The top 2. 5 underappreciated straight to DVD films Are you tired of big summer blockbusters ultimately just being an advert for the next instalment in the franchise Are you fed up with incomprehensible CGI action scenes and two hour plus runtimesDo you miss the days when a muscle bound kickboxer with a strange European accent was a bigger box office draw than Iron Man If you answered yes to any of the above, I implore you to check the murky world of straight to video action films. Watch Transmorphers Youtube' title='Watch Transmorphers Youtube' />Mega Shark Versus Mecha Shark is a 2014 directtovideo monsterdisaster film produced by the Asylum. It was released on DVD and Bluray Disc on January 28, 2014. Although YouTube may tell us otherwise Bollywood isnt composed entirely of movies where the protagonist can flip a semi with the touch of his hand and th. While features going straight to home entertainment have been a fixture since the earliest days of VHS, the rise of DVD in the early 2. As opposed to the virtually home made productions of the 8. DVD premieres have budgets in the low millions  and feature recognisable names. In particular, theyve become a haven for action stars in the old school mode, whether they are aging heroes of yesteryear Jean Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, a new generation Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White or wrestlers and MMA stars trying to muscle in on the acting world. Watch Transmorphers Youtube' title='Watch Transmorphers Youtube' />The DTV market has really become like the grindhouse of old, the sort of arena Roger Corman used to excel in, where profitability is takes precedent over everything if you can put explosions and Dolph Lundgrens face on the DVD cover, it doesnt really mater what the film itself is actually like. And just like the grindhouses of the 7. Here are 2. 5 DTV films worth tracking down. SUBMERGED 2. 00. This one is generally not that well regarded by DTV fans, but its a personal favourite of mine, which is why Im including it here. Its a sloppily made, crazy mess, but its also the sort of insane fascinating mess that you can only get from cheap DTV action flicks. Where else can you see Steve Seagal, Vinnie Jones and Carla Connor from Coronation Street all in the same filmThe DVD cover has a big submarine across it, and both the title and synopsis on the back of the box seem to imply its some sort Hunt For Red October derivative, yet the sub itself is only in the film for about 1. Most of the action concerns a violent revolution in Uruguay an inaccurate depiction that irked the Uruguayan Education and Culture department so much that they considered legal action. DTV movies can be an acquired taste, and Submerged might be the most acquired of all, but I definitely enjoy it. COMMAND PERFORMANCE 2. A Die Hard rip off where Dolph Lundgren plays a drummer who battles terrorists who take over the stadium his band are playing in. Need we say more LIBERTY STANDS STILL 2. It might be because he was preoccupied with his legal troubles, but Wesley Snipes straight to video films have been far less interesting that those of other faded action stars. His first film to skip cinemas clearly intended for a theatrical release is a really solid high concept thriller though. In what is mostly a two hander, Snipes plays a sniper who targets gun company VP Linda Fiorentino, trapping her in his sights and handcuffing her to a hot dog cart while an elaborate revenge plot plays out. Coming out the same year as the Colin Farrell starring Phone Booth, it was one of those Deep Impact Armageddon situations where two films with the same premise serendipitously come out very close together. Unfortunately, Liberty Stands Still was the clear loser financially maybe they should have renamed it Hot Dog Cart, but its worth seeing with a strong performance from Snipes and a worthy anti gun message. DRAGON EYES 2. 01. A starring vehicle for Vietnamese American MMA fighter Cung Le, helmed by John Hyams of the amazing Universal Soldier sequels. Free Streaming Series Without Signing Up'>Free Streaming Series Without Signing Up. Its a loose take on the old Yojimbo A Fistful Of Dollars scenario, with Cung Le arriving in a small town full of gangsters and then proceeding to beat the crap out of all of them. The plot gets a bit complicated and the fights are a touch over edited, but Le is a snarling ball of rage that holds the whole thing together. Plus Peter Weller plays the bad guy. Jean Claude Van Damme is given equal billing to Le, but in truth he only has a ten minute cameo towards the end. He does get one pretty great fight scene though, and he has the haggard hangdog face that makes the best late period JCVD so good. DAMAGE 2. 00. 9Damage is as generic an underground fighting movie as you could imagine, but its carried by WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin in the lead role, whose general likability makes it worth seeing. Watch Fail Safe Streaming. Austin plays a convict released on parole when the wife of the man he killed appeals to the parole board. It turns out she had ulterior motive, however her daughter is seriously ill and she guilt trips him into raising the money for her life saving transplant. So its a film where Stone Cold Steve Austin has to bare knuckle box to get a new heart for a sick little girl. Its as schmaltzy as hell it reminds me of Stallones heart warming arm wrestling movie Over The Top but somehow it works. Its strange, Austins wrestling persona was always that of a rowdy hell raiser, but here he carries the film by playing essentially a well meaning man trying to avoid violence and make amends for his previous sins. Backing him up in the obligatory character actor here for a paycheck role is Justified and Django Unchaineds Walton Goggins. EL GRINGO 2. 01. The first of several appearances on this list of Midlands born martial artist Scott Adkins. You might have seen him in The Expendables 2 or Zero Dark Thirty, but hes started in a load of incredible made for DVD films that blow away most of the action films released in cinemas. Hes got a likable persona and an incredible acrobatic and brutal fighting style, and if it was the 8. DTV work. El Gringo is a pretty blatant copy of Robert Rodriguezs MariachiDesperado movies. The action focuses more on Adkins shooting and running around instead of doing jaw dropping flying kicks, but its still a really pacy and exciting and rarely slows down for minute. It also features a Christian Slater cameo, a dog sidekick for Adkins and theme song from cheesy heavy metal band Manowar, all of which I highly approve of. BELLY OF THE BEAST 2. A lot of Steve Seagals straight to DVD efforts, with a few notable exceptions, are tired, boring films, shot in grey Eastern European locations, with muddled plotting and lots of ADR. Occasionally you got some inspired lunacy out of it like Out For A Kill or Flight Of Fury where he fought sexy lesbian Taliban members over an invisible plane, but mostly they are a slog to watch. Breaking the mould however is 2. Belly Of The Beast, directed by Ching Siu tung. Ching made his name with classics 8. Hong Kong action cinema like the Chinese Ghost Story and Swordsman series, and manages to briefly reinvigorate Seagal with some of those films manic energy. Its much brighter than the typical drab DTV production, and brings proper supernatural elements to a Seagal film for the first time. SPECIAL FORCES 2. The film that first united the team of Scott Adkins and director Isaac Florentine, who would be responsible for some of the real gems of the new DTV golden age. Special Forces doesnt hit the high points of the Undisputed films or Ninja 2, but its still a gleefully silly action romp. Part of a series of patriotic action films that Nu Image made celebrating different branches of the US military, the OTT patriotism might be the most fun thing about it.