Actuakers
One of my all time favorites.
Gutsycurene
Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.
Nayan Gough
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
jasonisageek
Until now, I had no idea this film even existed. I always felt that Carl Weathers deserved a better shot at being an action star, so when I see this randomly, I kind of got really excited. I thought "maybe he was bigger in the DTV circuit and I just wasn't aware?". I mean, look at that cover, and just the title alone sounds awesome. I was hoping for something along the lines of Action Jackson, but in a low-budget way. Who wouldn't?!Billy "Hurricane" Smith is in search of his sister, who has gone missing in Australia. When he heads over there to find her, he's met with resistance from the community, and discovers she may have been mixed up in a drug-smuggling and prostitution ring. While all the right ingredients are here, Hurricane Smith, sadly, resulted in a very tame affair. In fact, there's virtually zero action until the final 30 minutes. And while the action was fairly straight forward and competent, ultimately it couldn't save this film, which is sad really because this should have been a slam dunk.Carl Weathers really deserves better than this. He does a fine job in the lead, but he's just completely wasted in this effort. It really carries more of a Made-for-TV vibe than a low-budget action flick because of the lack of well....action. And when it comes down to how he got his nickname "Hurricane", it's nothing like you expect. I also have to admit, it's really weird seeing him without a mustache. It's so weird in fact that it's distracting. The only other notable face in here is Jurgen Prochnow, as the always reliable screaming villain. You have to admit, the guy can scream well. His work in Judge Dredd 3 years later is another solid example of that.It's hard to get past so many of the films absurdities because had the film been at least fun, or full of action, those little things could easily have been forgiven. But being null of any sort of excitement whatsoever, you can't help but notice. For example, there are never any cops around, ever. Even during this one sequence with a car chase where the main bad guy chases down a bus full of passengers, crashes both vehicles causing them to flip over, gets out of the vehicle, turns it right side up, gets back in and continues a chase all while shooting his gun while dozens of people are crawling out of the bus. No cops anywhere. There's another scene where he's (the villain) chasing a woman through a hotel with a large butcher knife screaming that he's going to kill her, and nobody says or does anything. The film is full of moments like this and as I mentioned, could easily have been overlooked or even gone unnoticed if there was action to distract you.All in all, a wasted effort in my opinion. Cool title, great actor in the lead, and a very early 90's vibe that's marred by a dull script that doesn't offer up any of the things you want to see in a low- budget action film titled "Hurricane Smith" and starring Carl Weathers until the final act, and by then, you're kind of over it. I will say that the action, when it finally appears, was done competently well enough to be interesting. It won't blow you away or anything, but at least when it does finally show up, it's not bad. But really, Carl Weathers deserves better than this.robotGEEKSCultCinema.blogspot.com
Comeuppance Reviews
Carl Weathers is Billy Ray "Hurricane" Smith, a construction worker from Marshall, Texas who receives word that his mother just died. Wishing to tell his sister Sally Mae the news, he travels to her last known whereabouts: the Gold Coast of Australia. While there searching for his sister, he becomes embroiled in a drug-fueled gang war between Howard Fenton (Bonner), with his merciless 2nd in command Charlie Dowd (Prochnow) and a gang called The Gillespies. With the help of a "hooker with a heart of gold", Julie (Delaney) and her "Pimp with a heart of gold", Shanks (Argue of Midnite Spares, 1983 fame), Hurricane takes on the gangs in the search for his sister.A mustache-less Weathers makes the most of what he can in this fish-out-of-water tale. He is likable as the Texas boy caught up in the "criminal syndicate of South East Queensland" - but the film needed more action in its lagging middle section. Prochnow plays the classic villain tailor-made for audiences to boo and hiss at. You really hate him, but you have to wonder if he remembers anything about making this movie. Our guess is that he probably didn't see it as anything special. After the success of Action Jackson (1988), Warner Brothers seemed to just dump this movie into video stores with little or no fanfare. True, it's not as good as Jackson but perhaps they snubbed this film in the promotional department.The best things about Hurricane Smith are the Australia locations, according to the credits primarily filmed in Brisbane, and the colorful characters. Besides the aforementioned Shanks with his over-the-top attitude and Warrant T-shirt with red suspenders, there's cranky old salt Griffo (Ewart), and you know Howard Fenton is evil because of his dastardly bolo tie.Also of note is the unabashed racism in the movie, which they would never do today in our P.C. times. There seems to have been no shame or attempt to hide it, but it's all coming from the baddies, so it's okay. Such things in the script would never fly today, so Hurricane Smith shows the time and place in which it was made, which is always good. Also Americans are disparagingly called "Septics" - some sort of Cockney rhyming slang-type insult for "Yank" - "Septic Tank" or just "Septics" for short. Are we still being called that there? It must be in Weathers' contract that if he is in a starring role, the movie must be named after him (and have a colorful name at that) - Fortune Dane (1986), Action Jackson, and now Hurricane Smith. Also the soundtrack must be drenched in sax.There's a lot to like about Hurricane Smith, but there are some flaws that kept us from being entirely satisfied with the end result.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com
callanvass
This is low budget but surprisingly very good entertainment with an amazing performance from Carl Weathers. I found this in the action section at my local video store, and since i am a huge fan of Carl Weathers i decided to pick it up, and it was surprisingly good, with some good action, and a really interesting story!. Jürgen Prochnow is really menacing as the main villain, and all the characters were great, plus Weathers and Cassandra Delaney had pretty good chemistry together. I don't know if this went into theaters or not all i know is i enjoyed it very much, and it's quite well made, plus the finale is very exciting!. As i have said before i am a sucker for Action movies, so it was no surprise i enjoyed this one, plus any film with Carl Weathers has the potential to be a great movie!. This is low budget but surprisingly very good entertainment, with an amazing performance from Carl Weathers!. The Direction is very good. Colin Budds does a very good job here, with good camera work, nothing fancy but he kept the film at a very fast pace and did a solid job. There is a bit of blood. We get some blood here and there and some very bloody gunshot wounds. The Acting is excellent!. Carl Weathers is AMAZING as always and is amazing here, he is extremely likable, kicks that ass, had pretty good chemistry with Cassandra Delaney, was excellent in the acting department and was just amazing overall! (Weathers Rules!). Jürgen Prochnow is excellent as the main villain, he was extremely menacing and can do this role in his sleep. Cassandra Delaney is good here, her character was well developed and she had pretty good chemistry with Carl Weathers!, i liked her. John Ewart is good in his supporting role and brought a few laughs to the film as the grump.Tony Bonner annoyed me at 1st but he grew one me later in the film. Rest of the cast are adequate. Overall i highly recommend this one!, give it a shot. ***1/2 out of 5
skyhowl
This was a good movie! Better than i expected! Carl weathers was great and the action and story was pretty good.One thing that really blew me away about this movie was how great the music was,it sounded like one a those old soundtracks from the 70's or the early 80's. Also the actress who played carls love interest was great...she had a real warmth about her...maybe it's me..but austrlia seems to be making some of best movies in the biz...great movie! Lately it seems like all the good stuff is coming from down under! Everything i've seen in recent years seems pretty fun..not pc like hollywood pics...and defenatly not cold and boring.....like the dribble out of europe....anyway check out this flick you will not be disapponted.
