Edge Of Honor (1991)

Edge Of Honor (1991)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Michael Spence

Starring: Corey Feldman, Meredith Salenger, Christoper Neame, and Don Swayze











A group of teenaged Boy Scouts exploring the Washington State wilderness come upon an abandoned shack. The boys, led by Butler (Feldman) discover some heavy-duty weaponry in the shack, namely rocket launchers and bazookas stolen from the U.S. government. Now that the scouts know about the weapons, they come under attack by a team of gun totin’ rednecks led by the emotionless Ritchie (Swayze). 

But as the movie itself notes at one point, the boys are the small fish, the rednecks are the middle fish, and the big fish is the Shakespeare-quoting Blade (Neame). Now surrounded by baddies on all sides, the scouts end up teaming up with a local girl who shares their cause, Alex (Salenger), and they all use whatever booby trap-making knowledge they have to outwit and defend themselves against the onslaught of people that want their heads. Will they get their merit badge in REVENGE? Find out today!

When most people think of Corey Feldman, they don’t often think of Edge of Honor. They probably just assume that he’s off somewhere, doing a Michael Jackson-like dance. That’s a shame and an oversight, because this movie is among his best work. 

Viewers that get a chance to see Edge of Honor will likely be pleasantly surprised at how engaging and watchable the movie is. We’re not really sure why someone would be surprised, except for the fact that video stores were filled with wilderness slogs at the time like Endangered (1994), and patrons had no reason to believe, at first, that this was any different. But it has a lot of fun, interesting touches that make it worthwhile. And the glasses-wearing Corey gets to do his best Jack Nicholson/Christian Slater/William Devane-like drawl. So you can’t say he does the same thing in every movie. He wouldn’t be this good again until A Dangerous Place (1995).

That’s not to say all wilderness movies are slogs, there are definite winners such as this one and Hunter’s Blood (1986), and though Edge of Honor seems to be leaning towards the younger end of the R-rated demographic, its well-written, serious-intentioned, and competently-directed overall feel isn’t insulting to audiences of any age. 

Bringing Don Swayze on board as the amoral backwoods murderer is always a good move, and this movie is among Don’s best that we’ve seen, up there with Driving Force (1989), where he plays a similar character. Heck, he plays this character most of the time. It must be something in the bone structure of his face that make casting directors angling for a countrified killer to go, “Oh, get Don Swayze!”

Besides Corey and Don, who are the faces we’re most familiar with, the rest of the cast is very good as well, and we were also familiar with Christopher Neame from his appearances as similar baddies to this one in Diplomatic Immunity (1991) and Irresistible Force (1993) - as well as appearances in Street Knight (1993) and Hellbound (1994). So he pops up more than we realized. But all told, Edge of Honor is like a DTV counterpart to Red Dawn (1984) - and a pleasant romp in the woods at that. The Academy VHS is worth picking up if you can find it.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, Cool Target!

Diplomatic Immunity (1991)

Diplomatic Immunity (1991)-* * *

Directed by: Peter Maris

Starring: Bruce Boxleitner, Billy Drago, Robert Miano, Robert Forster, Sharon Case, Ken Foree, Meg Foster, Fabiana Udenio, Christoper Neame, Robert DoQui, and Matthias Hues











Cole Hickel (Boxleitner) is a Vietnam vet and career Marine. He has a beautiful daughter, Ellen (Case) who gets mixed up with a murdering psychopath obsessed with macabre art, naturally named Klaus (Bresnahan). When Klaus kills Ellen, Cole is enraged and wants revenge. This normally would be easy, thanks to Hickel’s military training, but the worm-like Klaus is hiding behind his “Diplomatic Immunity” privileges and he flees to Paraguay where his mother, Gerta (Foster) is some kind of big shot. After being told not to go to Paraguay by government agent Stonebridge (Forster), Hickel disobeys and goes there (and goes rogue). Once in Paraguay, he meets up with his contact, Cowboy (Drago) and loads up on weapons. Now protecting Teresa (Udenio) from the baddies, which include Klaus’ bodyguard Gephardt (Hues), Hickel must use all his wits to get justice for his daughter and make it back to the U.S. alive. Can he do it?

This is the best Peter Maris movie we’ve seen to date. We were a bit hesitant going in, as we weren’t all that crazy about his past work that we’d seen, but we’re glad we did. Diplomatic Immunity is like a better version of his Ministry of Vengeance (1989). Plus, look at the amazing cast he assembled for this one! It truly is The Expendables of early-90’s revenge movies with Bruce Boxleitner. Speaking of Boxleitner, we thought it was good casting putting him in the role of Cole. It could have been some meathead, but he’s actually a good actor. We noticed Matt McColm among the stunt players, they could have used him. But they went with a more sober and believable direction. My only question is, are Bruce Boxleitner and Barry Bostwick two different people? Can anyone confirm this? Have you ever seen them in the same place at the same time?

Backing up Cole Hickel - which is kind of an unnecessarily funny-sounding name - is a great cast, and we didn’t even mention Robert Miano and Ken Foree, who have small, but important parts. That’s the thing about all-star casts, talented actors don’t get enough time in the sun. For instance, Meg Foster deserved more. As did fan favorite Matthias Hues. But for a 90-minute running time, you have to concentrate on the plot and not get into diversions. Because the plot of 'Immunity is about as simple as it gets - guy wants revenge - Maris laudably keeps things on track, but such a flimsy plot just barely makes a 90-minute movie.

It seems this movie capitalized on the public’s interest for the concept of Diplomatic Immunity, because, for 1991, we presume people were just becoming aware of this term. This was still a relatively new thing in the minds of the public, so Maris was right there with a movie to exploit that interest. It does seem wildly unfair that Diplomatic Immunity could protect any old scumbag murderer who gets the opportunity  to say “I get to go home now scot-free, I plead Diplomatic Immunity, see ya.” Apparently you can be a murderer and get to invoke this privilege. So enter Cole Hickel and his rage that Klaus took his beloved daughter. So that’s pretty much the idea.

Maris should also be applauded for daring to put Billy Drago in a rare (and possibly his ONLY) good-guy role. Diplomatic Immunity is a solid, 80’s-style movie that’s worth seeing. Is it more than a one-time watch? Probably not, but it’s a worthwhile one. If you see it somewhere, pick it up.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Irresistible Force (1993)

Irresistible Force (1993)-* * *

Directed by: Kevin Hooks

Starring: Cynthia Rothrock, Stacy Keach, Christopher Neame, Michael Bacall, and Paul Winfield













Harris Stone (Keach) is a Police Detective who has put in 23 years on the force and is close to retirement. He’s always getting himself into dangerous situations, so after he reads that female partners are less likely to get into shooting incidents and aren’t risk-takers, he requests one from Commander Toole (Winfield) and he agrees. Even though she was one credit shy from graduating from the academy, Stone meets with Charlotte Heller (Rothrock) and they seem to hit it off. As it turns out, Heller was one of the only female Navy SEALS and is a bad-ass Martial Arts master. This unlikely team, described by one of their fellow officers as “she’s a hot dog and he’s way past his prime!”, get put to the ultimate test when baddie Barron (Neame) shuts down the newly-built mall and holds the people inside hostage - which just happen to include Governors, Senators, and other important lawmakers who were there for the ribbon cutting ceremony. Meanwhile, local punk kid Jesse Delvechio (Bacall) was kidnapped by Barron’s men, and on top of everything else, Stone and Heller have to find out why, and save the kid. Will this unorthodox duo succeed?

Irresistible Force was originally produced for CBS for a potential TV run. It’s truly a shame it never took off - Cynthia Rothrock could have become a household name. Plus it would have been cool to see what other adventures Stacy Keach and Rothrock get up to on a weekly basis. What a missed opportunity. But if you’re rolling your eyes thinking this is just a boring, watered-down TV slog, unroll them. This brief 77-minute excursion is very enjoyable and entertaining. There are a few downright awesome moments and it has snappy dialogue and a nice pace. Plus it has all the fun cliches we know and enjoy. From the first minute of the movie when Jesse is playing his Game Boy, it’s easy to like Irresistible Force.

The fact that this is a “DieHardInA” movie is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, because it’s Die Hard in a mall (just filling in the blank), it can join the proud 1990’s pantheon of DieHardInA movies that were such staples of the video stores of the day. Hotels (Crackerjack, 1994), water treatment plants (Lethal Tender, 1997) and so many other seemingly innocent locations were turned into areas of terror by baddies the world over, seemingly inspired by Hans Gruber. Here it just happens to be a mall. On the other hand, it seems a bit confining, especially for a pilot episode, or whatever this was. The parts before Heller is trapped in the mall were better and less claustrophobic. Again, it would have been nice to see other non-trapped-in-a-mall adventures the two of them could have gone on.

Plus, if it’s in a mall, that allows for Cynthia Rothrock to take advantage of the situation, pioneering “Pan-fighting” after confronting some baddies in a housewares store and beating them up with frying pans. Ideas like this go a long way, and the only possible complaint you could have about the movie is that, perhaps if it WASN’T a TV movie, and was allowed to be darker and more adult, it might appeal to die-hard (no pun intended) action fans more. But that’s kind of missing the point. Rothrock’s Martial Arts skill is as good as ever, and though there is a pretty annoying punk kid involved, he’s not that bad, especially compared to the pain of Esteban Powell. Both the leads are likable and seem to have good chemistry.

It could have - and should have - been the new Martial Law or Nash Bridges. Sadly, it was not to be, but if more TV shows were like this, the world would be a better place.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Street Knight (1993)

Street Knight (1993)-* * * 

Directed by: Albert Magnoli

Starring: Jeff Speakman, Christopher Neame, Marco Rodriguez, Jennifer Gatti, and Bernie Casey












Renowned Kenpo (not to be confused with Kickboxer (1989) bad guy "Tong Po") expert Jeff Speakman stars in this cliche-ridden urban actioner.

In L.A., The gangs The Latin Lords (Mexicans) and The Blades (Blacks) run the streets. Enter crazed ex-cop baddie Franklin (Neame) who is trying to incite a war between the two gangs. Unfortunately for them, Jake (Speakman) lives in their 'hood.

Jake was once a top cop on the beat until a hostage situation went sour. Now all he wants to do is fix cars in his garage, eat food from the local deli and mope around. However, his scars from the past will never heal (e.g. he has sad, painful memories of that fateful day). He tries to make peace with the local toughs because he falls in love with a local nurse named Rebecca (Gatti) and agrees to help her and her cousin Carlos who looks like a very young Adam Carolla. Speakman enlists his old friend Raymond (Casey) who is a forensic pathologist, to do some work "off the books".

Will Speakman single-handedly broker a peace between rival factions or die trying? Will he defeat Franklin? Will Speakman's mullet do all the work?....spoiler alert....yes.

Every stereotype you can think of about gang warfare and the streets is in this movie. The Mexican gangs actually say "Andale!" The only likable character dies, leaving the audience with too much Speakman and Franklin, who is a dead ringer for Kelsey Grammer. Rebecca looks like figure skater Nancy Kerrigan but doesn't share her acting prowess.


Carlos spends most of his time looking through a telescope at the stars and hiding out in an abandoned shack in the woods to avoid gang life. Speakman shows up at this shack and promises "No more running". In the next scene, they are both running for their lives from Franklin and his minions driving a black van.

Inexplicably, they both find a horse and then a van-horse chase ensues. A van has more horsepower than a horse, which has one power. They manage to elude capture.

After the chase, Jake is really teed off and utters "Now it's my turn". Whose turn was it before? Now, fired up with turnhavingness, Speakman finally does some cool stuff like slide under a closing garage door and hit a baddie with a wrench in the face. After some gunning and pummeling, he is too tired to think of a catchphrase, so he regurgitates the contemporary classic "Hasta la vista, Baby!" and everyone in the world groans in unison.

The movie would've been better if his name was Jake Street or Jake Knight...but it's not. Why the Latin Lords and the Blades would listen to some honky is not explained. The director Albert Magnoli also made the classics Purple Rain (1984) and American Anthem (1986) starring Mitch Gaylord.

This review "Is dedicated to the United Kenpo Family and for Gang truce everywhere!" cue the song from Todd Smallwood!

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett