Burning Vengeance (1989)

 Burning Vengeance (1989)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Ronald C. Ross

Starring: Robert Pentz

"I'm from the department of life, and I'm revoking your permit." - Brock Genesis

After some evil drug lords kill his two brothers, daughter, and wife - and put him in the hospital for months - a DEA agent that used to be a guy named Dave Swift (Pentz) re-emerges as the mighty Brock Genesis! Now a man with a new face, a new name, and a new tanktop is rampaging through the streets of Port Davis, Texas beating up and/or killing baddies left and right. The police don't understand him, the bad guys want to kill him, and it seems like just about everyone is against him. But no force on earth can stop the BURNING VENGEANCE of Brock Genesis!




It's finally here! We finally got to see our number-one most sought-after movie, and, thankfully, it delivers the goods. How could it not, with Robert Pentz as Brock Genesis in the lead? Pentz looks like a mélange of John Cena, Joe Piscopo, Brian Kilmeade, and Arnold Schwarzenegger's son. Apparently he had worked as a stand-in for Arnie in the past, and he even does an impression of him at one point in the film. He's the ultimate hero and you root for him all the way.




Burning Vengeance is a gem of regional cinema, full stop. It's filled with semi-pro and non-actors reciting strangely stilted dialogue. It's amazing. The film as a whole is never less than totally entertaining - just the fact that other characters can call him "Mr. Genesis" with a completely straight face is fantastic. It's clear that everyone involved was trying, and that makes all the difference. Director Ronald C. Ross has an extensive background in stunts and it shows.




Just one movie highlight (there are many) is when Brock Genesis goes to the Sweet Dreams ice cream shop and then uses his shake as a weapon. As we see in the climax of the film, in Brock's hands, anything can be a weapon. Going back to the very beginning, you know this is gonna be good because the words "Burning Vengeance" are in quotes during the opening titles. The end credits feature character names in quotes. You have to ask: was any of this really real? Or was it all some strange, lovely dream?




You'll have a goofy smile on your face as you gaze in wonder at Burning Vengeance. We complain that most movies are too long. With this, we didn't want it to end! Another great moment (we could list these all day) arrives when Brock goes to the electronics store to buy a police scanner, and the clerk there quite openly finds him irresistible. Which is understandable, of course.




It's all backed by a mostly bluesy soundtrack, and it came out in the golden video store year of 1989. Video store patrons had a lot of choices in '89, a high-water mark for the video era. Burning Vengeance was there with all the rest, but seemingly the tape by AIP was not made in large quantities. Hence, it has become a VHS rarity these days. More people should have seen Burning Vengeance then, and certainly more people should see it now.




Upon further research, we found that Robert Pentz was not Vice President under Donald Trump. But he should have been. Thank goodness for movies like Burning Vengeance.

Thanks so much Daves_VHS (Instagram Handle) for the Copy!