Jaguar Lives! (1979)

 

Jaguar Lives! (1979)- * * *

Directed by: Ernest Pintoff

Starring: Joe Lewis, Christopher Lee, Barbara Bach, Woody Strode, John Huston, Donald Pleasence, and Capucine

Jonathan Cross (Lewis) is The Jaguar. He's an international man of action who globe-trots all over the place to stop the baddies using his Karate-fighting ways. When Anna Thompson (Bach) sends him on his latest mission, Cross leaves Sensei (Strode) (That's all he's credited as), and travels to the following places: New York, Hong Kong, Madrid, Rome, and Macao. He also goes to El Habbab, Santa Fortuna, and Belmonte, which may be made up locations. Along the way, he encounters characters such as General Villanova (Pleasence), Zina Vanacore (Capucine), Ralph Richards (Huston), and, of course, the main baddie, Adam Caine (Lee). Most of the above have goons, and Jonathan Cross beats them up. But will he finally falter in the fatal face-off at the finale?


In 1979, Karate and Kung Fu were red hot. Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and also James Bond ruled the action universe. So it was only a matter of time until a film like Jaguar Lives! (Can't forget that exclamation point) made it to your local drive-in in '79. Joe Lewis has the emotionless deadpanity of Chuck Norris, the rough-and-tumble ways of a young Gary Busey, and the facial features and hair of Michael Dudikoff. We as the audience basically like him, but not because of any real effort on his part. At least he's not annoying like Sloane (1985). He doesn't have enough of a personality for that, which we mean in the nicest possible way, of course. He's a Martial Artist, and that's that. He acquits himself well in the action scenes, which are quite entertaining.



The whole thing has a Kill Or Be Killed/Kill And Kill Again vibe, with a few dashes of Mr. Deathman (1977) or a 70's telefilm thrown in for good measure. Sure, it's rated PG, but the filmmakers probably hoped to distract us with its dizzying array of location changes and cavalcade of star-power. When it all kicks off, we're just kind of thrown into the middle of the plot, or so it seems. Then there's a gas station fight that's reminiscent of The Instructor (1981). A bunch of yay-hoos inexplicably throw a bunch of Native American-based racial slurs at Woody Strode. Why they do this to Sensei, of all people, remains unknown.


Then we get some James Bond connections with Bach, Pleasence, Lee, and Joseph Wiseman. Pleasence is one of those "El Presidente"-style South American generals. The great John Huston plays a wheelchair-bound dude for not a lot of reason that we can glean, but so what? He was here. Same for fan favorite Christopher Lee. Hey, if he can be in wacky comedies starring opposite Eddie Deezen - such as Desperate Moves (1980) - then surely he can be here for this. Simon Andreu and Capucine round out the very impressive cast. Then Joe Lewis kicks some goons off some motorcycles. It's not bad. There's much worse stuff out there.


Yes, surprisingly, Jaguar Lives! seems to have gotten a lot of negative reviews out there, but don't listen to them. It's solid, it delivers the action, the star-studded cast, and a variety of colorful locations. That's more than many movies of this sort can boast. If you saw that awesome poster, or that killer VHS box art, wouldn't you want to rent it? We say give Jaguar Lives! your time.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

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