Mortal Challenge (1996)

 Mortal Challenge (1996) - * *

AKA: Death Game 

Directed by: Randy Cheveldave

Starring: Timothy Bottoms, David McCallum, Vince Murdocco, Nicolas Hill, Jody Thompson, and Evan Lurie

In the far-off future of 2024, Los Angeles is split in two: New L.A., where most of the people fight for survival after a big earthquake, and an island where the rich can afford to live. Naturally, a crazed madman named Malius (McCallum) is the mastermind of a series of underground Punchfighting matches that audiences just kind of sit around and watch. One of the fighters is named Alex (Murdocco).

When a detective named Jack (Bottoms) starts investigating a girl's disappearance, he and some other people, including Hawk (Hill) and Tori (Thompson) are spirited away to a large compound where a cyborg of some sort named Grepp (Lurie) is stalking them. After a lot of running around in the dark, and some fighting, the final confrontation ensues. But who will win the DEATH GAME and be victorious in the MORTAL CHALLENGE?


As Bruce Springsteen once famously sang, "This gun's for hire, even if we're just Punchfighting in the dark". I'm reasonably sure those were the lyrics. If they weren't, they certainly should've been, especially if the subject at hand was Mortal Challenge. Now, 'Challenge doesn't have as much Punchfighting as you might think there would be. Yes, there is some, but it's more of an American Cyborg: Steel Warrior-type affair where people are on the run trying to avoid a killer robot on the loose. It's less The Terminator (1984), and more Shocking Dark (1989). In this case, very dark. Lighting-wise, of course.


Around about this time in the 90's, Roger Corman and his companies became interested in Punchfighting, or fighting of some sort, so they made the same movie over and over again: Future Kick (1991), Bloodfist 2050 (2005), Blackbelt (1992), New Crime City (1994), Alien Terminator (1995), etc., etc. Most of them are set in the future and have minimal lighting so you can't see much. They usually have only a few cheap sets and the audio isn't so hot. We know we're in the world of very low budget films, but that doesn't mean the script, as such, has to suffer and the audience has to lose brain cells. Unfortunately, that's pretty much the situation with Mortal Challenge.



The solid cast is utterly wasted in this tripe. Vince Murdocco is under-used, and it's amazing they were able to get David McCallum to be in this. Evan Lurie seems in his element as Grepp, as he's played robotic or somehow cybernetic characters before, such as in T-Force (1994) or Hologram Man (1995). Timothy Bottoms, who looks so much like former president George W. Bush that he has portrayed him more than once in other movies and shows, is the main hero here. He's no Don The Dragon, if we're going to compare this to the very similar Future Kick, but we do get to see some instances of George Bush-Fu. So, that was appreciated. Interestingly, crooner Michael Buble is credited with a bit part. Could that possibly be true?


Now, much like the movie itself, that leaves the best bit for last: the title song by Mike Dolgy and Curtis Lee. The fact that the filmmakers left this song for the end credits is a shame and a waste. It should have played during the movie itself. The lyrics and vocals are wonderfully ridiculous, and the music is very reminiscent of the main theme to Mortal Kombat (1995) - as if the name "Mortal Challenge" wasn't an obvious enough reminder that they were trying to cash in on the popularity of that classic game. (One of the other characters is named Freeze - not Subzero, mind you - and the "Centurion" named Rogius is MK on a budget).


Despite the solid cast and maybe a few decent moments, Mortal Challenge is so dumb and stupid, it seemingly doesn't even try to engage the viewer. It's hard to imagine anyone with the intelligence level over that of a turnip actually ENJOYING Mortal Challenge. Were the filmmakers trying to insult the intelligence of the audience? Probably not, but it feels that way. So we cannot in good conscience recommend Mortal Challenge. Just listen to the song on YouTube.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

T-Force (1994)

T-Force (1994)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Richard Pepin

Starring: Jack Scalia, Deron McBee, Evan Lurie, Jennifer MacDonald, Martin E. Brooks, Bobby Johnston, Erin Gray, and Vernon Wells












At some point in the future, a scientist named Dr. Gant (Brooks) creates “Cybernauts”, robots with very human characteristics used for law enforcement. Adam (Lurie), Zeus (Malibu, or McBee, or perhaps Malibu McBee), Mandragora (MacDonald) and Cain (Johnston) are bulletproof, never miss when they’re shooting their guns, and have super-strength, among other superlative characteristics. 

However, when they’re told the program that created them is going to be shut down, their “self-preservation” instinct kicks in. Zeus, Mandragora and Adam then proceed to go on a robot rampage. But Cain separates himself from the murderous bunch. He ends up teaming up with Lt. Jack Floyd (Scalia), a man who initially hates robots but eventually warms to Cain when Mayor Pendleton (Gray) ensures they have to work together as partners. Can anyone – or anything – stop these super-strong, deadly and emotionless killbots? Find out today!

T-Force is an excellent example of what PM does best. It delivers the goods – it provides tons of viewing enjoyment, and totally fulfills what this sort of movie should be. Of course, the “T” in T-Force is short for Terminal, going along with what can only be described as the “Terminal” craze of movie titlings in the 90’s. Terminal Force would have been a cool title, but shortening it to T-Force is even cooler. It starts with an amazing intro where the Cybernauts are posing in front of explosions, and we’re treated to many more blow-ups where that came from.

Casting Malibu and Evan Lurie as robots was a stroke of genius, and these robo-meatheads (or MeatBots if you prefer), of course, have long hair. Why long, lion-like manes (and in the case of Cain, a propensity for wearing tight jeans) was part of the intentional design of the Cybernauts remains unexplained. 

But in addition to the plentiful shooting, blow-ups and fights, there are actually ideas and concepts embedded herein that make you think. No, seriously. The screenwriters must have been reading their Socrates, because there are some Crito-like meditations on the nature of law and society. Not to mention humanity. So, there are more real explosions – and ideas – in the final third of T-Force than in the past 20 years of Hollywood pap combined.

Playing the archetypal American man that the audience can identify with (he even has an all-American car, a 1977 Cadillac he names Ol’ Betsy) Jack Scalia is at his absolute best here. Endowing Jack Floyd with a lot of energy, not to mention groany one-liners, he provides nice counterpoint to the robotic action. This blows away his performance in Dark Breed (1996). I think we can safely say this is Classic Scalia. But giving him a run for his money is the guy who plays Alderman Peter (we think his name is Sean Moran). He gives everyone a run for their money, including two meatheads exchanging quasi-Shakespearan-style dialogue. Malibu and Lurie together is almost too much meathead for one movie, but at least T-Force reconstitutes the meat into something a little different this time.

So in classic 90’s fashion we have tons of mindless killings and blow-ups, dialogue that’s silly when it’s not intellectual, exploding helicopters (and everything else), sax on the soundtrack, and of course the 90’s-future-movie staple, VR. It’s hard to ask for more, and the confluence of classic elements puts this ahead of the pack. PM delivers yet again, with a winner that is indeed T-Forceful.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out write-ups from our buddies, Exploding Helicopter and The Unknown Movies!

Operation Cobra (1997)

Operation Cobra (1997)- * * *

AKA: Inferno

Directed by: Fred Olen Ray

Starring: Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Evan Lurie, Rick Hill, Deepti Bhatnagar and Tane McClure



"His Strike Is Deadly..."








 Kyle Connors (The Dragon) is an Interpol agent who is somewhat on the edge. During a “night at the museum” bust where he and his partner are planning to take down some baddies, Connors’ partner is killed thanks to the unadulterated evil of Davaad (Lurie). In a quest for vengeance, Connors travels to India because that’s where he believes Davaad and his evil empire are located. 

While Davaad is your classic monosyllabic meathead, he somehow controls a squadron of Indian doctors and scientists who are working on a code to decrypt anything on any computer, ever. Meanwhile, Connors has his hands full not just fighting goons, but with two mysterious women: Callista Sinclair (McClure) who is supposedly some  kind of British special agent, and Shalimar (Bhatnagar), an Indian beauty as stunning as the Soul Train act from whence she was named. But who can he trust? With twists and turns aplenty, it’s going to take everything Connors has got to tame this Cobra...

Operation Cobra is an amusing Don The Dragon romp that doesn’t take itself too seriously or go on too long. It provides light thrills and is pretty enjoyable, with all the classic cliches we’ve come to sink into like a warm bath. 

While it does involve  “The Disc” (something that characters in these B movies always seem to be searching for), and features many dumb moments that act as glue that holds the story together between action scenes (which luckily are plentiful), the fact that the movie is set in India provides interesting and different atmosphere. Director Fred Olen Ray’s long career is spotty at best, but this proves to be the best action effort we’ve seen from him to date.

This is a good role for Don, as it puts him in a James Bond-like adventurer role. Perhaps a lot of the aforementioned dumbness is a by-product of having Evan Lurie be the main bad guy. That’s not a slam on Lurie, we definitely love his work (if we didn’t, how do you explain the fact that we’ve seen more of his movies than perhaps anyone on the planet?) but come on. The guy’s head simply oozes meat maybe more than anyone else who appeared in 90’s DTV’s on a regular basis. That said, his jumping ability is pretty impressive in this particular outing. Perhaps his being a solid meathead gives him better equilibrium than other humans. 

As if the fight between Evan and Don wasn’t enough for you in Ring of Fire II (1993), here they go for a second round. So many DTV personalities fight each other numerous times, but there are combinations that never happened. How about a fight between Don The Dragon and Lorenzo Lamas? Or maybe Evan Lurie and Matthias Hues? Or we could get really crazy and dream up Harrison Muller Jr. Vs. Ron Marchini. The combinations are truly endless...

Besides trying to find “The Disc” and characters being Ex-Marines, another staple that we love to see is the club scene. We both love the 70’s-80’s-90’s discotheque and the one here is a real winner, thanks to some outstanding background dancers. Watch out for it.

In the final analysis, Operation Cobra might be one of the better Don outings out there. It balances the dumb with the slightly-less-dumb in a nice way and we don’t have too many complaints.


Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

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

Ring Of Fire II: Blood and Steel (1993)

Ring Of Fire II: Blood and Steel (1993)- * * *

Directed by: Richard W. Muchkin

Starring: Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Maria Ford, Sy Richardson, Ian Jacklin, Vince Murdocco, Shari Shattuck,  Evan Lurie, and Eric Lee













Doctor Johnny Woo (The Dragon) returns. This time around, he’s engaged to Julie (Ford) and looking forward to a quiet life together. That is, until Julie is kidnapped and stolen away to an underground society called...The Underground. It’s its own separate city, with its own rules, laws and gangs. No one from the surface world ever goes down there, and guns are not allowed. But Johnny ventures down there anyway and battles away for his wife-to-be. Along the way he meets Ernest (Richardson), an embittered vet, who ends up helping him. It turns out the main baddies in The Underground are Kalin (Jacklin) and his lackey Predator (Lurie). They stage Punchfighting matches for fun and they want Johnny to face off against them. Backing up Johnny is his crew from the previous film, which includes the return of comic relief Kwong (Lee). Will Johnny and his compatriots rescue Julie and make it back to the surface world? Find out today!

Ring of Fire II certainly doesn’t skimp on the action: there are constant fights, blow-ups, car chases, broken glass, and even some Punchfighting. It keeps up like this with a good pace until right before the climax, when it starts to drag, and the repetition of it all becomes brain-numbing. But in the set and costume design, there is a lot of creativity which sets it apart. Sure, the basic plot is a melange of The Warriors (1979), Escape From New York (1981) and The Running Man (1987), but weird sets and the bizarre costumes of gangs like The Avengers, Shadow Warriors, Nightrats and personal favorites The Garbage Gang keep things nicely different. The lighting can also be odd, but a lot of the movie is too dark. So, visually not only is it different from the previous Ring of Fire installment, but it’s different from most other movies of this kind.

Cleverly, the first image of the movie is a “Ring” - but it’s Julie’s engagement ring. Sadly Maria Ford does almost nothing in this movie. The cast is very impressive - Eric Lee is up to his classic wacky antics, Evan Lurie shows his time-honored Meatheadyness, and Ian Jacklin wears a metal cummerbund. As in Firepower (1993), Gerald Okamura is here but you can barely see him. At least he’s credited this time. Art Camacho is also here as a generic gang member. The great Sy Richardson gives the movie much-needed weight, and lest we forget Vince Murdocco and Michael Delano. Both in front of and behind the camera, the cast and crew give it that PM style we all know and love.

Happily, this movie is not at all a retread of the first, which in lesser hands it easily could have been, and we give them credit for that. There’s also no courting or love story, because that was taken care of in the first film. Unfortunately, there is some filler, and the Punchfighting subplot is pointless and goes nowhere. The baddies just beat up on nameless, unseeable goons and there is no rhyme or reason to it. There’s no escalation in fight prowess. It’s seemingly there just to fill time. We love a good Punchfighter, but that’s not really what this movie is and it feels like an afterthought. Adding to The Warriors feel, there’s a radio DJ who periodically pops up to give updates. But those of you who have seen Riot (1997) and Fists of Blood (1988) will see there is also a (no pun intended) underground influence, as well as a more mainstream influence to the proceedings.

Finally, it should be noted that Don is shirtless for most of the movie’s running time. He, of course, loses his shirt in a fight when he first enters the underground, and he must go through his entire odyssey bare-chested. It’s worth noting because it’s the longest single instance of unnecessary shirtlessness we’ve seen to date. There’s NO reason for it, especially considering how long it lasts.

Ring of Fire II may have its flaws, but it’s basically an enjoyable movie. It’s not a title you need to rush out right now and buy, but if you see it somewhere, pick it up.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 

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

Martial Law II: Undercover (1992)

Martial Law II: Undercover (1992)-* * *1\2

Directed by: Kurt Anderson

Starring: Cynthia Rothrock, Jeff Wincott, Paul Johansson, Evan Lurie, Nicolas Hill, Sherrie Rose, Max Thayer, and Billy Drago











Cops Sean “Martial Law” Thompson (Wincott) and Billie Blake (Rothrock) are back in this sequel which is a quantum leap ahead of its lackluster predecessor.

When one of their fellow officers ends up dead, the trail leads to a popular nightclub run by the smarmy Spencer Hamilton (Johansson). His muscle includes meathead Tanner (Lurie) and other sidekick Bree (Rose). To get closer to the truth, Billie goes undercover as a bartender. Naturally, all manner of illegal doings are emanating from the club, not least of which is high-stakes, underground Punchfighting. But why is Captain Krantz (Drago) so touchy about this subject? It’s now up to Sean and Billie to take out the trash.

As stated earlier, this installment in the Martial Law trilogy is far superior to Martial Law one. The colors are brighter, it has a more professional sheen to it, and not only do the main stars Wincott and Rothrock really shine, it has a solid supporting cast featuring Billy Drago, Evan Lurie, Sherrie Rose, Max Thayer and Nicholas Hill in a small role.

The decision to replace Chad McQueen with Jeff Wincott was an inspired choice. Wincott is a lot more charming, and has Martial Arts skill to spare, and we just love his energetic style. As in the follow-up to this film, Mission of Justice (1992), Wincott gets to do some stick-fighting along with his traditional vigorous style. Seeing as he resembles - in this film at least - Matthew McConaughey, rather than being a laid-back “surfer dude” who’s just "livin’ life, and lovin' life", he’s breaking the arms and knee joints of baddies.

Evan Lurie, Slash Gallagher himself, lumbers into view in an extra-meatheady performance. He has strange speech patterns in this movie. He sounds like Stallone on half speed. But his clothing choices are pretty...well...choice. It’s odd seeing Billy Drago as a police captain, as he looks like an emaciated gargoyle, but you’ll see why he was cast in the role. Hopefully these descriptions don’t come off as too crass, we love these actors and we’ve seen them so many times, they’re like our friends.

But the main reason to watch Martial Law 2 are its quality fight scenes. It has the fights you want from the stars you like. That could almost be a tagline. Wincott and Rothrock get off some great moves, and what’s cool about their scenes, is that you can see they are really doing the moves - as you all know, the way to see if a actor/Martial Artist is genuine is to see how many moves they do without a cut. For example, in some of the best Shaw Brothers movies, there are anywhere from 8-12 or more moves with no cut and it’s extremely impressive. Wincott and Rothrock can also achieve this level of prowess, and it’s a lot of fun to watch.

And while there is a lack of Wincott in the middle of the film, and it would have been nice to see a much longer fight scene between Rothrock and Sherrie Rose, this is a classic early-90’s “abandoned warehouse” actioner with a lot to offer.

NOTE: Fascinatingly, there is an introduction on the U.S. VHS tape with Cynthia Rothrock advertising some of her movies. That’s a really cool feature on the tape.

Also check out DTVC's review! 

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Tiger Claws II (1996)

Tiger Claws II (1996)-* *

Directed by: J. Stephen Maunder

Starring: Jalal Merhi, Cynthia Rothrock, Bolo Yeung, Eric Lee, Han Soon Ong, and Evan Lurie













When evil arms dealer Victor (Lurie) joins forces with the sinister Chong (Bolo), presumably to start some kind of criminal empire, and people are found dead all over San Francisco, cops Linda (Rothrock) and Tarek (Merhi) want to get to the bottom of it. Also they are in a romantic relationship. Things get really complicated when Dai Lo Fu (Ong), using his Chinatown restaurant as cover, is staging underground martial arts contests - with a supernatural twist. Now, to get to the truth, Linda and Tarek must compete. Will any of this make any kind of sense?

Clearly the world was asking - nay - BEGGING for one more Tiger Claws movie. And there’s even a third one after this! This movie is a hodgepodge of half-baked ideas that make no sense. It feels like the filmmakers were just kind of flying by the seats of their respective pants and kind of making stuff up as they went along. Probably not a good idea, especially if your choice for the male hero is the unintelligble, mumbling, personality-less, unlikable Jalal Merhi. He looks like a Balki-era Bronson Pinchot crossed with Night of the Wilding-era Erik Estrada. One of the biggest plot flaws is why Cynthia Rothrock is in love with him. And the scene in which he must use his awesome martial arts prowess to “save” Cynthia Rothrock is just preposterous. It should have been the other way around.

We like Evan Lurie, especially after American Kickboxer 2 (1993), and he was a good choice for one of the villains. He is charismatic and perhaps a member of the Trenchcoat Mafia. How his illegal gun shipment has to do with a “secret passage” and a mystical prisoner (Lee) cannot be explained. Han Soo Ong, who we’ve seen in Last to Surrender (1999) and King of the Kickboxers (1990), we believe is Korean, so why is he the crime boss here?

The presumed Punchfighting sequences are just cash-ins for video games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, and are just silly and nonsensical. Additionally, the film is filled with funny continuity errors and has that Canadian feel. And while Merhi isn’t quite as sucky as he was in Talons of the Eagle (1992) (which was written by director Maunder, as was TC 2000 (1993), as well as the other Tiger Claws movies and other Merhi vehicles - he must have really believed in the “Tiger Claws” concept, as well as Jalal Merhi, so his judgment is certainly in question), he’s no prince here either. Even Rothrock, who we love, can’t save this one.

Also check out our buddy DTVC's review! 

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

American Kickboxer 2 (1993)

American Kickboxer 2 (1993)-* * *

Directed by: Jenö Hodi

Starring: Dale "Apollo" Cook, Kathy Shower and Evan Lurie















When Lillian's (Shower) 6-year old daughter Susie is kidnapped in broad daylight by a guy in a helicopter who looks like Jesse Ventura, she calls the only people on the planet who can help: Mike Clark (Cook), a hot-headed, unlikable L.A. cop and David (Lurie), a kickfighting instructor with an eye for the ladies.



Henceforth, it's "Meatheads Unite!" as Clark and David turn the city upside down looking for Susie. Will they survive the underground punchfighting matches they have to fight in, the many baddies that come after them, and who are the mysterious men "Mr. Po" and "Sam Driftie"? and most importantly will they get along long enough to complete the mission? There is also a loose subplot about who is the father of Susie. What is this? Maury?

"AK2" is not related to AK1 in any way. It is much, much sillier. Despite their unexplained bodyguards, Lillian and her new husband Howard (David Graf) don't notice a helicopter landing in their backyard until it is too late. Maybe they were both distracted by Howard's stylish shorts.

All the men in AK2 look completely ridiculous. Even the butler has a funny ponytail. Take our main heroes for example. When we are first introduced to Clark, he is wearing a pink shirt and tight stonewashed jeans even as he chases a random homie. 90% of the movie Clark is wearing a blue tanktop and ill-fitting blue sweatpants.



Despite one character enthusiastically claiming "he has great hair!" David's long mane is hilarious and he wears pants with a very high belt. He is shirtless so much, even Clark angrily remarks: "Put your shirt back on, pretty boy!" (Also as part of their rivalry, Clark insults David by saying "You have been drinking too much carrot juice!")

The opening credits misspell "Apollo" as "Appollo" - you don't often see a misspelling in movie credits. Because of his acting ability, meatheadyness, and the fact that he is always chewing on a tooth pick, Cook is downright incoherent. On the Vidmark VHS box it lists him as "five-time world champion" but doesn't say for what. The side of the box lists the genre of this movie as "Action Kickboxing".



Cook and Lurie's constant fighting is downright brain-numbing. In one sequence they are searching for a guy with a shark tattoo wearing a vest and no shirt. Of course they are.

More movie highlights include: A woman answering the phone at a bookstore by saying: "Bookstore?", when nudity appears on screen, a screeching, wailing saxophone is heard, A guy bringing a bottle of cockroaches to a big brawl just to make a baddie look down, and the best warehouse guard ever.

It ends with a freeze frame and the catchy tune "Fight For Power".

For an incredibly goofy, silly, unintentionally zany good time, don't miss American Kickboxer 2!


Comeuppance Review by Ty & Brett

Hologram Man (1995)

Hologram Man (1995)-* * *

Directed By: Richard Pepin

Starring: Joe Lara, Evan Lurie, Tommy "Tiny" Lister, and Michael Nouri








Hologram Man is another entertaining movie from the PM Group. They released the most explosion-packed movies to video stores in the 90s. They are now defunct, but at the time they were the kings. Hologram Man is like the straight to video cross between the classics Virtuosity (1995) and Demolition Man (1993).



The plot is: Slash Gallagher (Evan Lurie) is baddest criminal around. When he kills the Governor, he gets sent to "Holographic Stasis", which means his body is discarded for a holographic one. But during his parole hearing five years later, he escapes and only one cop can bring him down: Kurt Decoda (Joe Lara).

This movie has non-stop explosions. Every car, person and building is blown up. They spared no expense on the pyrotechnics this time around. The body count is also very high, with hundreds getting killed. It makes for a fun evening. The acting is also first-rate. Evan Lurie and Joe Lara put in exciting performances. Michael Nouri, on the other hand, looks like he's reading cue cards. Overall, this is a very cool flick that's worth seeing.



Comeuppance Review by: Ty