Michael Jai White Movies
A black belt in seven karate styles who made his feature debut in The Toxic Avenger II and has appeared in numerous off-Broadway plays, Michael Jai White has a curiously eclectic career and is likely a recognized face to action movie aficionados.A Brooklyn, NY, native who was raised in the sometimes harsh limbo between the impoverished Bridgeport and well-to-do Westport, CT, Jai White grew from an introverted youth to a man comfortable in multiple surroundings. Eventually gaining a reputation as a fearsomely tough street fighter by the age of 14, the strikingly mature-appearing youngster earned his keep by offering karate lessons at the YMCA before graduating high school with honors and setting his sights on college. Bouncing from school to school unsure of what direction to take in life, Jai White took a few acting classes but eventually ended up as a junior high school teacher specializing in emotionally disturbed children. Soon auditioning for roles in Manhattan with the blessing of his students, Jai White would rise through the ranks and eventually land roles in such features as Universal Soldier (1992) and Full Contact (1993). After appearing as Mike Tyson in the 1995 television movie Tyson, the tough actor was cast in the role of a double-crossed assassin who seeks vengeance from the fiery depths of Hell in the eagerly anticipated film adaptation of the cult comic book Spawn. Later appearing in such features as Breakfast of Champions (1999) and Exit Wounds (2001), Jai White gained solid footing as a reliable supporting action figure. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Simone (Jimmy Smits) investigates a gunman's shooting spree, while the media focuses on the bystander who was killed by a rookie cop's stray bullet. Lt. Fancy (James McDaniel) learns that his brother Reginald (Michael Jai White), a uniform cop in the eighth precinct, is at the center of a tense racial crisis. Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) receives disturbing news from his doctor. And when the spree-shooter strikes again, one of the cops saves his partner's life -- a turning point in their somewhat prickly relationship. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
This made-for-television movie tells the story of the tumultuous life of heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson. The movie follows the boxer (played by Michael Jai White) from his early New York youth as criminal offender all the way to his years as a national boxing celebrity. With the help of controversial promoter Don King (Paul Winfield), Tyson became the World Heavyweight Champion, only to lose it all and go to jail for a rape conviction. This biopic was based on Jose Torres' book on Tyson, Fire and Fear. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren play archenemies from beyond the grave in this action film. During the Vietnam War, Luc (Van Damme), hoping to be sent home, comes upon blood-crazy Scott (Lundgren), who is starting a one-man genocide program. When Luc tries to stop Scott's carnage, Scott fights back and they end up killing each other. But now the government gets involved, cryogenically freezing their corpses and using their bodies in a secret government project call "UniSols" --turning the dead men into android fighting machines. Luc and Scott are now metallic fighting members of a robot SWAT team. But Luc begin to have flashbacks to the final moments of his life in Vietnam, as does Scott, who recalls that one of his final thoughts was to kill Luc. Meanwhile, a snoopy reporter named Veronica (Ally Walker) stumbles upon the secret of the UniSols, and soon Luc is trying to save both himself and Veronica from the wrath of Scott, who is trying to kill them both. All of the action culminates in a wild chase between a prison bus and a UniSols van, racing around hairpin turns on desert precipices. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, (more)
- 1991
- R
Charles Lane directed Andy Breckman's script, based on an old "Saturday Night Live" sketch of Breckman's that featured Eddie Murphy. Comic Lenny Henry takes Murphy's place in True Identity as a black man forced to don white face in order to save his life. Henry plays Miles Pope, an agreeable British actor whose luck sours when he finds out that businessman Leland Carver (Frank Langella) is actually a notorious underworld mobster. Carver now wants to rub Miles out and the only way that Miles can escape Carver's retribution is to disguise himself as a man named Frank LaMotta, the Italian-American killer that Carver has hired to kill him. During the story, Miles finds that he has to assume a variety of roles to keep from getting shot --a gay real estate agent, a British lord, James Brown's brother Val, and even Othello. But the biggest shock for Miles comes when he plays the white man and discovers that he is given preferential treatment --not only by whites, but also by blacks and Hispanics. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lenny Henry, Frank Langella, (more)
