Mark Neveldine sure as hell fell from grace. After a string of great actioners that made decent bucks and an early Marvel production before MCU kicked in and Disneyfied everything, he broke up the partnership with Brian Taylor and soon enough we realized Brian was the talented one. Brian made HAPPY a brilliant classic of Peak TV insanity and MOM & DAD with Nic Cage while Neveldine shot mediocre VATICAN TAPES.
So, even though it's clear Neveldine is the less exciting of the CRANK guys still the notion of him making a film with Cole Hauser and Mel Gibson sounded like an irresistible proposition.
However, the film he got to make was shot in only 14 days - at least Neveldine claims so and as such a modest production it actually shows quite an instinct he has. Cole Hauser is the leading man. Mel Gibson is spirited and energetic in his supporting role - the kind he does now in geezet teaser films. But this film is not a geezer teaser film.
Geezer teasers are made by some by the numbers hacks - mostly stuntmen based on screenplays that play out almost as mock busters. PANAMA is made by a legit director and I said Neveldine's instinct shows. He does everything he can to keep things moving and visually interesting. When there is a convoluted dialogue exchange there is always a skimpily clad girl standing around. In some action sequences details show that there was a person trying insanely hard on this shoot. Details like the Contras guerilla leader performing air guitar with his Kalashnikov or Mel Gibson telling his victim in advance what he will do are nice touches that show Neveldine tried real hard.
If it wasn't for the score and the sound design which are beyond scandalous, PANAMA would feel at least 15% better than it feels now and this sound design is scoring fiasco is a bit of an enigma for me.
PANAMA has a great poster with Mel Gibson and Cole Hauser evoking the LETHAL WEAPON era and it fails in every respect to deliver on its promise. Like most of the VHS era flicks did but we still loved them.
And there is still a lot to like in PANAMA. There is Mel who is a galvanizing presence, there is Cole Hauser or shall I say Rip Wheeler from YELLOWSTONE. Not a lot action but some decent showdowns when we come to that. But overall there is director Mark Neveldine giving his all.
That's why I actually liked the film and given the budget it's tough to imagine something far better than this.
So, even though it's clear Neveldine is the less exciting of the CRANK guys still the notion of him making a film with Cole Hauser and Mel Gibson sounded like an irresistible proposition.
However, the film he got to make was shot in only 14 days - at least Neveldine claims so and as such a modest production it actually shows quite an instinct he has. Cole Hauser is the leading man. Mel Gibson is spirited and energetic in his supporting role - the kind he does now in geezet teaser films. But this film is not a geezer teaser film.
Geezer teasers are made by some by the numbers hacks - mostly stuntmen based on screenplays that play out almost as mock busters. PANAMA is made by a legit director and I said Neveldine's instinct shows. He does everything he can to keep things moving and visually interesting. When there is a convoluted dialogue exchange there is always a skimpily clad girl standing around. In some action sequences details show that there was a person trying insanely hard on this shoot. Details like the Contras guerilla leader performing air guitar with his Kalashnikov or Mel Gibson telling his victim in advance what he will do are nice touches that show Neveldine tried real hard.
If it wasn't for the score and the sound design which are beyond scandalous, PANAMA would feel at least 15% better than it feels now and this sound design is scoring fiasco is a bit of an enigma for me.
PANAMA has a great poster with Mel Gibson and Cole Hauser evoking the LETHAL WEAPON era and it fails in every respect to deliver on its promise. Like most of the VHS era flicks did but we still loved them.
And there is still a lot to like in PANAMA. There is Mel who is a galvanizing presence, there is Cole Hauser or shall I say Rip Wheeler from YELLOWSTONE. Not a lot action but some decent showdowns when we come to that. But overall there is director Mark Neveldine giving his all.
That's why I actually liked the film and given the budget it's tough to imagine something far better than this.