Action Jackson

Based on the TV series of the same name. A maverick cop is on the trail of a corrupt auto tycoon.

Having built a name for himself playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies, Carl Weathers hoped to launch his own action-hero franchise as the wishfully named Action Jackson. But this first film never took off and it turned into a one-movie series. Weathers plays Jackson, a police sergeant so nicknamed because he always seems to be where the action is. He runs afoul of an evil auto magnate (Craig T. Nelson), who promptly sets about putting Jackson in the middle of a jackpot for murder. Jackson springs himself from jail and goes on the run, aided by junkie-with-a-heart-of-gold Vanity, before bringing Nelson to justice. Weathers is an impressive specimen but an indistinct personality (though he can handle a one-liner), and he's overmatched against fire-breathing villain Nelson. --Marshall Fine