Action Jackson

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Action Jackson

R,

1988,

1h 36m,

Action/

Comedy/

Crime/

Drama

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Watchlist

24%

17 Reviews

Tomatometer

32%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

24%

Tomatometer

17 Reviews

32%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Due to the use of excessive force in arresting a sexual predator, Detective Lt. Jericho Action Jackson (Carl Weathers) is demoted to police sergeant. What's worse, the father of the man he roughed up, Detroit industrialist Peter Dellaplane (Craig T. Nelson), declares war on Jackson, framing him for the murder of his own wife, Patrice (Sharon Stone). But Jericho manages to elude arrest and, with the help of a drug-addicted singer named Sydney (Vanity), goes after Dellaplane.

Walter Goodman

New York Times

May 21, 2003

Crashing through are several raffish characters whose acting doesn't get in the way of the stunts.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jan 1, 2000

1/4

Action Jackson is a movie where some of the parts are good, but none of them fit and a lot of them stink.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Jul 25, 2026

4/5

…stuntman Craig R Baxley’s OTT noir actually makes the grade as a slice of deliberately cheesy, high energy entertainment….a vigorous post-Rocky vehicle for Carl Weathers and a moderate hit for Die Hard producer Joel Silver…’

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Jan 12, 2026

2/4

[ Weathers] shows here what one had long suspected from his Rocky debut: an attractive personality with more than enough charisma to fill the screen in a worthier film than this.

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Joe Leydon

The Moving Picture Show

Feb 2, 2024

This is slambang escapism, rude and rambunctious, impure and simple. As such, it’s the best Saturday night movie since "Lethal Weapon."

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Ángel Luis Inurria

El Pais (Spain)

Mar 27, 2020

One more example of an insignificant movie made to entertain those who like forceful punches and accurate shootings. [Full Review in Spanish]

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Han W

Mar 29, 2019

Classic. Yall trippin. R.i.P. the beautiful Vanity

Abraham G

Oct 31, 2018

Totally bonkers from the word "go," the movie is so tonally disarranged and so narratively ludicrous that it becomes impossible to guess where things are going next-unpredictable, but not incompetent or unclear. Though I won't say the filmmakers "deftly" mix comedy with action, both are so cartoonish and over-the-top (and all-over-the-place) that the tones bleed into one another even as they feel disharmonious. Whatever its faults, the movie is energetic and unapologetically absurd, stylistically somewhere between 007 (just look at the poster), 70s blaxploitation, and 80s cop comedies-baby, that's one hell of a stew you got going.

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Kylo G

Sep 3, 2017

Here we have Carl Weathers and Craig T. Nelson, stalwarts of 80s action flicks, going head to head as a Detroit police officer, Jericho Jackson, and a devious industrialist. Carl Weathers must save the industrialist's mistress (Vanity) from a drug-smuggling plot and kicks it into high gear by kicking ass and taking names later. The action scenes are quite good; however, the plot is utterly pointless. Watch for Sharon Stone as the ill-fated wife of Nelson's character. A true over-the-top 80s genre staple that doesn't provide anything we haven't seen before.

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Albus W

Sep 2, 2017

Four stars hands down.

Theodore P

Jan 22, 2017

I found this to be just awful. It had potential, but it never really grabbed hold of my attention. I would certainly recommend that you skip this one.

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Craig R. Baxley

Director

Carl Weathers

Sgt. Jericho "Action" Jackson

Craig T. Nelson

Peter Dellaplane

Vanity

Sydney Ash

Sharon Stone

Patrice Dellaplane

Tom Wilson

Officer Kornblau

Sliver

21%

27%

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55%

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76%

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Synopsis

Due to the use of excessive force in arresting a sexual predator, Detective Lt. Jericho Action Jackson (Carl Weathers) is demoted to police sergeant. What's worse, the father of the man he roughed up, Detroit industrialist Peter Dellaplane (Craig T. Nelson), declares war on Jackson, framing him for the murder of his own wife, Patrice (Sharon Stone). But Jericho manages to elude arrest and, with the help of a drug-addicted singer named Sydney (Vanity), goes after Dellaplane.

Director: Craig R. Baxley
Producer: Joel Silver
Screenwriter: Robert Reneau
Production Co: Silver Pictures, Lorimar Film Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $19.6M
Runtime: 1h 36m
Sound Mix: Surround

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