Force: Five (1981)

 

Force: Five (1981)- * *1\2

Directed by: Robert Clouse

Starring: Richard Norton, Amanda Wyss, Bong Soo Han, Peter Maclean, Joe Lewis, Sonny Barnes, Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, Pam Huntington, and Mel Novak

Reverend Rhee (Han) is a cult leader who, along with his devoted disciples, is sequestered away on a remote island. When Senator Forrester (MacLean) wants to rescue his daughter from the cult, he calls in "The Best" - i.e., a team of five high-kickin' Martial Arts fighters comprised of Jim Martin (Lewis), Lockjaw (Barnes), Billy Ortega (Urquidez), Laurie (Huntington), and Ezekiel (Norton). Will our quintuplet of action heroes exfiltrate the girl? Or will they fall to the hands of a man known only as The Assassin (Novak)?


Coming hot on the heels of the Jim Jones Guyana tragedy, which occurred in November of 1978, Force: Five reimagines the tale if Benny the Jet, Richard Norton, and the rest of gang showed up at Jonestown and saved the day. It's also reminiscent of other newsworthy cults of the time, such as the Rajneesh group, which is what the Netflix documentary series Wild Wild Country is all about. However, Force: Five also a comedy, complete with a Kill and Kill Again (1981) vibe, or a certain A-Team sensibility. Imdb.com even claims it's a remake of Hot Potato (1976). Which would explain why it reminded us so much of...Hot Potato.


While it's ostensibly rated R, it feels very PG in its execution. The triumph of the Robert Clouse standout Gymkata (1985) isn't exactly threatened here, because Force: Five contains more than enough stupidity, but the stuntwork is very good, and there are some amusing "classic 1981 drive-in" Kung-Fu fights along the way. But there are long stretches with actionless moments, which slow things down.


It was nice to see a young Richard Norton, who looks alarmingly like Matthew McConaughey from Dazed and Confused (1993) here. It really could be his doppelganger. Bob Schott as Carl is a classic meathead, and it was nice to see Amanda Wyss, no matter for how short a time, here as well. Wyss has been in an impressive number of 80's classics, including A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Better Off Dead (1985), and Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), among others. This was so early in her career, she was credited as Mandy Wyss. Interestingly, she was on the short-lived TV series Jessica Novak, and Force: Five has Mel Novak. Coincidence?


Anyway, Force: Five is a bit like a cross between Never Say Die (1994) and Catch the Heat (1987). The former for the cult aspect, and the latter for the "Karate Comedy" aspect. It all opens with a funky theme song and it's perfect for the drive-ins and grindhouses of the early 80's. It shouldn't be confused with Heroes Three (1983).


Also not to be confused with the 1975 TV movie Force Five (note the missing colon), this Force: Five was released on a Media tape during the golden era of VHS. Overall, it has some decent moments but there's really no "wow factor" here. The cast is good, and it's all very competent, but a little something extra really would have fleshed it all out.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Martial Law (1991)

Martial Law (1991)-* *1\2

Directed by: Steve Cohen

Starring: Cynthia Rothrock, Chad McQueen and David Carradine











Dalton Rhodes (Carradine) is the leader of a large and growing criminal syndicate. Cop Sean “Martial Law” Thompson and his fellow police officer/girlfriend Billie Blake (Rothrock) are trying to shut him and his cohorts down. When Martial Law’s brother Mike falls under the spell of Rhodes, it becomes personal.

As far as plot is concerned, it gets off to a slow start and then continues on at an odd pace, like an athlete that begins sluggishly and because of that, can’t maintain his momentum or “get his groove back”. Martial Law is unfocused and you don’t really know what’s going on at any time in any clear, defined way. The elements are certainly there, but it doesn’t pull together. Seeing as Chad McQueen (yes, Skylord Harris himself) is an emotionless lunkhead, it pretty much falls on the shoulders of the always-great Cynthia Rothrock to carry the movie. But she’s in a supporting role, criminally playing second-banana to a man with a wardrobe filled with silly shirts. Although, to be fair, he does have a cool, fur-lined coat he wears during the day in L.A. and has a rockin’ motorcycle.

It’s nice to see David Carradine as Rhodes, the classic baddie, looking dapper in his suits. Of course, more than simply an evil businessman, Rhodes knows the “forbidden” Martial Arts Technique “Dim Mak”, or Touch Of Death. Never before has there been such a disparity between attempts at realism during the dialogue scenes, and utter silliness during the fight scenes. Martial Law (the movie, not the clunky, overly-long nickname) could have used some car chases and blow-ups to liven things up. The movie lacked a certain fun element that really should have been there. We blame Skylord Harris, and this is one of his BETTER movies.

When he first appears on screen driving up in his Dominos Pizza car and in full Dominos regalia to trick a baddie, our initial thought was, “that seems about right”. He seems well suited for that kind of work. And while Benny The Jet Uriquidez appears briefly, as does his famous training center (also seen in Death Match, 1994), and the final fight scene is cool, as is a short training sequence, it’s too little too late.

About the music, there’s a scene in a club where 80’s hair metal band Tempest plays, and the score by Elliot Solomon is lively and amusing, but not memorable. But there’s plenty of classic sax to go ‘round. But seeing as the VHS released in the U.S. is in EP speed, both the sound and picture leave something to be desired.

While this first installment in the Martial Law trilogy (the third one is Mission of Justice, 1992) is largely mediocre, this would be rectified in the sequels. Starting with Martial Law 2: Undercover, things improve hugely. Luckily this franchise got a chance to grow - but we don’t know why. WHY are there two sequels? Were audiences clamoring for more Sean “Martial Law” Thompson? How did this come about? But, fortunately he does return later - as Jeff Wincott. So start at part 2, unless you are a Cynthia Rothrock die-hard.

Also check out DTVC's review! 

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Death Match (1994)

Death Match (1994)-* * *

Directed by: Joe Coppoletta

Starring: Matthias Hues, Martin Kove, Richard Lynch, Ian Jacklin, Jorge Rivero, Renee Allman (AKA: Ammann), Eric Lee, Nick Hill, Benny "The Jet" Urquidez and Steven Vincent Leigh




***400th Review***





 

For our 400th review celebration, we thought we'd invite a few friends over - namely, Matthias Hues, Richard Lynch, Jorge Rivero, Ian Jacklin, Renee Ammann, Martin Kove, Benny The Jet, Eric Lee and the rest of the large cast of Death Match. A special effort seems to have been made to get as many of the DTV actors of the time as possible in this production. Casting-wise, it truly was The Expendables (2010) of its day, and, inevitably it means that some cast members can only receive small roles. Due to time restrictions of course. Unless you think Death Match should be a four-hour-plus epic.

John Larson (Jacklin) and Nick Wallace (Hill) are just two blue-collar dock workers trying to make their living the old-fashioned way - by working hard. Their longshoreman jobs take them all around the country, and they end up in L.A. where Nick tries to make some extra bucks fighting in...wait for it...illegal, underground punch/kickfighting cage matches to the death! Did you think it would be some sort of computer game contest? Anyway, Nick starts fighting for the evil, unscrupulous fight promoter/gangster/gunrunner/lover of geodes and Twizzlers Paul Landis (Kove) and his associate/main fighter Mark Vanik (Hues). Unbeknownst to Nick, these guys are, well, evil and unscrupulous, and they expect the winners of their fights to kill, and the losers of their fights to die. Seeing as Nick is a nice guy and doesn't have that killer instinct, he refuses to kill his opponent in the ring. So naturally, after a brutal punch to the face by Vanik, they imprison him on their personal boat.

Seeing as how Larson and Wallace are best friends to the end, when Larson gets word that his buddy hooked up with Landis' organization and is now missing, he goes on the hunt for him. Of course this means that he has to join Landis' group and fight in order to get closer to the truth. Luckily, he was a former kickboxing champion that gave it up years ago. With help from reporter/love interest/eye candy Danielle Richardson (Ammann), scrappy street kid Tommy (Michele Krasnoo), and of course his Cosmo Kramer-like manager Lionel P. Bigman AKA "Big Man" (Bob Wyatt), will Larson find and rescue his friend?

Death Match is one of the better punchfighters out there, and has a little more substance than most. Thanks to the sprawling cast - there are even more B-movie names we didn't mention - Lisa London, John Sjogren, Brick Bronsky, Marcus Aurelius, Sheila Redgate and more - as well as the fast pace of the film, things never get boring. Also in the good news department, this is by far Ian Jacklin's best role we've seen. He actually does a good job carrying the movie, and as the lead role must have the usual barfights and torture scenes, and you care about him and his friend. Despite all we've seen before, we really liked Jacklin here.

But the real "Big Man" in this production isn't Lionel, it's the great Matthias Hues. He turns on his typical charm and wears a gigantic suit with a bolo tie. If he starts to take off his shirt/bolo tie - watch out. You are in trouble. Also, whatever you do, don't call him "goldilocks". Lynch steals the one scene he's in as the gangster Jimmy. Benny The Jet appears as himself, in one of his own gyms, as Larson's trainer. His advice comes in handy. Interestingly, in the female reporter wanting a story/hero teaming up with an L.A. street kid angle, Death Match resembles Streets of Rage (1994) of all things. Weird.

We really can't go through all the many characters and their ups and downs due to space restrictions, and there are some of the prerequisite silly moments, such as the "Chicanos with nunchuks" scene, but honestly this is an action B-movie fan's dream come true - and one of the better killfighting movies we've seen to date.

Note: Death Match is available in the U.K. on a two-for-one DVD with, strangely, The Robert Chapin classic Ring Of Steel (1994)! Go Figure.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Kick Fighter (1987)

Kick Fighter (1987)- * *1\2

AKA: The Fighter

Directed by: Anthony Maharaj

Starring: Richard Norton, Benny "The Jet" Urquidez,  Franco Guerrero and Steve Rackman











In "Bangkok today", a young, scrappy street kid named Ryan Travers (Norton) accidentally kills a gambler and goes to jail. Five years later, he gets out of Thailand's Tan Pun prison and is a new man (literally - there are rumors that Kick Fighter was stitched together from different sources, which would explain why at the beginning, Norton, supposedly playing a nine year old, DOES look younger and has longer hair, and when he emerges from prison, looks like the Norton we all know and love).

When gangsters blow up his parents' antique store, and his sister (Erica Van Wagener) falls ill with a heart condition, Travers needs money. Unfortunately his skills as a dockworker are no longer needed anywhere around town. So he puts his fighting skills to use in outdoor shipyard brawls. He soon rises through the ranks of boxcar joes thanks to his friend August, a character similar to Punchy from Fist Fighter (1989). Travers is scheduled to fight Jet (Urquidez of Bloodmatch (1991) fame, portraying himself?) in an actual ring. The match is dubbed the "Killer in Manila". Hm. But gangsters kidnapped his sister and want him to throw the fight. Will Travers emerge victorious?

It seems AIP invented "kickfighting". As we all know, they released the classic Night of the Kickfighters (1988), and turned this movie, originally just called "The Fighter" into "Kick Fighter". It seems to have been some sort of branding, but I don't think it took off. No one says "Oh, I saw that great kickfighting movie last night". This particular kickfighter is pretty entertaining, but it just seems like regular fighting, where the fighters use their arms and legs. It's not like Soccer-fighting where you're not allowed to punch.

There are some interesting characters and situations, such as the cage match with the hulking brute Bodo (Rackman), who is similar to the beast from the aforementioned Fist Fighter. This toothless dum-dum's big move is to stand on Travers' chest. Travers also fights in a private match in a closed nightclub to only a few men. Who is the man in the ski mask he must fight? Could it be his friend Chai Wat (Guerrero)?

It's bad enough Travers must endure the locals constantly calling him a "yankee" (are Australians yankees?) but he doesn't really train, he just sits around in a surly mood drinking beer. That is, until the training sequence with the kickfighting master, also a beggar on the streets of Bangkok.

So here we have another team up of Norton with director Maharaj. They must have been buddies, because the later team up of the two, Crossfire (1988), is very similar (it even seems to have some of the same scenes), but Crossfire is more professionally done. Kick Fighter is like a cross between Fist of Glory (1991) (a "yankee" in Bangkok forced to fight; dingy film quality), and Massacre (1985) (basically ditto), and what's interesting about that is that David Heavener is listed as a producer of Kick Fighter in some sources. That might explain the similarity, especially in some chunks of the film that may have been stitched in.

Interesting note about the credits: This one referee must have been pretty famous, because he gets a lot of fanfare: Carlos "Sonny" Padilla, Jr.

And this is a real credit from the end of the film:

"In real life, Benny "The Jet" Urquidez is a true undefeated world champion kickboxer with a ring record of 57-0 with 49 knockouts. The final bout in this film is dedicated to all of his opponents who wished they could have a similar result in their bout with The Jet."

I'm sure his opponents appreciate that.

If you are a fan of Richard Norton or AIP product, you will like this exercise in silliness. If not, you may be really confused.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Bloodmatch (1991)

Bloodmatch (1991)-*

Directed By: Albert Pyun

Starring: Thom Matthews, Hope Marie Carlton, Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, and Thunderwolf










Bad bad bad bad bad. "Bloodmatch" is another dud from the Albert Pyun canon. It's poor, even by his standards.

Apparently, an unlikable jerk named Brick Bardo (Mathews)(a common name if you watch Pyun movies) is trying to avenge the fact that his brother was caught up in some illegal fighting and got in trouble, even though his brother was innocent. So he and his partner Max (Marianne Taylor), a former nurse whose fight moves make her resemble a female Andy Bauman, go around drugging and kidnapping the people he thinks are responsible. He rents the entire Las Vegas arena for his own personal vendetta and forces Brent (Dale Jacoby), the smug, "Johnny Cage"-style fighter, Billy (Urquidez), a janitor, Mike (Thunderwolf), who is similar to "Street Fighter"'s Dee Jay, and Angel (Carlton), a Linda McMahon-style fight promoter, to fight him in the darkened arena, because for some reason he feels forcing them to fight him in the ring will bring him closer to the truth.

"Bloodmatch" is dour, dry, dark and overlong at 85 minutes. Bardo, the supposed "hero" is a hateful, spiteful, annoying and unsympathetic lead. The supposed "villains" are much more likable, so you have to question the entire enterprise. For example, Billy is a hard working janitor with a daughter. Bardo is a smug heel, and if he was a good, likable character you could get behind, that would make all the difference. But for no explained reason, he's not. Like Bardo himself and most of the other characters, the movie itself is unlikable. Apparently a hero would be too much to ask here.

You get the feeling Pyun doesn't know what he's doing and is not in control of the proceedings. The pacing is atrocious, it is glacial and the whole film feels like a slog. There are pages and pages of pointless, nonsensical exposition that no one cares about. The lighting is way too dark and grubby. There's a song in the movie, "In the Dark". Why rub it in?

Be warned: this movie is NOT a punchfighter. It is a fake, a disgrace to the word "punchfighting". Seeing as there is so much needless, brainless and juvenile dialogue, we have, unfortunately, stumbled upon a new breed of awful movie experience: the "talkfighter". When there are fights, the editing is jagged, with obvious frames removed. There are weak moves galore that don't connect. It is never explained why Bardo practically kills everyone with ease. It puts a sleeper hold on the audience.



The whole time, the audience is treated like it is stupid. It also feels like Pyun has never even seen a fighting film before and just decided to make one out of the clear blue sky. The result is disastrous.

The only positive things you can say about "Bloodmatch" are that Urquidez does an impressive, if funny spin move, and the casting of Carlton, a Playboy girl, was smart as it keeps you from just ejecting the tape and setting it on fire with rage.

Your "blood" will boil if you watch this "match" tonight.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett