just cause 4 best games 2018

Ten Over-the-Top Action Flicks to Get You Prepared for Just Cause 4

One of our favorite aspects of the Just Cause games is that they let you replicate that over-the-top action movie feel unlike any other games out there.  The explosions, destruction, and gunfights all evoke the feeling of a blockbuster action flick.

So, to get you even more pumped for the release of Just Cause 4 on December 4, we’ve put together a list of ten movies that we think mesh well with Rico Rodriguez’s exploits in the series.

Sharknado

Sharknado 2
Original Image Credit: Brant Bady / EyeEm / Getty Images

One of Just Cause 4‘s most exciting new features is the dynamic weather system that brings tornadoes and other inclement weather to the game. Rico Rodriguez won’t have to face down a shark cyclone, though they can contain just about everything except that, but few films get us as pumped about bad weather as much as Sharknado.

Traffic on the 101 can be a pain, but at least you don’t have to compete with sharks, unlike the characters in Sharknado. When a tornado hits LA’s coast, it scoops up shark-infested waters and spits these man-eaters onto the city. The sharks, who are understandably startled by being sucked into a cyclone, wreak havoc as the waters flood LA.

Unfortunately, the characters in Sharknado don’t have access to the same arsenal Rico does. As such, you can expect most of them to meet pretty grisly ends.

Die Hard

diehard
Original Image Credit: 20th Century Fox

Bruce Willis set a new bar for lone wolf anti-heroes as John McClain in Die Hard. Just as Rico shows what one man can do against tyranny in Just Cause 4, McClain shows how dangerous one man can be, even without shoes.

Alan Rickman, who also played Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films, plays a great villain in his role as Hans Gruber, and his smarmy confidence is a perfect counter to McClain’s reluctant heroism. Just Cause 4’s villainess and Leader of the Black Hand Militia, Gabriela Morales, channels Gruber with her confidence and nearly inexhaustible army of cronies.

Not only does Die Hard make a great film to get hyped for the action in Just Cause 4, but it’s also a fantastic Christmas movie to celebrate the season.

Commando

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Original Image Credit: 20th Century Fox

Commando is an Arnold Schwarzenegger action masterpiece that takes you into the same environment that Just Cause 4’s Solis is set in: South America. Schwarzenegger plays retired Colonel John Matrix who is tasked to take down a member of his former unit who has gone rogue after being discharged for excessive violence.

In his task to hunt down his former teammate, Matrix finds himself caught up in a plot by a former dictator to take back the country he was deposed from. Commando details Matrix’s struggle to do the right thing while facing the knowledge his wife’s life is on the line if he doesn’t follow the dictator’s orders. It’s a great illustration of the tactics dictatorships use to subvert good people and is a classic 1980s action adventure.

The Rundown

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Original Image Credit: Universal Pictures

The Rock plays Beck, a bounty hunter, in The Rundown. Beck is tasked with finding a man’s son who has disappeared in Brazil, and in an analog to Just Cause 4‘s Rico Rodriguez, Beck finds himself embroiled in a rebel uprising against a mining mogul.

You know it’s going to be an entertaining action flick if The Rock is part of the cast, and Dwayne Johnson evokes Schwarzenegger in this 2003 action film. Seann William Scott plays Travis, the missing son, and he’s in his prime here in the annoying buddy character role. The Rundown didn’t do great during its initial run, but it’s classic action and a great way to get pumped for taking on the Black Hand in Just Cause 4.

Yojimbo

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Original Image Credit: Kurosawa Productions/Toho

Juan Rodriguez plays the Ronin in the Just Cause series, and you can’t get a better cinematic presentation of that role than Yojimbo, the 1961 Japanese film by Akira Kurosawa. Just as Juan has little use for allegiance, the protagonist of Yojimbo, Sanjuro, only cares to do what is best for the people, not the government or gangs who sweep the land.

Sanjuro’s story centers on a village that is split by a gang war. On one side is the Seibei Clan whose new leader, Yoichiro is a useless weakling. Seibei used to control the town as they had the former mayor, Tazaemon in their pocket. The Ushitora Clan split off from Seibei when Yoichiro took over and now control the town through the new mayor, Tokuemon. Sanjuro finds both sides corrupt and decides the town would be better off with both of them dead.

The tale in Yojimbo isn’t unlike that which Rico faces in the Just Cause games. Though he sometimes has allies, Rico does most of the fighting himself and by his own code, much like Sanjuro.

High Plains Drifter

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Original Image Credit: Universal Pictures

High Plains Drifter plays out a bit like a nightmare version of Yojimbo. Clint Eastwood plays the Stranger, who after being challenged by a group of men in the western town of Lago, shoots and kills them. Unfortunately for the people of Lago, those men were the only ones protecting them from a group of outlaws who are about to be released from jail.

We learn though that the citizens of Lago are far from innocent. Though they act like the outlaws are just attacking them for no reason, it’s really because the citizens double-crossed them after being complicit in their murder of a federal marshal. In the end, the Stranger plays judge, jury, and executioner to everyone involved in what may be the most anti-hero role of all time.

The whole movie plays out like a dark version of Just Cause 4‘s plot. Rico can usually trust at least some of the local populace, but what would happen if he couldn’t? You can watch High Plains Drifter to find out.

Crank

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Original Image Credit: Lionsgate

There are over-the-top action movies, and there’s Crank. Hitman Chev Chelios, played by Jason Stratham, is injected with a drug that inhibits the flow of adrenaline and will eventually stop the heart. To stay alive, Chelios has to spend the next 88 minutes going absolutely wild in one of the most crazed movies of all time.

The action in Crank is not unlike when you go buck wild in Just Cause 4. Explosions, fist fights, and gun battles ensue, and Statham somehow keeps a straight face during it all.

Hardcore Henry

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Original Image Credit: STXfilms

Hardcore Henry has some of the most interesting cinematography we’ve ever seen as the whole movie is shot in first-person. This tends to get you more into the action in a way only video games like Just Cause 4 do.

Henry is struck with amnesia and muteness after an accident leaves him maimed. Unfortunately, it also required him to be fitted with cybernetic implants, and he’ll die if they run out of charge. From beginning to end this is a wild ride as Henry attempts to restore his memories and keep from dying while being chased by an enigmatic man named Akan and his lackeys.

Escape from New York

Escape From New York
Original Image Credit: AVCO Embassy Pictures

Manhattan is the financial capital of the world, but what if it was a walled-in maximum security prison instead? John Carpenter’s Escape from New York answers this question and introduces us to Snake Plissken, a soldier turned bank robber. The president’s plane has gone down in Manhattan and Plissken is offered a deal, rescue him for a presidential pardon or go to prison.

Plissken is the quintessential anti-hero, and all the gadgets and gunfire are reminiscent of Just Cause 4‘s action-packed scenes. If you haven’t seen Escape From New York, then you haven’t seen Kurt Russell is his best role. You can forget Wyatt Earp, Snake is by far the coolest.

The Fast and the Furious

fastandfurious
Original Image Credit: Universal Pictures

While we have highlighted some of the antics you can get up to in Just Cause 4 on foot, we’d be negligent not to put the spotlight on the vehicular mayhem as well. Combined with Rico’s abilities, the cars in the game can be as deadly as any gun. We’re psyched about the opportunities for high-speed destruction in Just Cause 4, and when we think fast cars, The Fast and the Furious is one of the first movies to come to mind.

Car enthusiasts have been around as long as automobiles have, but The Fast and the Furious is responsible for a whole generation of gearheads. This is the movie that really pushed Paul Walker into the limelight, and showcases the confident, boy-next-door style that made the late actor so endearing.

The Fast and the Furious is a fun ride from start to finish, and has just enough cheese to also give you a laugh or two. In a way, this captures the feel of Just Cause, as the series has always had a serious story, but knows when to throw in a joke when the time is right.

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