She knows everybody and tries to build trust with the residents. Falcon teams up with Officer Da'Silva ( Millie Ruperto), who works security in the favela.

It is a crowded and suspicious community, harassed by the police force, and untrusting of outsiders. 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.īarbarash thrusts us into the chaotic and colorful atmosphere of the sprawling favela in Rio, little kids playing soccer, teeming warrens of fruit stands, little shrines for the dead stuck in the walls, blue-green waves crashing on the beach at the end of every alley. Falcon begins his own investigation into his sister's attack, asking uncomfortable questions in the favela, and uncovering a corrupt system that goes to the highest levels. Falcon flies to Rio, calling in help from an old war buddy ( Neal McDonough) who works there in the U.S. That all changes when his sister ( Laila Ali) is beaten nearly to death in the favela in Rio de Janeiro where she volunteers as a social worker. He suffers PTSD flashbacks of the carnage he saw in combat.

Parazi’s screenplay gifts the deadpan McDonough with the best lines, such as when, upon being reunited with Chapman, Manny ironically observes, “I see you’ve stopped working out.” Among the supporting players, Japanese star Masashi Odate ( The Last Samurai) makes a strong impression as the sort of villain who tests the sharpness of his sword by slicing open the stomach of his nearest underling.When we first meet John 'Falcon' Chapman ( Michael Jai White) in 'Falcon Rising,' (the first installment of what is clearly meant to be a franchise, directed by Ernie Barbarash), he is playing Russian roulette with himself in his hovel of a New York apartment, all as brightly colored fish swim around in a tank behind his head. Although he indulges in the typical frenetic cutting endemic to current action movies, director Ernie Barbarash films the fight scenes cleanly enough to maintain physical coherence, showcasing his star’s dazzling physical movements with the proper slavish devotion.

When his sister Cindy ( Laila Ali, Muhammad Ali’s daughter, here not given any opportunity to show off her own pugilistic skills) is brutally beaten while working as a social worker in the favelas of Brazil, our hero rushes to Rio de Janeiro-cue the obligatory aerial shot of the Christ the Redeemer statue-to track down the bad guys who did it.Īided by local street cop Katarina ( Millie Ruperto) and a former military buddy, Manny, ( Neal McDonough) now working for the State Department, Chapman quickly cuts a wide swath through a variety of hoodlums, crooked cops and even the Japanese Yakuza, uncovering a sex-trafficking ring in the process and occasionally resorting to shooting down his opponents as if he was playing a violent video game.īut the rudimentary plot is merely an excuse for the incredibly buffed and muscled White to display the impressive fighting prowess that has netted him 26 martial arts titles. Happening on a robbery in a liquor store, as is the all too frequent occurrence in these sorts of vehicles, he taunts one of the thugs by grabbing his shotgun and putting it in his mouth before quickly dispatching him. White’s character, John “Falcon” Chapman, is the latest in a long line of emotionally scarred action heroes, in this case an ex-Marine suffering from frequent PTSD flashbacks who in the film’s opening minutes plays a game of Russian Roulette (with bullets soaked in a shot glass filled with whiskey, no less). Set in the Brazilian slums that inspired its original title Favela, Falcon Rising is a by-the-numbers thriller that mainly serves as a showcase for its star’s considerable fighting abilities, showcased in an endless number of kick-ass set pieces. Michael Jai White ( Spawn, The Dark Knight) makes another bid for action movie stardom with this film so determined to spawn a franchise that its ending sets up a sequel, with distributor Freestyle Releasing already promising two more installments.

Falcon rising movie 2014