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With bigtime Hollywood trying to figure things out after the pandemic and the actors/writers strikes of last year, the cinema industry is in a state of flux as executive heads and filmmakers alike try to figure out how to get people’s butts into theater seats. The way we view our entertainment nowadays has certainly changed albeit I’m not quite sure if it’s for the better but I’m still one that loves the cinema going experience if the product is worth getting out of the house, driving in your car and actually going to a movie house to see a flick. After all, I miss video stores and that whole process so at least, for now, we still have theaters to wax nostalgic at.
The one good thing to come out of streaming is the DTV action industry which, of course, has been hit or miss with miss happening more than not, but we as action fans have one last beacon of hope to indulge ourselves in movies that look to throw it back to the 80’s and 90’s when action ruled the world. Indie action is limited to budget and time constraints but if the people love the genre enough, then they find a way to put decent product on the screen for us.
Case in point, this Friday sees the release of the old school style actioner Clear Cut which hails from filmmaker/director Brian Skiba who has been dabbling in all kinds of genres in his career. I’m not kidding. This guy can go from filming a holiday family movie with Santa in it to then blowing shit up and filling the screen with muzzle flashes and blood squibs. Skiba is just now getting his feet wet in the action genre which he loves like we do, and he has given us some pretty decent films like The 2nd starring Ryan Phillippe and Casper Van Dien to Pursuit which featured Emile Hirsch and John Cusack. Go on his IMDB page and you’ll also see films like My Adventures with Santa and The Christmas High Note. I wasn’t kidding when I said Skiba does it all and he jokingly stated in our exclusive interview which you can see here that he probably has multiple personality disorder. That’s fine with me if he keeps making decent, small scale action films like Clear Cut which is what I’m here to chat about.
Clear Cut is best described as a lean, mean, meat and potatoes revenge thriller with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing a little and the movie’s running time is peppered with some brutal and savage action design as most of the action is set in the Pacific Northwest. Our fearless anti-hero (I say that because his character arc is more than meets the eye) in this pic is Jack played by veteran character actor and subsequent action star Clive Standen of Vikings and the Taken TV series fame. Standen has the goods for playing roles like this and it helps that he can act too, and he’s surrounded by some pretty solid talent here in Smallville’s Tom Welling, Blade’s Stephen Dorff, Lochlyn Munroe, who I think plays a cop in just about anything and Alec Baldwin appearing in his first movie since the Rust incident. Everyone is all in here and it helps drive the film through its satisfying running time.
Jack has a past and it’s a tragic one which has led him to lead a life of solitary as he looks for work in the dangerous profession of logging. Jack is going to lean that logging is a cake walk as he accidentally immerses himself with an army of meth dealers who are looking for some serious cash that Jack has acquired. Of course, he crosses paths with the criminal element from his past which adds fuel to the fire and thus sets the chain of events into motion leading to bloody showdowns and heart pounding tension.
One aspect that I loved about Clear Cut is that Skiba cast his leads out of the box as a lot of them are playing villainous roles when they are known primarily for taking on hero roles. Welling is best known as Clark Kent/Superman in the long running Smallville series but here he is relishing in playing a very dangerous man who is a force to be reckoned with. Jesse Metcalfe has spent the last few years starring in various Bruce Willis DTV actioners and usually he’s the good guy but here…nope, he’s as bad as they come. Munroe, who usually is wearing a 3-piece suit as a law enforcement officer is way outside the box as he’s taken on a role as an unhinged meth dealer and maker. His performance is probably the standout. Stephen Dorff is Stephen Dorff and he’s the one actor who usually goes all in when it comes to playing baddies and here, it’s no different and Dorff can do this type of role in his sleep.
The biggest actor here is Alec Baldwin and I’m not here to talk about his unfortunate experience on the set of the western Rust, but Baldwin is always a welcome sight, and he elevates any film that he’s in. Here, he serves a father figure type to Standen’s Jack and their scenes together are probably the best.
On the surface, Clear Cut looks like your typical redemption story with Jack trying to reclaim his humanity in light of what he has done and what he has endured, and, in a way, it is but there’s way more layers to the plot then that. I won’t go into spoilers here as I want you to enjoy the film when it hits but just know that Jack is something else as well. You’ll see when the action hits and with altercation, Jack becomes more and more of a one-man killing machine as he carves his path through the gauntlet of antagonists. Let’s just say Jack might just be as bad as the men he’s taking on.
The action in Clear Cut is plentiful and brutally satisfying as Skiba goes for more mano o mano approach with fist fights and knife altercations that are stripped to their savage core with barbaric flash ad low grade flair. There is some firepower in the film but for the most part, it’s relentless and in your face unarmed (or sometimes armed) combat. Every actor involved is clearly having a blast doing the stunts that they can and there’s one knife fight in particular that is a standout when you watch it. I love the tight, taut intricacies to a well-executed knife fight and here we get it along with other weapons at their disposal.
Standen’s throwdown with Tom Welling is another high note here as it is truly has a take no prisoners vibe to it. Talking to Skiba, he mentioned how Welling was all in for this role and that’s the truth as it was stellar to see the Smallville actor get nasty with the fight choreography. Welling is starting to dabble in pure action cinema now with roles as am elite operative in the short-lived TV series Professionals as well as the upcoming Mafia Wars which looks to see him doing more action design so I’m excited to see what he has to offer in the future when it comes to the bang, bang and boom variety of motion pictures.
The landscape of the forest is also a character of its own and it looks great on film as the action roars through it. While watching Clear Cut, I couldn’t help but think of the Jason Momoa action Film Braven. Just like that film was a survival thriller in the snow, this one is a last man standing affair with lush tress and greenery to spare. It’s definitely a nice change of pace to have all the action in the great outdoors when we usually get more claustrophobic efforts in a one location warehouse.
The plot isn’t your standard action fare like I said and there’ enough switches in the plot to keep you on your feet a little and Jack is the main star of it as we slowly learn more about him and what has been happening. the ending is a standout too and when it happened, I immediately watched it again. Skiba goes for the throat through the movie and the climax is the blood-soaked icing on the cake. He really does have a future in action cinema as his love and care for the movies he grew up on are present in the ones that he is making.
OVERALL, Clear Cut is another solid example of the great things that can be dome in the realm of DTV action. This is an old school, throat ripping good time with a cast led by Clive Standen who are up to the task. Director Brian Skiba knows what he loves about action movies, and he knows what we love about them to, and he crafts a story that is more than what we think it is while giving us a brutal and barbaric vengeance thriller with all the savage and cruel bells and whistles. The action is shot clean, and the violence is necessary and with 2024 being a lean year for bigger Hollywood fair, it’s refreshing that indie action cinema still has our six.
VERDICT: 3.5 Out of 5
Clear Cut is a standout DTV actioner with a solid cast, immersive and brutal action design and a plot heralding twists and turns to keep the audience on their feet!
Clear Cut hits Theaters, Digital & VOD on July 19th!
Check out my exclusive Action Fix Podcast interview with Clear Cut director Brian Skiba below!
