Bad Ass (film)

Bad Ass is a 2012 American action film written and directed by Craig Moss. The film stars Danny Trejo, Charles S. Dutton, and Ron Perlman. It is loosely based on the 2010 AC Transit Bus fight viral video.

Plot
Frank Vega is a Vietnam War veteran who has faced numerous challenges in his life. After returning from war, he discovers that his girlfriend has married someone else and started a family. Struggling to find employment, Frank resorts to selling hot dogs until his customers are taken away by a hot dog van. Left adrift, he gains unexpected fame when he beats up two abusive skinheads on a bus. Nicknamed "Bad Ass," he becomes a celebrated figure, with his face appearing on T-shirts and graffiti. He is even invited on talk shows and offered ride-alongs by the police.

Frank's life takes a turn when his mother, Juanita, passes away, leaving him her house and dog. His best friend and fellow veteran, Klondike Washington, moves in with him and entrusts Frank with a USB flash drive meant for Juanita's safe deposit box. However, Klondike is tragically murdered in a dark alley by two thugs, leaving Frank devastated.

Feeling let down by the police's lack of progress in solving Klondike's murder, Frank takes it upon himself to investigate. He discovers a spent cartridge casing and a pendant with a woman's picture at the crime scene. The pendant leads him to a pawn shop where he learns it belongs to a man named Terence. Returning the pendant to Terence's wife, Frank learns that Terence is playing basketball with friends. After confronting them, Frank discovers that Renaldo might know Terence's whereabouts.

Frank tracks down Renaldo and learns that Terence is with his girlfriend. After finding her at a massage parlor, Frank follows her and breaks into her house. He interrogates Terence about his boss, who ordered Klondike's murder. Frank discovers that Klondike was killed because he possessed the flash drive, which contains information about an oil well project connected to Mayor Williams.

Alongside his quest for justice, Frank saves Amber and her son Martin from Amber's abusive husband. He becomes their friend and offers them shelter while repairing their front door. During a dinner at Amber's house, Frank asks for a matchbook as a memento, but their moment is interrupted by Martin, Jr.

Frank eventually hands the flash drive to Officer Malark and confronts Panther, the drug lord responsible for Klondike's murder. However, Frank is captured, tortured, and subjected to electrocution to reveal the flash drive's location. Despite the pain, Frank refuses to surrender the drive. Panther discovers Frank's address in his wallet and heads there, threatening to harm Amber. Frank arrives just in time to save her and engages in a fight with Panther.

Their battle spills into the front yard, where Amber jumps on Panther's back, buying Frank enough time to recover and defeat him. Panther is arrested, and the news exposes Mayor Williams' involvement in the scandal. Frank, Amber, and Martin find happiness together as they move forward with their lives.

Production
Bad Ass was very loosely based on the AC Transit Bus fight, which was filmed by a bystander and became a viral video on YouTube. Immediately after the release of the film, the producers began active development on a story for a new installment of Bad Ass with a view toward shooting this installment in 2013.

Soundtrack

 * I'm a Bad Ass (Kid Frost & Big Tank)
 * Amazing (Big L.A., Glasses Malone & Jah Free)
 * Llévame Contigo (Pancho & Sancho)
 * Six Million Ways To Die (Kid Frost ft. Clika One)
 * I'm On My Way (Big Tank, Spirit & Butch Cassidy)
 * Coochie Cantina (Pancho & Sancho)
 * Stay Ready (Big Tank & Spirit)
 * Y Porque Perder (Pancho & Sancho)
 * Take Me Down (Pancho & Sancho)
 * Take Me Down (Spanglish) (Pancho & Sancho)
 * Stay Ready (Clean) (Big Tank & Spirit)
 * Blood Sweat and Tears ("Stay Ready" Instrumental) (Chef Raw C Beatz)

Release
Production was completed by May 2011. SC Films picked up sales rights to the film with plans to present it to buyers at the Cannes Film Festival. The film has been sold to Wild Bunch for distribution in Germany and to Pinnacle Films for distribution in Australia. Subsequently, distribution arrangements were made with Samuel Goldwyn Films for USA theatrical release on April 13, 2012, as well as 20th Century Fox for ancillary rights and international all media distribution.

Sequels
Two sequels have been released. The first, Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses, was released in 2014, and co-starred Danny Glover. Trejo and Glover were paired again for the third film, Bad Asses on the Bayou, which was released on March 6, 2015.

Reception
Reviews of the film were mostly negative, with some news articles wondering if the film was actually real or a hoax. Vulture's Sarah Benned commented on the preview, saying "This trailer for Bad Ass (loosely based on this viral video) is either a parody, the trailer for a parody, or just an excuse to make Danny Trejo beat people up while wearing a fanny pack. It's your call." Cinema Blend has compared the trailer to Trejo's initially mock-trailer for Machete, saying "This could be a spoof trailer sandwiched in the middle of a Grindhouse sequel. Then again, that worked for Machete, so why couldn't it kick-start Bad Ass, as well?"

In his review of the film, Los Angeles Times critic Mark Olsen stated, "It's often difficult to tell what's bad on purpose or just badly handled. Perhaps it is just difficult to compete with the strange spontaneity of something like a viral video; the way it takes on its own momentum may be something that can't be replicated."

According to the film review website Rotten Tomatoes, which gave the film a 20% approval rating, the film received 4 negative reviews against 1 positive one.