkjzcnc · 1/10 · 17 March 2021]

I wonder if someone makes a movie then why do they make effects too stupid- every time someone gets shot then there is some res mist in air. And movie is full of stupid mistakes and bad acting. During end there is sooooo stupid mistake- father gets to airfield while it is daytime and then they start shooting and bad guys go inside building and then the background outside is night and dark suddenly- u cant make so stupid mistakes

Poor acting worse stunts.

[jeffstevens38 · 3/10 · 6 October 2021]

Poor acting worse stunts.

Dire!

Michael Jai White wasted.

Worst Movie I Have Seen In a Long Time

[vjulien · 1/10 · 5 April 2021]

How come this kind of movie still exists in 2021? The scenario, the actors, the action scenes, the FX, nothing can save this movie. The special effects (gunfire, flames coming out of guns, blood, etc.) are so awfully done I thought a 10 year old kid did this. Anyway, it is a terrible movie so don't waste your time watching it.

It's your typical B grade cat and mouse bad guys against one hero flick.

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 5/10 · 16 March 2021]

You can't excuse experienced producer and director Christopher Ray for such failure in directing his cast, or for his long dragged out shots and terrible camera work. I've seen first time filmmakers do a much better job in all areas of directing. I was actually expecting a young first attempt director, but sadly, no. How could he have approved such a bad final cut to go to distribution.

You can however, cut some slack for seasoned actor turned newb writer Scott Thomas Reynolds for the major plot holes in a story that isn't exactly original, but was still somewhat entertaining. I just wish some of the real obvious plot and technical issues would've been easily fixed; the nonsense band conversation in the van, then using a silencer, but never throughout the initial gunfire inside that hospital, that apparently everyone inside never heard. But the tween dialogue and cheesy humor in between major scenes where the main pitfalls in his writing. Then there was the normally comfortable 90 min runtime that felt longer and dragged out from the slow pacing and long dragged out and/or unnecessary scenes. I'm thinking this screenplay's story would've been better as a short, or at best a 1 hour TV movie, from lacking that much substance. But then again, for a newb writer with this film being only his second credit, he did good, because even screenwriters have to start somewhere, right?

Had Reynolds' script been directed properly, it wouldn't have felt as bad as it was. So the blame falls on the experienced director as to why this film was a flop. Even Sean Patrick Flanery (who just nailed it in Born a Champion) couldn't save this film. And why cast the awesome Michael Jai White and not have him do any arse kicking? The rest of the casting and performances were actually good and for the most part convincing, with the exception of Weston Cage Coppola as Adrian Rabikov. His performance seemed very amateurish - not that he's a seasoned actor, but I'm sure mostly from the lack of cast direction from Ray didn't that didn't help his overall performance. Even his very bad and laughable Russian or whatever that was accent made his character look simpy.

The cinematography was decent, and the score was surprisingly adequate for a B grade film, where it's usually loud, overbearing and unfitting. The editing (was there even any?) needed more cuts to the runtime by chopping down most of the scenes, and many scene transitions were sloppy. I'm guessing this was a low budget film due to the main set being a hospital under renovations, although it was used well.

Nevertheless, it's an ok film to watch if there's nothing better on, which nowadays there's only slim pickings. It's a generous 5/10 from me.

Another Knockoff of "Die Hard"

[zardoz-13 · 7/10 · 5 July 2021]

The classic Bruce Willis movie "Die Hard" (1988) has spawned an astronomical number of knockoffs. Director Christopher Ray's better-than-average thriller "Assault on VA-33," starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Michael Jai White, Mark Dacascos, and Weston Cage Coppola, is the latest clone. Hair-trigger terrorists occupy a Veteran's Administration Hospital in Buffalo, New York, and take hostages. They demand $50 million, a bus ride to the airport, and a fully fueled plane waiting on the runway. The authorities have exactly one hour to comply, otherwise the terrorists will start killing hostages. Little do these malevolent extremists realize a VA patient, Jason Hill (Sean Patrick Flanery of "The Boondocks Saints"), a troubled ex-soldier suffering from PTSD, has infiltrated their ranks and is quietly whittling them down. A deranged former Russian soldier-turned-terrorist, Adrian Rabikov (Weston Cage Coppola of "D-Day: Battle of Omaha Beach"), wants to know his sibling's whereabouts after having vanished in a top-secret raid outside Moscow. Rabikov believes Joint Chiefs of Staff General Welch (Gerald Webb of "Sniper Special Ops"), who ordered the mission, knows about his brother David. Rabikov's best-laid plans go awry when Hill suspects something is amiss in VA-33. Sean Patrick Flanery makes an underdog hero who finds himself outnumbered by Rabikov's henchmen. Worse, despite repeated phone calls about this emergency, Police Chief Malone (Michael Jai White of "Triple Threat") dismisses Hill as an alarmist and scorns his warning.

Rabikov and his homicidal henchmen have no qualms about executing hostages. When these gunmen take over the VA Hospital, they replace the front desk security officer with one of their own and deploy a heavily armed presence in the building. Moreover, Rabikov stations a sniper atop the roof, Jackson (Mark Dacascos of "John Wick: Chapter 3") who is a superb sharpshooter. Earlier, Hill had accompanied his wife, Dr. Jennifer Hill (Gina Holden of "Final Destination 3"), one of the VA therapists, into the facility for his appointment. Security officer Wanda Phillips (Naaji Sky Adzimah of "American Wisper") scolded Jason about skipping the check-in procedure. Meantime, Jennifer has learned a high-ranking officer has scheduled a last-minute appointment. Before his arrival, General Welch had dispatched a security squad to scrutinize the premises. Later, after he re-enters VA-33 and skips the security procedure, Jason is surprised Rabikov's henchman doesn't halt him. Incidentally, they shot Phillips after General Welch had shown up. Scenarist Scott Thomas Reynolds's formulaic script doesn't miss a trope in this "Die Hard" derivative. Moreover, these terrorists don't play pattycake. They shoot belligerent hostages on the spot. Meantime, Jason finds himself in a tight spot as he struggles to convince Chief Malone to verify his story in this suspenseful, 90-minute actioneer, rated R for profanity and violence.

As the deranged Rabikov, Nicolas Cage's son Weston Cage Coppola is truly psychotic, and his squad of suicide killers are willing to die for him. Our sympathetic hero Jason Hill suffers from memories about being caught in an explosion and watching one of his buddies lose an arm. Hill hasn't recovered from the incident and hates explaining his feelings about the tragedy. Eventually, after the villains issue their demands and Rabikov learns the ugly truth about his brother, the action ramps up, and the FBI surrounds the building. Worst of all, the terrorists gain the upper hand and capture Jason. By this time, our hero has quietly disposed of everybody that he has encountered, so he poses as a physician who has fallen asleep in his office and surrenders to the villains. Meanwhile, Rabikov's demolitions specialist has wired all the VA Hospital doors to explode if anybody enters or exits without permission. One haywire hostage tries to escape and blows herself to bits along with a henchman. Director Christopher Ray skillfully builds up tangible suspense and tension, while scenarist Scott Thomas Reynolds gives everybody something memorable to say. Inevitably, Flanery and Dacascos, who are both real-life martial artists, tangle in a fight to the finish. Wrestling sensation Rob Van Dam appears as one of Rabikov's killers and has some amusing moments when he argues with his cohorts about killing Jason. "Assault on VA-33" is no great shakes, but it might keep you entertained if you're in the mood for a plausible potboiler.

At the time the rating is 4 - DO NOT BELIEVE IT

[markadmoore · 1/10 · 12 April 2021]

There is not a single saving grace in this film.

Script? Forget it.

Actors? Forget them.

Action? Forget it.

It's impossible to understand how this sort of c**p can ever get made, yet here it is.

If you watch this, heaven forbid that you paid money to do so, after reading this review then you deserve it!

.

[rbnruizz · 6/10 · 16 March 2021]

It was pretty good kept me watching. Could have been a bit better as far as camara work though.

Die Hard In A VA Hospital

[stevendbeard · 5/10 · 4 April 2021]

I saw "Assault on VA-33", starring Sean Patrick Flanery-Dexter_tv, Saw:The Final Chapter; Michael Jai White-Arrow_tv, The Dark Knight; Gina Holden-Sand Sharks, Saw:The Final Chapter and Mark Dacascos-John Wick:Chapter 3-Parabellum, Codename:The Cleaner.

This is a low budget Die Hard want_a_be. In fact, it should have been called, 'Die Hard in a VA Hospital'. Sean plays a veteran suffering from PTSD. Luckily, his wife Gina is a psychiatrist that works at the VA hospital he goes to. Unluckily, she is not his doctor, because that would be unethical. A high ranking military official is coming to see Gina-she talks to PTSD sufferers, just not her husband-and a bad guy, and his hired muscle, including Mark, take the hospital hostage. Sean notices some pretty henky things-bad guys with guns trying to look like hospital staff-and calls the police but the police chief, Michael, doesn't believe him. Michael thinks Sean is delusional-he is at the hospital, remember?-and dismisses him. Bruce Willis......I mean Sean, has to take out the bad guys, one by one and save everyone, including his wife, all the while having PTSD flashbacks. I like Sean and he does hold his own in a fight he has with Mark, but he just needs some better scripts. For you wrestling fans, Rob Van Dam plays one of the bad guys but he is wasted here; all he does is sit in a van being a lookout. He doesn't fight anyone, he doesn't shoot anyone.... In fact, I don't think he even gets out of the van.

It's rated "R" for violence and language and has a running time of 1 hour & 30 minutes. It's not one that I would buy on DVD or even rent. If you really want to watch it, I'd wait until it comes to cable.

Have you ever been to a bullfight?

[dallenatwork · 2/10 · 12 June 2021]

Goodness where to begin? I think this movie was made by someone who knows nothing about the military, nothing about firearms, nothing about police, and absolutely nothing about the VA.

Every part of this movie is hilariously bad. The part that made me laugh is when the police came to the hospital they had this huge van and in the van they had the weather channel up. Why are they looking at maps and weather? Then the sniper on the roof decides to ditch his rifle for a machete only to be killed by a gun. Then the main bad guy non stop says he's gonna kill this, that, everywhere, everyone. He acts sophisticated but ends up sounding silly.

The main bad guy is supposed to be like a sophisticated villain but as soon as he said, "have you ever seen a bullfight?" I burst out in laughter. I feel like they probably had to redo that scene multiple times. He didn't ask that question just once in the film but twice. It's probably the craziest thing I seen in a while.

Overall a bad movie but pretty funny.

Pathetic movie With bad acting

[mosheyn · 2/10 · 8 May 2021]

I usually don't write reviews but in this case I must say, the acting is absolutely horrible, the directing is very very bad. Yes, this is a low budget film but there is a plenty low budget films that are much better.

Try hard, try harder

[davidconlan1 · 2/10 · 4 August 2021]

Take Die Hard, remove the budget, acting, special effects. Have a foreign villain, a flawed anti hero with a wife in a hostage situation... It's so bad it's baaaaaaaaddddd.

It cant be worth!!

[amirsa-220-98494 · 1/10 · 5 June 2021]

I never wrote a review but... Aside from all the mistakes in this movie just imagine there is a hostage situation, a US general is among the hostages and when the hostage takers fail, they just run out of the building get in their van and try to escape. Can you believe it?!! No securing perimeter, no sniper not even one cop!!! Imagine what else can you see in this movie :)

Just rubbish

[kram66 · 2/10 · 31 March 2021]

Poor acting and poor story line.. Don't bother with this one.