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When I label an actor in my ‘What Not To Watch’ section, I actively search for more of their films in an attempt to justify their performance. It’s interesting to note that when I am writing the ‘What Not To Watch’ articles, it’s not my intent to be an Internet troll bent on causing trouble, or for me to go on a “I’m going to start a Twitter feud with an actor” rant like Iron Sheik tends to do. I watched a movie, and it was bad, wrote out the review, and am warning our readers about that specific film.
To put it mildly, our favourite actors take hits once in a while. Even they can be on a very bad flick or two.
The same goes for me. I see a Thomas Ian Griffith movie, ‘Crackerjack’, and it’s time to allow the ‘Notorious T.I.G’ a second chance after that pathetic review I posted for ‘Final Encounter’ last month.
Crackerjack will not win any awards for achievement. It is simply Die Hard set in a ski resort. In the action genre, Griffith’s character, “Cracker” Jack Wild, is also quite common: his family was murdered by the mob, so now he is a cop who enjoys having a drink too much. He is also a loose cannon.
A perfect example of a movie where the formula worked is Crackerjack. I will never criticize a movie for using a formula that has proven to work as long as it is done well and Crackerjack falls into that category. It’s like eating turkey on every Thanksgiving. You know what you are going to eat, and as long as it is not all too dry or undercooked, you will enjoy your meal and eat until you can eat no more.
The Premise Following Jack’s suspension from the police force, he is invited by his brother and his wife to join them and their infant child for a much-needed vacation in the mountains. Unbeknownst to him, the same mountain is a vacation spot for the mob boss who ordered the hit on Jack’s wife and kids. What’s more, there is a faction of violent criminals hungry for diamonds that the mob boss possesses. The criminals strike while the family goes out for dinner (imagine sitting down for a meal and the phone ringing) but since Jack Wild was prescribed 3 days off, he happened to be out of the room when they took the hostages leaving him with the opportunity to be a hero.
The Villain Christopher Plummer personifies Ivan Getz. Plummer has a wealth of experience in the industry, thus capable of performatively distinguishing himself as the elegant, psychopathic villain. There’s no excuisite backstory to him or cardinal “character depth,” but that is beside the point.
I am sure you can already assume how this film concludes, but does the actual ending hold any relevance? To avid viewers of poorly done but entertaining action flicks, particularly those released straight to DVD in the 90s, this is a must-watch. Apparently it did well enough at the time that they decided to make two sequels, although neither feature Thomas Ian Griffith reprising his role. In fact, in the 2nd installment Judge “Freaking” Reinhold takes over as Jack Wild.
I understand that in the first part of this column, I claimed that I attempted to offer all my “What Not To Watch Stars” a second chance, but Chad’s unfortunately going to have to sit through Crackerjack 2.
To watch more movies like Crackerjack (1994) visit 123Movies.
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