The Stanger (1995)

 

The Stranger (1995)- * *1\2

Directed by: Fritz Kiersch 

Starring: Kathy Long, Eric Pierpoint, Danny Trejo, Ginger Lynn Allen, Nils Allen Stewart, and Andrew Divoff

In one of those dusty ol' western towns, a mysterious STRANGER rides in on her Harley. Known only as The Stranger (Long), she is looking for Angel (Divoff), the diabolical head of the local biker gang. Because Sheriff Gordon Cole (Pierpoint) is afraid of the bikers, they've slowly but surely proliferated in the small town. After noting that The Stranger looks exactly like a certain fiancee that was killed by the bikers, she then proceeds to get her own brand of personal revenge. If time allows, she'll also help some of the locals. But will the biker baddies - including Jonesy (Stewart) and Hawk (Trejo) - feel the wrath of some truly STRANGER things?


Kathy Long, from Rage and Honor (1992) and Under the Gun (1995), finally gets her own starring vehicle here, with The Stranger. People have said that it's a low-budget High Plains Drifter (1973) knockoff, but the Spaghetti Western-styled soundtrack would indicate that it's also influenced by the European Westerns that came decades before. It's also quite close in tone to Hell Riders (1984), or the type of thing that AIP was releasing at the time. You almost expect Rocky Patterson or Joe Estevez to pop up at any moment.


As for the cast that is here, Kathy Long is an appealing leading lady and this is clearly her moment in the sun. The Stranger certainly has no problem beating up the baddies. There actually should have been more of that. Ginger Lynn Allen was also a nice addition to the ensemble, and you know Nils Allen Stewart's character is evil because he has a threatening rattail. A young Danny Trejo rounds out the more familiar B-Movie names we all know and love.


The problem with the film is that the plot is so simple and minimalistic, it's hard to stretch that over 90 minutes or so. Without the addition of further plot twists or developments, or more action scenes, the energy really starts to flag around the halfway mark. Director Fritz Kiersch, known for his initial pair of 80's classics, Children of the Corn (1984) and Tuff Turf (1985), at first seems to be having fun with this small-scale film and its tough female lead. But perhaps he began to lose interest or something, because the second half lacks dynamism.


While it's certainly better than something like Lone Hero (2002), The Stranger doesn't seem to warrant its current status of "rare and sought-after movie". It's an easy fix: there should have been more concentration on Kathy Long beating up/killing people, perhaps in more locations than this one small Western town. What you do get of that is pretty great, But the film itself needed a shot in the arm after a certain point.


In the end, The Stranger is a worthwhile one-time watch, but we think that's about it.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Cyber-Tracker 2 (1995)

Cyber-Tracker 2 (1995)- * * *

Directed by: Richard Pepin

Starring: Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Anthony De Longis, Stacie Foster, Tony Burton, Nils Allen Stewart, Steve Burton, Peggy McIntaggart, Jim Maniaci, and John Kassir

Fan favorite Don “The Dragon” Wilson is back cybertracking once again for the explosive sequel which is classic PM and classic 90’s. This time around, Eric Phillips (Don), a Secret Service agent in an L.A. of the near future, has his hands full when a super-evil baddie named Morgan (De Longis) creates “Kill-Trackers” in his underground lair (judging by other PM movies such as Executive Target, PM really loves baddies with underground lairs). Morgan has twisted cyber-tracker technology for his own evil ends. He even goes so far as to make Kill-Trackers that are doppelgangers of Eric and his wife Connie (Foster), who proceed to rampage around the city killing everyone in sight, including plenty of cops. The husband-and-wife duo is now on the run and fighting for their lives, so they team up with the loopy Tripwire (Kassir), the solid Swain (Tony Burton) and awesome-dude Jared (Steve Burton, probably no relation to Tony). There’s a good-guy ‘Tracker named #9 (Maniaci) who looks nothing like Robocop. Will our heroes stop the chaos and destruction? Will Eric get home in time to finish his leftover Pizza Hut pizza? Find out today!

Cyber-Tracker 2 is fast-paced fun and a near-constant stream of shooting, blow-ups, fights, and car chases. It’s PM doing what PM does best. There are even multiple iterations of their trademark “car flipping over another flaming car and blowing up in the middle of the street” stunt which we all love and enjoy. And the movie wouldn’t be complete without at least one exploding helicopter. It all starts with a great warehouse-set counterfeit-money-deal-gone-wrong which not only includes copious amounts of gun-blasting and explosions, but – because it’s the future – LASERS as well. You know you’re in for a treat when you see the lasers come out.

You also know you’re in for something special when you see noted meathead Nils Allen Stewart and his hairstyle – completely bald except for a braided rattail. He then proceeds to get into a fight with Don and we’re on our way to total entertainment. Don is as likable as ever, and De Longis as Morgan puts in a wonderfully scene-chewing performance as the over-the-top bad guy. Don even has some rather deep conversations with his wife, who, perhaps presciently, doesn’t trust cyber technology. That causes conflict because not only does #9 save Don’s life, their holographic maid (is that what she is?) from the first movie, Agnes (McIntaggart) returns, who makes their lives easier and better. Don even tutors a young girl in Martial Arts, who proceeds to strap on a VR helmet and kick the heads off of cyber-ninjas (or, to be precise, virtual ninjas). If this doesn’t scream 90’s, we don’t know what does.

Naturally, this reminded us of Comeuppance Classic The Protector (1999), which also had a robotic female helper, in that case named Gertrude, and also featured VR ninjas. But Cyber-Tracker 2 has at least two things The Protector doesn’t – exploding Mr. Potato heads (made of plastic explosive), complete with the yellow glasses, and an evil Kill-Tracker made in Morgan’s lab that strongly resembles This Old House star Bob Vila. This fearsome creature can only be described as “CyberVila”. Unfortunately, CyberVila doesn’t get as much screen time as he so richly deserved. It’s never too late for Cyber-Tracker 3, however. We think Lou Diamond Phillips could be involved.

When you get right down to it, movies like Cyber-Tracker 2 are what this site is all about – classic 90’s DTV with explosions galore and a VR-infused ‘gotta love the 90’s’ vibe. Long live Don “The Dragon” Wilson, long live real, non-CGI explosions, and long live PM! We remain your humble servants, and thank you for all the enjoyment you’ve provided over the years.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out write-ups from our buddies: DTVC and The Video Vacuum!

Mercenary (1996)

Mercenary (1996)- * * *

Directed by: Avi Nesher

Starring: Olivier Gruner, Ed Lauter, John Ritter, Nils Allen Stewart, Martin Kove, Lara Harris, and Robert Culp 












Jonas Ambler (Ritter) is a multi-millionaire businessman with his face on the cover of Forbes magazine. When his beloved wife Joanna (Harris, of The Dogfighters fame) is killed in a terrorist attack, Ambler wants revenge. After discovering the baddies involved are headed by arch-baddie Phoenix (Kove), the corporate warrior yearns to be a real warrior when he reaches out to Hawk (Gruner) and McClean (Culp), expert mercenaries, in order to capture and kill Phoenix. At first they reject his offer of four million dollars, but they eventually relent and agree to take on the job. The only problem is, while Hawk and his crew are highly-trained badasses, Ambler is not, so they go on an extensive training regimen. All this in the presence of his head of security, Cochran (Lauter). Soon enough, Hawk and the gang are in the Middle East and fighting the bad guys. But Hawk is emotionless (or is he?) and Ambler is a bit of a goofball. But they’re going to have to learn to get along if they want to survive the most dangerous mission of their lives. Will they be successful?

Mercenary is a lot better than we thought it was going to be, having based our assumptions on having seen the second one first. Sequels are often not as good as the originals, and here is a classic case of that. There’s plenty of quality action, and it’s all very professionally done. If the movie had starred Van Damme instead of Gruner, this could have gone to the theater. That’s not to say that Gruner isn’t perfectly cast, however - as the emotionless warrior, with maybe a bit of humanity lurking underneath, Gruner is ideal as Hawk. Plus his hair seems to get higher in every scene. Halfway through the movie, he looks like Kid from Kid n’ Play.

It all kicks off with a bang in classic 90’s style, and the whole outing is perfect for video stores of that time. It even has Jack Tripper himself, John Ritter, getting in on the action. How often are you going to see that? Sure, he provides the comic relief for Hawk, but he also gets emotional and angry at times. And he’s never annoying like the characters in the sequel. Ritter gunning down Islamic terrorists. Who’d’ve thunk it? Plus, we liked the fact that the mercenaries were the good guys.

Cementing the fact that this is classic 90’s action, we have the time-honored barfight and the Prerequisite Torture of the heroes. There’s even some surprise Killfighting. Not to be confused with Punchfighting, at one point Hawk and Ambler find themselves in a dark, underground arena where men take to a pit and try to kill each other, but this is not Punchfighting. There is minimal, if any, punching, and the crowd surrounding them is not clutching cash in their hands. Plus they had knives and were dueling to the death. Leave it to us to define the subtle differences between Punchfighting and Killfighting. But it was all part of the rich array of action’s glory days.

While the movie was from ‘96, the plot - offering up millions of dollars to find a terrorist - recalls the hunt for bin Laden, and Robert Culp strongly resembles Mitt Romney. Coincidence? Well, yes. But to corral a killer cast like this is truly a once in a lifetime assemblage (look out for genre mainstay Nils Allen Stewart and an early appearance from Jaime Pressly). Director Nesher, known for Timebomb (1991) and The Taxman (1999), among others, puts in his version of a Men of War (1994)-style plot, and we say it’s successful. The only real problem with the movie is that it’s too long. It didn’t need to be 102 minutes, and if it was shorter we might be looking at an all-time classic. As it stands, Mercenary is a very good all-around action movie that is more than watchable and likable.

Featuring a cover of La Bamba by the band Popdefect, watching Mercenary will take you back to one of the last great years for DTV action. Just make sure you avoid the sequel.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

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