Showdown At The Grand review by Bobby Blakey
Shout! Studios continues to bring fun new films to the fans and no signs of slowing down. The latest, Showdown At The Grand features a great cast including Terrence Howard, Dolph Lundgren, John Savage, Piper Curda, and Amanda Righetti from director Orson Oblowitz, but does it bring the nostalgic action and fun it promises or will it be its final showtime?
Showdown At The Grand follows a proud movie theater owner, George Fuller, must defend his family business from corporate developers alongside a legendary action star, Claude Luc Hallyday as art imitates life in a showdown for the ages.
Other than the cast I didn’t know what to expect for this one and admit I was a bit worried going into. Thankfully my fears were unwarranted as this film kicks all kinds of cheesy butt. It grabs full onto nostalgia and knows exactly what it is from beginning to end. It’s a love letter to movies and action stars in the best way possible,
The story is simple and feels just like a film that Dolph Lundgren would have starred in during his younger action days. Here they have him paying the aging action star complete with a ton of sequences and trailers showcasing his varying films of his character that brings so many great silly fun moments outside of the main story.
While the Lundgren stuff is a blast and he plays the role to perfection complete with the real-life persona being strange and hilarious, this is Howard’s film all the way. He brings a subtle cool swagger to the role while
still struggling to keep the theater and his families legacy a live. Seeing him trying to sell not only the films they show, but the history of film is fun to watch and he was all in.
The side of the story that shifts it into an action film is pretty generic and stuff we have seen before, but that is kind of on purpose. It is honoring the old school genre, but becoming the genre itself as it moves forward. I had a blast with this film and while I know it won’t work for everyone, I hope people give it a chance. It knows exactly what it is and delivers it in every frame.
In addition to the film this release also offers up bonus content including a trailer and commentaries. Join the fight for the theater when Showdown At The Grand available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Shout! Studios.
