''Recoil'' is a 1998 American

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

film written by Richard Preston, Jr., produced by Richard Pepin and Joseph Merhi, directed by

Art Camacho Art Camacho is an American film director, producer, actor and stuntman. His directorial work includes ''Recoil'' in 1998, '' 13 Dead Men'' in 2003, '' Confessions of a Pit Fighter'' in 2005 and '' Half Past Dead 2'' in 2007; Assassin X in 2016 ...

and starring

Gary Daniels Gary Edward Daniels (born 9 May 1963) is an English actor and martial artist. Originally a kickboxer fighting out of London and Tampa Bay, Daniels earned his first acting credits with Philippine companies. He gained wider recognition in the mang ...

, Gregory A. McKinney, and

Robin Curtis Robin Curtis (born ) is an American actress. She is best known for replacing Kirstie Alley in the role of Vulcan Lieutenant Saavik in the film '' Star Trek III: The Search for Spock''. Early years Curtis is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rober ...

Plot

When

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

officers kill a young bank robber after a brutal

bank heist Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank ...

, the slain criminal's father,

mob boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...

Vincent Sloan, unleashes a blood bath on the police force. One by one, Detective Ray Morgan's partners are gunned down, but when his family is

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

ed, Morgan has nothing left to live for - except revenge. Becoming an unstoppable one man army, Morgan goes on the ultimate hunt for justice. At the end, Morgan gets his revenge. He kills Sloan with an exploding barrel.

Cast

: Detective Ray Morgan * Gregory McKinney: Detective Lucas Cassidy *

Thomas Kopache Thomas Kopache (born October 17, 1945) is an American actor. Career Kopache was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, the son of Dorothy E. (née Sterling). He is known for his roles as Assistant Secretary of State Bob Slattery in ''The West Wing'' ...

: Captain Trent * Billy Maddox: Mr. Brown * John Sanderford: Chief Det. Arnold 'Cat' Canton *

: Julie Sloan *

Kelli McCarty Kelli Rachelle McCarty Oseen (born September 6, 1969) is an American actress, model, photographer and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 1991. She then reached the Top 6 at Miss Universe 1991, representing the United States. M ...

: Tina Morgan * Maurice Lamont: Off. Alex Boorman *

Richard Foronjy Richard Edward Foronjy (August 3, 1937 – May 19, 2024) was an American film and television actor. Early life Foronjy was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 3, 1937. Prior to becoming an actor, Foronjy had an extensive criminal record, inclu ...

: Vincent Sloanç

Production

The film was written by Camacho and Richard Preston, Jr. Gary Daniels, playing the lead role, is also co-producer.

Reception

The film is considered a "

B-movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

" and received negative critical response at the time of its release.

Filmdienst ''Filmdienst'' (also spelled ''Film-Dienst'') is the oldest German-language film magazine, with fortnight A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days" ...

described the film as follows: "An action film that relies on the dubious appeal of lurid scenes of violence and robs itself of any opportunity to generate suspense through outrageous exaggerations and numerous implausible moments. Sticky sentimentality and religious phrases don't make things any more enjoyable." The German website TVspielfilm called it "Deadly boring from the start", while the German ''Filmjahrbuch 2000'' found that it amounted to "worn-out action junk". Noting the cuts that were made to the film in its later versions, the German website gave an ironic piece of advice to the viewer: "It's certainly wise to close your eyes briefly after Gary Daniels has killed an opponent, and only open them again a few seconds later, when Daniels has finished his pose and removed his strange facial expression." ''Tiempo de hoy'', however, noted that Daniels had been praised "for the filming of the fight scenes, to the point that various commentators ha stated that this asthe best film of all those he ha starred in so far." Including it in a list of 10 action movies for

MovieWeb Valnet, Inc. is a Canadian media company established in August 2012 by Hassan and Sam Youssef in Montreal, Quebec. It operates primarily in the entertainment media industry, where it has sought to acquire producers of content in this space. In ...

, Adam Symchuk wrote: "The plot may be rather cookie-cutter, but Daniels's stunt work and presence here is peak 90s machismo. Guns, martial arts, explosions, people falling from railings: ''Recoil'' will scratch that itch for a good cheesy 90s action movie." Tom Jolliffe found that "the threee R’s, ''Riot'', ''Recoil'' and ''Rage'' were the best, not only of what Daniels produced in that decade, but among the best PM did."

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, recoil_1998 1998 films 1998 action thriller films American action thriller films American films about revenge Films set in Los Angeles Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department Films directed by Art Camacho 1990s English-language films 1990s American films Films scored by Tim Wynn English-language action thriller films