Give 'em Hell, Malone

Thomas Jane is one of those guys who has seemingly been on the brink of stardom for years. Popping up in Deep Blue Sea as the brooding shark fighting hero, he was then the best thing about a guiltily enjoyable adaptation of minor Marvel character, The Punisher. Revisiting certain aspects of his character here for this hugely enjoyable, gleefully violent, bullet-soaked, direct-to-DVD action flick, you get the impression that if he was headlining movies in the 80s, he'd still be one of the biggest action stars on the planet today.

Part early John Woo action, part Sin City style noir, Give Em Hell Malone has flown completely under the radar and inexplicably arrived on DVD, having bypassed a theatrical release - frankly a travesty when you consider some of the heave inducing shite that passes itself off as entertainment nowadays. Wryly handled by veteran filmmaker Russell Mulcahy, who showcases a surprisingly innate ability to direct shootouts, it harkens back to a time when overlapping dialogue, femme fatale's, cool hats, and trenchcoats were a stalwart in mainstream cinema.

Jane is the titular character Malone, a tough bastard private investigator that is in possession of a highly sought after briefcase a local mob boss is desperate to get his hands on. Finding out he was hired by Elsa Pataky's beautiful, but dangerous Evelyn to retrieve the suitcase in the first place, he soon realises being in her presence makes him even more of a beacon for bullets than usual. The dead bad guys start stacking up as Malone keeps looking for answers.

To enjoy this modestly budgeted, but impressively assembled production, you'll really have to go with the flow. It's the kind of film that almost exists in a parallel universe, where some characters are stuck in the 30s, but others are clearly from the present day. The slightly convoluted plot is of little consequence to proceedings, as it's in the tone, the action, and the performances where the majority of the fun comes from. Ving Rhames is funny and imposing - something he mastered yonks ago - while the likes of French Stewart and Leland Orser are both amusing and sturdy back-up for Jane's hard bastard PI.

Jane is the star, though, and part of me is kind of glad he isn't one of the mega variety. Invariably he'd end up appearing in bloated budgeted, watered down for the masses action films, instead of leading cracking, but smaller flicks like this one. It's another predictably great performance from Jane, and renting Give Em Hell Malone will give you that kind of smugness one can only get from unearthing a little known gem, and being the first to recommend it to your mates. Seek it out now.