The plot gets a bit hokey in Action Jackson and it certainly never did establish Carl Weathers as an action hero. It certainly didn't do much for Vanity as she got a Razzie Award nomination for worst Actress of 1988.

Carl Weathers is Sergeant Jericho Jackson of the Detroit PD. He used to be a lieutenant, but got demoted due to the influence of automobile magnate Craig T. Nelson after Weathers busted his kid as sex criminal. He was pretty rough in doing it, but the kid faced a whole lot worse in prison. Nelson has a burning hate for Weathers and the feeling is mutual.

But Nelson also has big plans and it involves killing off the various leaders of the Auto Worker's union. He's making a big power grab, one of the biggest and he's not squeamish in eliminating opposition and hindrances.

The women in this film have way too much to overcome. I can't believe Vanity as a junkie with Weathers withholding her dope. She should be Jonesing bad for fix, but she never is. She should have been experiencing Man With A Golden Arm type withdrawals. Vanity is Nelson's ghetto mistress.

His trophy wife is Sharon Stone and what did this woman think Nelson was going to do to her after she took off with Weathers? This was one of her early parts and she's a tragic figure. Despite the impossibility of her role Sharon Stone did have a career.

Enough action for Jackson and the movie-going public who likes this stuff. But it's second rate.

Action Jackson (Carl Weathers) is a tough Detroit police sergeant. Captain Armbruster (Bill Duke) orders him to attend a ceremony awarding a Man of the Year award to powerful industrialist Peter Dellaplane (Craig T. Nelson). Jackson had been demoted and lost everything after a violent takedown of Peter's psycho son Sean. Peter has a team of assassins who massacres union leaders of Peter's company. His wife Patrice (Sharon Stone) cooperates with Jackson. Peter kills her and plants her body in Jackson's apartment. Jackson escapes with Peter's lounge-singing drug-addicted mistress Sydney Ash (Vanity).

Carl Weathers is a charismatic actor. This is more or less a blaxploitation movie. He could do better and he has great skills. The movie is called Action Jackson and there is plenty of action. The thing is that Weathers needs to start the movie with a big action scene. The big starting action is done without context and without thrills. He finally gets one later on with a nice explosive car chase. I don't like the way Weathers ends the confrontation which struck me as being silly and again reeks of blaxploitation. Craig T. Nelson could be a good villain but I don't buy his physical prowess. He doesn't need to be a physical threat for him to be scary. Vanity is close to being annoying. The girl is as sexy as hell but I don't like her songs. Her acting is also lacking. There are some good parts and I absolutely love Weathers. That's why he deserves something better than this.

This is your typical 80's popcorn crime film that may not be a cinematic masterpiece but has enough going on to keep the audience entertained. You've got a stand alone hero, title character Carl Weathers, who has a unique way all his own of dealing with the bad guy, even if it's just a teen punk caught stalking an intended mugging victim (and quickly regretting it) or more dangerously one of the most highly esteemed residents of Detroit who is actually an organized crime kingpin.

Singer Vanity gets to find out that the diamonds which are a girl's best friend were the kind that Lucy in the sky liked, not the kind that Carol Channing and Marilyn preferred over rhinestones. She's the mistress of the denizen of the city (Craig T. Nelson) who respectful on the outside but absolutely rotten, even though he has the most gorgeous of wives (a young Sharon Stone. Weathers, completely tongue in cheek, seems to be having a great time as another variation of Dirty Harry, and when he says that he has to catch a cab, he means literally.

Filled with plenty of action to match the title, this is formula but fun, a lavish vision of the "me" attitude of the late Reagan years, and the performances are delightfully over the top. Nelson is having a blast being the bad guy for a change, a real psychopath, and he is surrounded by two lovely pieces of eye candy, maybe not the best actresses of the 80's but certainly unforgettable once you see them onscreen. Even the smaller roles (especially Roger Aaron Brown as a beat cop) get moments to shine. There's plenty of shocking violence that can be felt for the pain it causes the victims before they die. Highly recommended for 80's tacky fun.