Action

• X-Men 2 | DVD | (10/11/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  X-Men 2 picks up almost directly where X-Men left off: misguided super-villain Magneto (Ian McKellen) is still a prisoner of the US government, heroic bad-boy Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is up in Canada investigating his mysterious origin, and the events at Liberty Island (which occurred at the conclusion of X-Men) have prompted a rethink in official policy towards mutants--the proposed Mutant Registration Act has been shelved by US Congress. Into this scenario pops wealthy former army commander William Stryker, a man with the President's ear and a personal vendetta against all mutant-kind in general, and the X-Men's leader Professor X (Patrick Stewart) in particular. Once he sets his plans in motion, the X-Men must team-up with their former enemies Magneto and Mystique (Rebecca Romjin-Stamos), as well as some new allies (including Alan Cumming's gregarious, blue-skinned German mutant, Nightcrawler). The phenomenal global success of X-Men meant that director Bryan Singer had even more money to spend on its sequel, and it shows. Not only is the script better (there's significantly less cheesy dialogue than the original), but the action and effects are also even more stupendous--from Nightcrawler's teleportation sequence through the White House to a thrilling aerial dogfight featuring mutants-vs-missiles to a military assault on the X-Men's school/headquarters to the final showdown at Stryker's sub-Arctic headquarters. Yet at no point do the effects overtake the film or the characters. Moreso than the original, this is an ensemble piece, allowing each character in its even-bigger cast at least one moment in the spotlight (in fact, the cast credits don't even run until the end of the film). And that, perhaps, is part of its problem (though it's a slight one): with so much going on, and nary a recap of what's come before, it's a film that could prove baffling to anyone who missed the first instalment. But that's just a minor quibble--X-Men 2 is that rare thing, a sequel that's actually superior to its predecessor. --Robert Burrow

• Independence Day | DVD | (14/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  One of the biggest box office hits of all time delivers the ultimate encounter when mysterious and powerful aliens launch an all-out invasion against the human race. The spectacle begins when massive spaceships appear in Earth's skies. But wonder turns to terror as the ships blast destructive beams of fire down on cities all over the planet. Now the world's only hope lies with a determined band of survivors uniting for one last strike against the invaders - before it's the end of mankind.

• Hot Fuzz | DVD | (27/07/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A top London cop must contend with life in a sleepy West Country village in this new comedy from the 'Shaun Of The Dead' team.

• Revolver | Blu Ray | (03/08/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Guy Ritchie returns with another tale of criminals, con men and card sharks.

• Midnight Heat | DVD | (06/03/2003) from £8.85   |  Saving you £-4.86 (-121.80%)   |  RRP £3.99

  A former drug dealer a cop a rock video director and a nightclub owner are all after one million dollars that was stolen during a drug transaction gone awry.

• Vengeance Valley | DVD | (26/10/1999) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Countdown | DVD | (25/04/2016) from £21.58   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Transporter 2 | DVD | (27/03/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £27.99

  A former Special Forces agent, Frank (Jason Statham) now works as a driver for a family in Miami. But when their young son is kidnapped, Frank will stop at nothing to find the criminals who are holding him for ransom and get the boy back.

• Black Point | DVD | (15/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

• Rush Hour 2 | Blu Ray | (31/03/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The unlikely duo of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are reunited in this sequel. This time round their investigations take them from Hong Kong to L.A.

• The Triple Cross | DVD | (27/05/2002) from £7.76   |  Saving you £12.23 (157.60%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Triple Cross is a Japanese crime thriller that follows the bloody aftermath of a heist. Three robbers are double-crossed by new accomplice, Kazuya Kimura, and Kenichi Hagiwara takes the Lee Marvin Point Blank road, tracking him down amid escalating carnage and spectacular car chases. The film is littered with homages to crime classics, from the outlaw lovers of A Bout de Souffle to Hagiwara sporting a nose plaster in recognition of Jack Nicholson's Chinatown. Sonny Chiba is wasted in a supporting role but, given that the movie is being promoted as Reservoir Dogs-meets-John Woo, it's worth noting that Chiba is among Quentin Tarantino's favourite actors and stars in his forthcoming Kill Bill (2003). The Triple Cross (the American title Double Cross is far more accurate) is a well-crafted collection of gangster clichés, but suffers from a very uncertain tone, being pitched uneasily between serious crime drama and tongue-in-cheek comic-book action. Released following the success of director Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale (2000) this film from 1992 nonetheless anticipates many of the themes and attitudes of post-Tarantino crime cinema with remarkable prescience. Those who prefer their cinema to recognise civilised values or any sense of morality best look elsewhere. On the DVD: The Triple Cross disc has a 1.78:1 anamorphically enhanced transfer that is slightly soft in many shots, while the night-time scenes, filmed with very high contrast, are overly dark and lack detail in the shadows. The film was released theatrically in Dolby Stereo and though the packaging states 2.0 Dolby Digital the reality is very flat and dull Dolby Prologic mono. Explosions are squibs and gunshots lifeless. For a 1992 action movie the result is lamentable, but at least the subtitles are clear and free of the howlers that plague many comparable Hong Kong films. The DVD also features the original Japanese trailer and eight additional trailers for films on the Tokyo Bullet label. There is a gallery reproducing the original promotional stills, and well-written and reasonably extensive biographies and/or filmographies for five of the cast. --Gary S Dalkin

• Vigilante | DVD | (28/02/2011) from £17.53   |  Saving you £-4.54 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  When Luke a massively successful businessman is brutally attacked and his fiance is viciously raped and murdered he pledges to use every last penny he has to train himself in the art of combat and killing in order to use it against any wrong doers who dare to cross his path. What Luke doesn't know is that his own attackers are highly connected to the local crime family and they have every intention of finishing what they started... Now the hunter has become the hunted and there will be violence...

• Finale | DVD | (18/04/2011) from £4.19   |  Saving you £11.80 (73.80%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A family descends into a vortex of denial and paranoia after the death of their oldest son. Though labelled a suicide the bizarre circumstances lead his mother Helen to believe there are darker forces at work. Black paint was thrown over every mirror in his house an explosive trap set in his bedroom and a woman from his past haunts the cemetery where he lies buried. But when Helen's investigation threatens to ruin the life of her daughter and possibly her own sanity she realizes there is but one escape from this nightmare world - the very route attempted by her dead son.

• Knockaround Guys | DVD | (26/05/2003) from £11.72   |  Saving you £8.27 (70.56%)   |  RRP £19.99

• The Terminator (Two Disc Special Edition) | DVD | (19/03/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Before the Salvation comes revisit James Cameron's classic Judgement Day!

• Mission: Impossible 3 | DVD | (13/11/2006) from £10.98   |  Saving you £16.00 (177.98%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Tom Cruise returns as Special Agent Ethan Hunt, who faces the mission of his life.

• The Plague Dogs | DVD | (15/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Subject to harrowing scientific experiments, two dogs make a flight for freedom from the animal research laboratory. On making their way through the lab, they break a glass container used by bubonic plague researchers. They soon discover that the outside world is not the haven they hoped to find.

• Mountain Patrol | DVD | (26/03/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Set during the mid '90s, Mountain Patrol tells the tale of the deadly battles waged between the poachers - who have their sights set on Kekexili's endangered antelopes - and the group of mountain patrolmen who'll stop at nothing to punish them. A hotshot journalist is employed from Beijing to join the latter group and see what makes them tick. Thus begins a tireless pursuit for justice; in the process, lives are sacrificed, sandstorms are braved and the boundaries of investigative reporting are blurred forever.

• Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | Blu Ray | (07/05/2013) from £26.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  At first glance, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is a sequel with not much going for it. A follow-up to the Brendan Fraser-starring Journey To The Center of the Earth, it has precious few of the original ingredients in place, and it's also hampered by the fact that it's in 3D isn't the novelty it was first time around. When the first film came around, after all, Avatar was still some way away from release. However, count Journey 2: The Mysterious Island as a really fun surprise. The 3D still works, and the glistening Blu-ray transfer does the bright picture real justice. But it's the delivering of an action adventure that all the family can genuinely get something out of that's perhaps the real achievement here. The casting of The Rock, or Dwayne Johnson if you prefer, is the first of many smart moves here. Michael Caine is on board too, along with Vanessa Hudgens and Josh Hutcherson. And it's a broad company who have a lot of fun with the material. It's loosely based around the work of Jules Verne but generally, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is mainly an excuse for special effects, action, humour, and The Rock popping his pecs. You'll fully understand once you've seen the film. It's a fun piece of matinee cinema, and a comfortable improvement on the first movie. --Jon Foster

• Fireball | Blu Ray | (18/01/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  "Fireball" combines the breakneck paced sport of basketball with the bone crushing brutality of Muay Thai fighting and mixed martial arts for an action movie experience quite unlike any other.