Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
Decorated Vietnam hero, Frank Vega returns home only to get shunned by society leaving him without a job or his high school sweetheart. It's not until forty years later when an incident on a commuter bus makes him a local hero where he's suddenly celebrated once again. But his good fortune suddenly turns for the worse when his best friend is murdered and the police aren't doing anything about it.
Bad Ass is a serviceable but unremarkable action vehicle built around a viral internet video premise. The plot is formulaic vigilante fare with predictable beats and shallow character development. Danny Trejo brings his usual gruff charisma but the material doesn't challenge him or the supporting cast. Cinematography is functional at best, with flat, workmanlike direction offering nothing visually distinctive. Novelty is limited — while the viral-video-to-movie concept is mildly interesting, the execution falls squarely into generic low-budget action territory. The ending resolves predictably with little dramatic weight. Overall a middling genre entry that delivers modest entertainment without excelling in any particular dimension.