H-Bomb (1971)

 H-Bomb (1971)- * * *

Directed by: P. Chalong

Starring: Chris Mitchum and Olivia Hussey

From the back of the Cinema Group Home Video VHS box: "When a power-mad Cambodian General and the Bangkok underworld team up to steal an American nuclear missile, the action never stops! Exploding bombs, spectacular shows of martial arts and death defying chases make this an adventure film to remember. Chris Mitchum and Olivia Hussey star in H-BOMB - a martial arts extravaganza that crosses political borders. With "No-holds barred" action, the film whirls through a tale of suspense and intrigue that'll leave you gasping for breath!"


And, perhaps less flatteringly, this from the Golden Movie Retriever: "Mitchum stars as a CIA agent who is sent to Bangkok to retrieve two stolen nuclear warheads from a terrorist. It just so happens that his ex-girlfriend's father is the terrorist he must contend with in this stupid movie."


While we definitely would NOT describe this movie as "stupid", we clearly needed help when it came to figuring out what the plot actually was. But, really, what exists of the plot is secondary to the super-70's vibe: gigantic cars, wah-wah funk on the soundtrack, shirts with big collars and louder patterns, bellbottoms and long hair are clearly the order of the day. The technology on display features a proto-Skype video phone and some video chess.


Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that we, as the audience, get to hear Mitchum's or Hussey's actual voices; it's all dubbed in that typical obnoxious style of that time where it sounds like there was one male voice talking to himself, loudly, and same with the female voice (s). On the action front, P. Chalong rarely skimps - you get motorcycle and car chases/stunts, shooting, blow-ups, an exploding helicopter, and the general "Third World" disregard for health and safety that came with enacting these stunts.


Another added bonus we get with the films of P. Chalong and Arizal, among others, is that there is a good amount of local color and scenery that is enjoyable to behold. We have to wonder what Olivia Hussey thought of all this - the love story between her character and Mitchum's isn't exactly Romeo and Juliet. None of what we see makes a huge amount of sense, but that's not exactly a problem. Movies today are very homogenous, and H-Bomb and its ilk are an antidote to that. For that reason, the audience today for films such as this may be small, but if you're reading this, that means we are among the people out there looking for something different. And H-Bomb is certainly different.


It features a killer end-credits song that seemingly is aiming to put the viewer in mind of the James Bond themes of the day. Was this P. Chalong's answer to Bond? Only you can decide, but H-Bomb is definitely worth a watch - especially for fans that don't mind if their action movies feature a healthy amount of nonsensicality and are made on a shoestring in a far-away land. And isn't that all of us, really?

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Undeclared War (1990)

Undeclared War (1990)- * * *

Directed by: Ringo Lam

Starring: Vernon Wells. Olivia Hussey, Danny Lee, Peter Liapis, David Hedison, Tommy Wong, and Rosamund Kwan

An evil man named Hannibal (Wells) and his sidekick Rebecca Eche (Hussey) are the leaders of the so-called "World Liberation Army", which is just a front for a terrorist organization. Leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake, they travel from Poland to Hong Kong and attempt to set up shop there. But local cops Inspector Bong (Lee) and Inspector L.T. Tang (Wong) are trying to stop them - as is American CIA-Agent-With-An-Attitude Gary Redner (Liapis). Despite the typical inter-agency and inter-country squabbles, the men band together to stop Hannibal and Rebecca. Adding to their stress are the interventions of the US Ambassador (Hedison) and newswoman Ann Chang (Kwan). Will our unlikely heroes put an end to the UNDECLARED WAR?


1-2-3-4, I UNdeclare a thumb war! Or, at least Ringo Lam does in this intrigue-actioner with a truly international cast. Finally, we get to see the Australian Vernon G. Wells team up with the Argentinian-born but British Olivia Hussey causing mayhem in Poland with a Chinese director! Only during the video store era could you get a country-spanning mashup like that. Wells's nefarious baddie role of Hannibal is said to be a "master of disguise", and it is true he can put on a gray-haired wig and look like Leslie Nielsen at the drop of a hat. Truly a must-have for any aspiring terrorist.

All that being said, fans of Hong Kong action and the style of Ringo Lam will find plenty to feast on with Undeclared War. It has all his classic directorial trademarks, and the shooting, fighting, and stuntwork can't be beat. Whenever anyone gets shot, they're enveloped in a thick red mist, as if they had a pack of Crayola crayons in their pocket (only the red ones, of course - for some reason), and the bullet slammed right into it.


Peter Liapis as Redner was a real revelation. Apparently, we had last seen him in Ghost Warrior (1984), but he must not have made much of an impression. Well, he more than makes up for that, as he gets all the best lines in the film and adds a lot of energy to not just his own role but to the movie overall.


David Hedison, a mainstay of TV throughout his career and throughout all of our lives is also present and accounted for here, and only the year before he had appeared in Licence to Kill (1989). Going from James Bond to Ringo Lam in one easy step. What a life.


In America, Undeclared War came out on VHS on the Imperial label. Unfortunately, the transfer is not the best, with blurry/washed out colors and muddy audio. The guitar and sax on the soundtrack don't come across as clear as they should. Thankfully, some of the dialogue is subtitled but there is an array of thick accents throughout the film. Not a bad thing, of course, but, to date the VHS is the only way to see Undeclared War in this country. A cleaned-up digital release is badly needed and would surely raise its standing in the eyes of viewers.


Really the only flaw here is that it's 104 minutes and doesn't really need to be. Other than that, Undeclared War is more of an Unseen War because it remains a hidden gem, at least in the U.S. Here's hoping a company like MVD will give it a Blu-ray treatment sometime soon. In the meantime, if you can find it, we think you'll be very entertained by Undeclared War.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty