Dead Aim (1987)

Dead Aim (1987)-* * *

AKA: Mace

Directed by: William Vanderkloot

Starring: Ed Marinaro, Corbin Bernsen, Harry Goz, William Sanderson, Sandi Brannon, Darrell Larson, Lynn Whitfield, Rick Washburn, and Isaac Hayes











Detective Malcolm “Mace” Douglas (Marinaro) is a cop who plays by his own rules and has a bad attitude. His partner Cain (Larson) is the opposite: a clean-cut, by the book kind of guy. While working the vice squad, they see the seamier side of life on the Atlanta streets: drugs, prostitutes, and street crimes of all types. When the strippers at the Fool’s Paradise club start dying of supposed heroin overdoses, Mace investigates and finds that there’s a conspiracy that goes somewhere...oh yeah...all the way to the top! The FBI and the KGB are involved, with connections to a shadowy figure hiding behind his “diplomatic immunity” (Goz) and his partner Flexnor (Washburn). Will Mace mace his way through this maze?

Dead Aim is an entertaining cop drama/thriller with Ed Marinaro fitting the role of the Cop On The Edge nicely. One of the things about this movie that is so enjoyable are all the classic cop cliches: There’s the prerequisite BYC (the Black Yelling Chief for those who don’t read the site regularly), he yells that Mace has “the highest mortality rate in Metro!”, and naturally, thanks to Mace’s rogue ways, later in the film he says the classic “give me your gun and badge!” There are other cliches as well, but thankfully they’re all done well, and Dead Aim as a whole is not bad thanks to some good acting, decent ideas and a few nice directorial touches.

There’s an attempt at some realism, and the plot that delves into the seamier side of life is reminiscent of Stripped To Kill (1987) and the Wings Hauser vehicle Vice Squad (1982), among others, as it was a popular subject at the time. You gotta love that red lighting and neon atmosphere. The fact that there’s a stripper named Misty (Sandi Brannon) should tell you all you need to know: we can all nostalgically sigh about when girls were named “Misty”...it truly was a different time.

And while Ed Marinaro wouldn’t wow us again until The Protector (1999), let’s not forget about his co-stars here: Corbin Bernsen of all people is on board right before his success with L.A. Law happened. Isaac Hayes plays Jamal, a crime lord with an unidentifiable accent and some cool threads. For no explained reason, he’s protected by an army of Asians at all times. Besides the aforementioned Washburn and Goz, there’s also William Sanderson as the lab tech, and William Windom is here too. So the cast does add some extra texture to this tale.

So for more of the quality end of the sleaze spectrum (it’s really not all that sleazy), see Dead Aim, as it remains a cliche-ridden good time. Keep in mind that’s not an insult. Vestron released it on VHS back in the good old days. If you can find it cheap, check it out.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Last Man Standing (1987)

Last Man Standing (1987)-* * *

AKA: Circle Man

Directed by: Damian Lee

Starring: Vernon Wells, Franco Columbu, Sonja Belliveau, Michael Copeman, Peter Dempster, Real Andrews, Kim Coates, and William Sanderson









Roo Marcus (Wells) is a down-and-out guy with a troubled past who was recently released from a mental institution, where he suffered through inhumane conditions and shock therapy. Going back to the only thing he really knows, he begins Punchfighting in brutal, bare-knuckle “circle fights” run by Napoleon (Copeman). He tries once again to leave the Punchfighting life behind, working at a gym run by his buddy Casper (Sanderson). He even develops a relationship with local tomboy Charlie (Sonja Belliveau). But due to circumstances beyond his control, he gets sucked back into Punchfighting, having to contend with musclebound maniac Cannon (Dempster), and quick, charismatic, Muhammad Ali-like Razor (Andrews). Will Roo ever find the peace in life he seeks?

Last Man Standing (not to be confused with the Wincott movie - or any other movie - with the same name) was a pleasant surprise. While it contains no shortage of bare-knuckle Punchfighting, if you took out all, or most, of the circle fights, it could stand on its own as a serious and even tender drama. That’s surely the sign of a quality Punchfighter. 

Vernon Wells gives a wonderfully sensitive and nuanced performance as Roo. You really care about him. We were only familiar with his work in Nam Angels (1989), American Eagle (1989) and of course Commando (1985). We didn’t know he could actually ACT. While he was excellent in the role, we also thought Richard Norton could have played Roo. Balancing out the introspective Roo was his friend Batty, played by Franco Columbu. He gives a crazy, unhinged performance and he really lives up to his character’s name.

We were a little wary going in to this movie, as we haven’t had great luck with Damian Lee movies in the past. But we’re glad we went forward, as this, his first movie as director, is his best we’ve seen to date. Lee wrote and produced Busted Up (1986) and Thunderground (1989) but did not direct them. Last Man Standing has a similar vibe and will remind you of those. While Lee would return to Punchfighting later in his career with Fatal Combat (1997) (with Wincott, funnily enough), and make movies that range from funny (Abraxas, 1990) to just plain awful (Agent Red, 2000), if you’re not familiar with his work, here would be a great place to start (and possibly end).

The circle fights, and the crowds that surround them, will remind you of the video for the Scorpions’ “Rock You Like A Hurricane”. But it predates UFC’s “The Octagon” by many years, and as far as cage fighting movies go, this is probably rivaled only by...well...Cage (1989). And possibly Cage 2 (1994). But beyond the cage, it has other fighting innovations we’d never seen before, such as when two burly meatheads oil each other up (with actual black oil), tie a rope to each other’s arms, and get into a rickety rowboat in a lake and then have at it. You can’t make this stuff up. Or maybe you can. But how did they?

William Sanderson is always great, Damian Lee appears as the pre-Bumfights Bumfighter Sully, and Kim Coates has a cameo, but Real Andrews is keepin’ it Real as Razor. While we’d seen him before in the aforementioned Busted Up, as well as Red Scorpion 2 (1994), and the Billy Blanks vehicles Expect No Mercy (1995) and Balance of Power (1996), here he gives a noteworthy performance, and you’ll love his rapping abilities.

Last Man Standing as a whole, like Wells’ performance, is human and street-level. To be brutally honest, the movie does feel somewhat low-rent, but to put a positive spin on that, we could just say it’s gritty. If you’re a fan of the Punchfighting genre, definitely check this one out.

Also check out a review by our buddy, Cool Target!

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett