Falcon Rising

The structural missteps do little to diminish the immense pleasure of seeing [Michael Jai] White in motion.

A throwback to 1980s action films, with strong men at the center going up alone against an unambiguously evil foe, "Falcon Rising" is an entertaining film with a thrilling physical performance from Michael Jai White.

"Falcon Rising" is filled with so many action-flick cliches it could serve as a text on how not to do things.

Y. T. Parazi's unmysterious screenplay drops cheesily clever one-liners on the way to a finish that suggests a bid for sequels, though you're more likely to find those on late-night cable than in theaters.

It's a straightforward vengeance tale with no other ambition than to entertain. That said, it has something.

Beyond isolated moments of dickish charm - and his climactic four-way fight involving a sword, a crucifix, and two steel pipes - Chapman just comes across like another pseudo-heroic American behaving badly abroad.

To the movie's detriment, White doesn't get to show us what he can really do until 30 minutes into the story, then again near the end when he takes on three armed baddies.