‘Recoil’ is a bunch of fighting in search of a movie … but it’s a lot of fun

In this corner we have Steve Austin, former WWE wrestler. And in this corner we have Danny Trejo, the often typecast bad-ass of action cinema. Make it a clean fight, but make sure you leave ample time for explosions, shootouts and some bloody good punching.

Let’s get it on.

Seriously, if Recoil would have reduced its running time to just a few minutes, it would be near perfect entertainment. Most people will watch this action film from director Terry Miles for its kick-butt sequences, with little care for the overall plot, characterization or subtlety. But, alas, this one is not streamlined. It runs 94 minutes, with only about 30 minutes worth watching.

Austin plays Ryan Varrett, a vigilante on the run from the FBI. The former police officer watched his family murdered in front of his eyes at his son’s birthday party, and he’s determined to seek revenge against all of the baddies in the world. His quest takes him to the small town of Hope, Texas, where Drayke (Trejo) presides over everything and everyone.

After checking into a local motel run by Darcy (Serinda Swan), Varrett plans to take the town away from the drug-dealing Drayke and his seemingly endless parade of cronies.

The movie features gunfights, punch-fests and plenty of explosions. Most everything in the movie is cliched and exaggerated. There’s one scene when Austin walks away from a truck in slow-motion, only to have the truck (filled to the brim with drugs) blow up on the side of the highway. What does Austin do? Well, he doesn’t blink, because this is an action movie, and the heroes never blink during explosions.

As much as I wanted to hate Recoil, I found it to be a harmless exercise in harmful violence. The script by John Sullivan smartly keeps the words to a minimum and lets the action take over. Austin’s total dialogue count probably amounts to little more than a paragraph. This way he can just show off his muscles and stare down his enemies. Trejo, on the other hand, is a skilled actor who relishes the chance to get campy. This type of drug lord has been seen time and time again on the silver screen (often played by Trejo himself), but it’s always fun to watch his evil simmer to the surface.

In this man-vs.-man battle, there’s little room for Swan’s character. She doesn’t exactly become a romantic opportunity for Varrett, because he still has fond memories of his son and wife. She’s not connected to Drayke in any way, other than living in the same town as the kingpin. So most of the time, she gets in the way of all the butt-kicking action.

The DVD from Vivendi Entertainment features a making-of featurette, deleted scenes and trailer. But, honestly, Recoil doesn’t need any subtext or further explanation. Anyone with half a brain will understand what they’re signing up for. And for those people willing to put expectations aside, the action movie can be quite entertaining. It features one of the best punching scenes in recent memory. Varrett tapes his left fist to Drayke’s left fist. This only leaves their right arms to do the pummeling. Connected together, the two try to knock each other into oblivion. What stupidity, but what fun!

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Recoil

• 2011

• Directed by Terry Miles

• Written by John Sullivan

• Starring Steve Austin, Serinda Swan and Danny Trejo

• Running time: 94 minutes

• Rated R for violence and language

• Rating: