Dragon Hunt (1990)

Dragon Hunt (1990)- * * *

Directed by: Charlie Wiener

Starring: Martin McNamara, Michael McNamara, and B.Bob

Seemingly continuing on right after the end of Twin Dragon Encounter (1986), Dragon Hunt sees the malevolent Jake (B. Bob) and his merry band of thugs, The People’s Private Army (perhaps an oxymoron there?) pursuing their obsession with The Twin Dragons (Michael “Mic” McNamara and Martin McNamara). Angered at the twins’ forcing him to now have a metal hand, Jake is more off the deep end than ever before. He recruits mercenaries and soldiers of fortune from far and wide and offers them 200,000 Canadian dollars if they can kill the twins. This Game becomes Most Dangerous when the twins are indeed kidnapped and caged, but then set free in the wilderness so they can be hunted by everyone from ninjas to overalls-wearing good-ole-boys. Of course, using their awesome Martial Arts and survival skills, the twins proceed to turn the tables on their pursuers and the hunters become the DRAGON HUNT-ed, eh?

The Macs are back! Finally! The McNamaras upped their game for this sequel to the jewel that is Twin Dragon Encounter. The cast is bigger (and “better trained” according to Jake), more diverse, and with bigger action setpieces such as machine-gun shootouts, blow-ups and even an attempted helicopter explosion. Consistent with this expansion, the movie is also even more disjointed and insane than its predecessor, with nutty narration by B. Bob as Jake, including much singing. He does a rousing rendition of “The Teddy Bears Picnic” that really adds a lot to the soundtrack. 

Speaking of the soundtrack, what would a sequel to Twin Dragon Encounter be without more catchy, rockin’ tunes by Billy Butt? Not only does he contribute a title song (with lyrics that reference happenings in the plot; we love when movies have those) but two new songs, “Survivor” and “Makes a Man Cry”. The song “Faces” from the first movie returns, but we think it’s an all-new re-recording.

The whole thing is wonderfully silly and you can’t help but enjoy it. It even gets AIP-esque at times, and while the movie was released in 1990, it has a copyright date of 1989 and surely has the ’89 spirit we’re constantly talking about. They really did a lot with their low budget and we respect that. The first credit we see after the last scene is, and we quote, “This Film Was In No Way Assisted by Telefilm Canada Or the Ontario Film Development Corporation”. So not only did they assert their true independence with the making of this movie, they went out of their way to give the finger to the powers that be! You don’t see that anymore, and it should be applauded and treasured.

However, the downside to that is that this is the lesser-seen of the two classic McNamara movies. It got no U.S. distribution on VHS because Vidmark passed. We’re really not sure why, seeing as they saw fit to release the first one, but maybe this was just too out there for them. Or maybe new management or something stupid like that. But it did come out on Cineplex Odeon Video in Canada, and a few French and German territories, but that’s about it (except for rare television screenings, but we’re talking about physical releases).

In many ways an improvement upon its predecessor, at the very least it’s just as good and worth seeing. 

Reasonable people may differ on which is the better McMovie, but one thing is certain: all the charm remains intact in this sequel, and it’s best to just see them both.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 

Twin Dragon Encounter (1986)

Twin Dragon Encounter (1986)-* * *1\2

Directed by: Paul Dunlop

Starring: Michael McNamara, Martin McNamara, and B.Bob

Now here’s a gem! Michael and Martin McNamara here play...Michael and Martin McNamara, two martial arts instructors on the mean streets of Canada. Tired of having to break up brawls in the park where middle-aged white men threaten to harm dogs if they’re not left alone, the two identical twins leave the big city for a week’s vacation on Twin Island, their own property in rural Pointe Au Baril, Canada. Once there, the men and their girlfriends have a grand old time swimming, boating, and avoiding bears by sleeping in a treehouse. We even get to see the twins’ prankster side. But there is a gang of “weekend warriors” trying to spoil their fun. A group called “The People’s Private Army”, led by the evil Jake (B.Bob, who else) is constantly terrorizing the couples. Eventually, the baddies kidnap the girls and the Twin Dragons must use every tool at their disposal and a fleet of vehicles hidden under leaves and twigs to rescue them. Will they be successful?

Yes, this is one of THOSE movies. You’ve heard of non-acting, now get prepared for non-directing as well. Sure, this is one notch above a home movie, but they got it released on Vidmark, and it presumably got distributed all over the world. You see, it’s not about budget or experienced actors and technicians, it’s about heart and soul. The McNamaras, and the project they built for themselves here, has that DIY spirit and they really achieved something here.

It should be noted that there is an on-screen crawl a la Star Wars to let us know we’re in for an epic experience (there’s also a brief post-movie crawl as well), and in it, among other claims, it is said that the McNamaras, and I quote, “know the meaning of life”. Far from being an exaggeration, and a weird one at that, the answer is clearly Billy Butt, the musician behind the oft-repeated tunes in this movie, “The Right to Fight” and “Faces”. These rockin’ and catchy songs, not to mention the artist’s name, must have some connection to the meaning of life.

The twins resemble Frank Zappa and have thick Canadian accents. They wear Karate outfits as daily wear, and there are many shots of their martial arts studio in Ontario, as well as their vans, emblazoned with the name, address and phone number of said studio.  Their fighting style is not bad at all, but most of the fight scenes have bizarre slow motion and wacky sound effects. Just check out the roadside diner fight, it’s really...one of a kind. 

The movie is 79 minutes long, and that includes 9 minutes of recap of what they felt were the best scenes, as well as some additional credits. That includes a credit letting us know the true independence of this movie. Kids could look up to the McNamaras, and surely in Canada, they do. The Vidmark box makes all kinds of hyperbolic claims about the classic status of this movie, and they seem to have pasted the heads of the two brothers on other people’s bodies.  But will this movie ever make it to DVD?

For a hilarious great time, check out martial arts Canada-style and Encounter this winner tonight!

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty