Shotgun (1989)

Shotgun (1989)- * * *1\2


Directed by: Addison Randall

Starring: Stuart Chapin, Rif Hutton, Jastereo Coviare, and Katie Caple

Set amongst the sleazy milieu of Hollywood’s hookers, strippers, and porno shops (you know the shops are sleazy because the store clerk wears a leather vest and no shirt), two heroic police officers are there to clean up the streets. Ian “Shotgun” Jones (Chapin), and his partner Max Billings (Hutton) just want to do their jobs, but, of course, bureaucratic red tape is always standing in their way. When a Zipperface-style leather-clad maniac goes on the loose killing the local prostitutes, Jones and Billings snap into action. Of course, Shotgun’s sister Tanya (Caple) is one of said prostitutes and ends up dying at the hands of the so-called “Basher”. This leads to turmoil that ultimately winds up with Shotgun having to turn in his badge and gun. 

He becomes a bounty hunter, AKA a skip tracer, while Billings ends up getting promoted to Sergeant. It all comes to a head in Mexico, where Shotgun meets up with a Machine Gun Joe-style character who looks exactly like Paul Rutherford from Frankie Goes To Hollywood. They make a tank together and blow up the local Mexicans. But have we heard the last of SHOTGUN?

Shotgun. Sometimes simplicity says it all, really. This PM outing from the golden video store year of 1989 is a ton of fast-paced fun. It’s silly, it’s funny, it’s absolutely ridiculous – and it’s a must-see! With Miami Vice going off the air in January of 1990, the stage was set for the replacement for Crockett and Tubbs in the hearts of viewers – Shotgun and Billings, of course. 

Of all the COTEs (Cops On The Edge) we’ve seen to date, Shotgun Jones must rank as one of the COTE’iest. What today would be seen as a serious anger management problem that requires rehab and therapy, in Shotgun’s day it meant only one thing: results. The man punches and/or shoots anyone he darn well pleases. He has long red hair, a red beard, and comes off as Eric Stoltz with rage issues. He has a great voice and is unafraid of confrontational behavior. He wears a cowboy hat and duster coat when the mood strikes him. He’s our new hero. 

Interestingly, Stuart Chapin is the brother of Robert Chapin, of Comeuppance favorite Ring of Steel (1994) fame. What a family! Sadly, however, Stuart Chapin passed away last year after a criminally short acting career. But he did far more than many more prolific actors have done: he left us with Shotgun, a fantastically entertaining piece of work and a great showcase for his talents. He will be missed. 

The main baddie, the Zipperface guy, should have been played by Chard Hayward. Maybe this is before PM could afford him. But as everyone searches for him, they all call him “The Kinko”. Presumably this doesn’t refer to his ability with a copying machine. When Billings is promoted, he keeps a stuffed Kermit the Frog doll in a prominent position in his office. It’s probably why he wanted an office in the first place. It might be the best piece of office décor since the Garfield phone appeared in all those Godfrey Ho movies.

Despite (or maybe because of?) low budget obstacles, director Addison Randall – a man whose name we’ve seen so many times in the credits we feel like we know him personally – created a real gem here. 

All the other PM behind-the-scenes credit names we’ve seen countless times before are here too, including Jastereo Coviare, who contributes an absolutely fantastic title song. He appears briefly as one of Shotgun’s quarry as well. Coviare and PM mainstay John Gonzalez did the score, which consists mainly of wailin’/shreddin’ guitars and be sure to keep your ears open for the immortal lyrics: "The shotgun of Jones!"

The movie speeds by at 84 minutes. There’s literally no reason not to own – or at least see – Shotgun. It will put a smile on your face for sure. Anyone with a sense of fun should step into the world of Ian “Shotgun” Jones! 

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Commander 3 (1986)

Commander 3 (1986)- * *1\2

AKA: War Without End



Directed by: Teddy Page


Starring: Robert Marius, Jim Gaines, Mike Monty and Nick Nicholson












It’s 1982 in Cambodia. Captain Ted Wilson (Marius), and his fellow soldier Lt. Garvey (Gaines), among others, are test-flying a technologically-advanced airplane named the Wild Weasel. Their platoon (or perhaps their mission?) is named Lickin’ Chicken. We repeat: Lickin’ Chicken. When things go wrong and the plane goes down, Wilson and Garvey manage to escape into the jungle – but is it the KGB who caused the plane crash? Or could it be someone else? The two soldiers find locals named Nooin and Nam, and they head off on a perilous mission to find answers. Of course, this involves almost non-stop machine-gun shooting and exploding huts. What will be the ultimate fate of Lickin’ Chicken?



Director Teddy Page takes us on yet another jungle excursion with all the shooting, blow-ups, and guard-tower falls you’d expect to see. While the movie does have a handful of cool moments sprinkled throughout, including a chain of well-timed consecutive exploding huts, it’s all a bit too mediocre for our liking. The movie isn’t bad at all, and fans of jungle-set exploding hutters who can’t get enough of that sort of thing could certainly check it out on Amazon Prime. It’s competently made, but it’s just not our favorite Teddy Page – which is, of course, Phantom Soldiers (1989).



Maybe it’s unfair to compare everything Page does to that gem, because he’s done a lot of other fine work as well, but this time he had a lot of people backing him up that are mainstays of the Philippines-shot action world – stars Marius and Gaines featured almost exclusively in these types of movies. Fan favorite Nick Nicholson looks great this time around as the shady, bearded KGB agent. Mike Monty, as Dr. Meehan, wears a rumpled sky-blue suit, which is a plus, but on the negative side we don’t think it was his voice doing the dubbing. Of course, when the movie goes from the jungle action to the military offices, there is not only a picture of Reagan on the wall (as normal), but also a framed Reagan pic on the desk. The rotary-dial red phone featured in the movie must be used to call him directly.



Now let’s talk about the Cambodian elephant in the room. While the movie is known as War Without End, it’s also called Commander 3. As readers of the site know, the original Commander (1988) is one of our favorites, and perhaps the best “explosion” movie of all time. How could a Commander 3 possibly measure up? Well, sadly, Craig Alan is nowhere in sight. Commander was an Italian production and Commander 3 isn’t. While we have nothing against Robert Marius, it appears Commander 3 is an in-name-only sequel, and the two movies have little, if anything, to do with each other. This supposed sequel doesn’t approach the majesty of the original, so if you haven’t seen either of them, make sure you see the first one first. 

Commander 3 is not the worst exploding hutter we've seen, nor is it the best. It does feature a cool ending where Marius is brandishing a hand-held missile launcher in one hand and a machine gun in the other and is blowing up everything in sight. For those that can't get enough of the jungle genre, we'd say check it out, but for everyone else, perhaps not. 

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty