Mark Neveldine is a name any action aficionado should know. Formerly part of the directorial duo Neveldine/Taylor, after the two split following Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Neveldine laid low, only directing 2015’s The Vatican Tapes. Now he’s back and making precisely the sort of high calibre action flick we expect from one of the men behind Crank, with the Cole Hauser/ Mel Gibson flick Panama.
As you can see from the trailer above, this looks to be right in Neveldine’s wheelhouse, with a lot of attitude and style to burn, and star Cole Hauser, who’s riding high off of the success of Yellowstone, seems like the perfect leading man for this kind of carnage-ridden tale. Mel Gibson, who’s been popping up in too many B-movies lately, seems to be having fun here and taking on a much more active role than the blink-and-you’ll miss him turns in movies like the recent Dangerous.
Panama, which comes out in theatres, and digital and on-demand March 18th from Paramount and Saban, is “set during the political upheaval of 1989 Panama. When the U.S. is on the brink of invading Panama, a former marine (Hauser) is hired by a CIA operative (Gibson) for a top-secret arms trade mission. Alone and among the most dangerous arms dealers, Becker (Hauser) learns the true nature of political power.”
Hauser and Gibson previously worked together on the little-remembered 2004 action thriller Paparazzi (which Gibson produced and had a cameo in as himself), but Panama looks like a solid showcase for both men. I’m definitely eager to see this, as I was a big fan of Neveldine/Taylor when the two were putting out gloriously manic epics like Crank: High Voltage and Gamer. So here’s hoping this is a lot of fun and is a cut above the usual star-driven B-action flicks we see show up on demand every other week.
Do you think Panama looks good? Let us know in the comments.
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