The Mad Bunch (1989)

The Mad Bunch (1989)- * * *

Directed by: Mats Helge

Starring: David Carradine, A.R. Hellquist, Frederick Offrein, Helen Arnesen, Jonas Carlzen, Tommy Ellgren, Harley Melin, Mats Hudden, and Timothy Earle

Professor Foxwood (Carradine) is a man who wears glasses and is a “peace researcher”, whatever that is. This Professional Peacenik gets a dose of the violent world around him when he is kidnapped by some baddies. His wife Melinda (Arnesen) isn’t sure of the best way to rescue her beloved husband, but with both the CIA and KGB involved, things get complicated fast. So she settles on the natural way to solve this problem – she hires THE MAD BUNCH to retrieve him. Who are The Mad Bunch, you ask? They appear to be a non-professional bunch of “heroes for hire” who, instead of playing cards or going bowling together, form an unofficial group of mercenaries. They’re going to have their hands full with this mission, as nothing is what it appears to be, especially with the mysterious Jason Cartland (Offrein) involved. Will they bring Foxwood back alive? Or will something get in their way? Find out today…

Not to be confused with The Wild Pair (1987) or The Bad Pack (1997), The Mad Bunch is another peek into the wacky world of our favorite Swedish writer/director Mats Helge. It all kicks off with a killer opening, as the words SWEDISH ACTION FILM FORCE appear on the screen as our Mad Bunch load their guns and do other things to show they are ready for (Swedish) action! One of the Bunch has a jacket that says Attention This Isn’t The Exercise written from the shoulder to the elbow of said jacket. What can you say, on top of being mad, they’ve got style as well. 

Mats (Carlzen), Moose (Ellgren), Tom (Melin), Billy (Hudden), and, of course, Eddie (Hellquist) are THE MAD BUNCH. It was a pleasure to see A.R. Hellquist again, as we are fans of his Kurt Russell-esque performance in Helge’s Animal Protector (1989). Frederick Offrein, who seems to be in every Helge movie, is here as well. We never fail to mention that he looks exactly like Kenny Rogers. That’s probably because every time we see him, no matter what movie or what role, he looks exactly like Kenny Rogers. He’s a smoother, classier Kenny this time around, which shows his range. To see him is to love him.

As for David Carradine, he’s not really in it that much. Our guess is that he went to Sweden to film Animal Protector in ’89 and stayed on for this glorified cameo because he was already there. It was the golden year of 1989, so why not get the most out of Carradine? In the audio department, we have to say that this movie is really a treat for the ears. Not only do we get catchy tunes by Helge mainstay Dough Anderzon – including some classic 80’s sax – but we also get a mélange of accents by pretty much all the characters. In addition, the sound effects are great. Whoever did them – everything from jumping on the sand of a beach to a neck snap – they were clearly done with gusto. Kudos to whoever masterminded these sounds.

A movie highlight comes when The Mad Bunch are training on a beach, and a young boy who looks to be about eleven years old comes to join the fray. It’s scenes like this that set the movie apart from its competitors (along with every other stylistic choice by Helge). That’s why it’s especially surprising that this movie, along with most of the rest of Helge’s output, never received a VHS release in America back in the video store days. It’s a real shame, as I believe U.S. cult film fans would have eaten it up. Well, at least we can all enjoy his work today, and that’s what really matters. 

While it might not exactly scale the majestic heights of The Ninja Mission (1984) or Russian Terminator (1989), The Mad Bunch is pure Helge and is well worth seeking out.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 

Las Vegas Warrior (2002)

Las Vegas Warrior (2002)- *

Directed by: Natasha Baron

Starring: Suk Woo Nam, Laurie Hanley, Jason Simpson, Nic Amoroso, and Earl Wadden

Suk (Suk Woo Nam as himself?) was not named after this movie. Rather, he is the best fighter on the underground Punchfighting scene in “Vegas”. Whenever the corrupt bosses who run the fights need a win, they call in Suk. A reporter for a TV station named SVS (are we sure it’s not the CBC?) named Chase Somete – and because the audio quality of this movie is so bad, it sounds like everyone is calling her Jason X – brings along her cameraman, the lovable Andre (Simpson) and the prissy and annoying soundman Jimmy Olsen (presumably no relation to the Daily Planet reporter) (Wadden), and off the three of them go to initiate their investigative reportage about Suk. However, the three get more than they bargained for as they go deeper and deeper into the shady world of Punchfighting. With the help of a local fish salesman named Gill (get it?) (Amoroso), will Chase and her compadres get to the truth about Suk and the Las Vegas underground fight scene?

Las Vegas Warrior is a dreary outing that has about as much fun and excitement as an overcast Canadian winter. Just because a movie has the words “Las” and/or “Vegas” in the title, it does not necessarily mean said movie was shot there. It could be Canadian, for instance. To be fair, this also goes by the name Fightclub Warrior, although that title has its own problems. But why not call it “New Brunswick Warrior” or something like that and stay true to your Canadian roots?

Anyway, this movie makes the similarly-themed The Circuit (2002) look like a masterpiece. In addition to the aforementioned poor sound quality, we also have equally dingy, video camera-esque picture quality. The whole thing is extremely low-rent and the rock-bottom budget is evident in every scene. Not that the latter is in itself a bad thing, but director Baron seemingly didn’t know how to use what she had to her advantage.

For example, most of the characters (except for the jovial Andre) are whiny. This includes our heroes Chase and Suk. For no reason whatsoever, there are these two-second flashes in between some random scenes. Maybe they thought they would liven things up or make it seem hip and cool. Irritating the already-tired eyes of the viewers is not cool, people. These unnecessary flashes were also used in The Circuit. Coincidence? Well, probably. But it’s not a good sign of confidence in the strength of your movie.


Plotwise, there’s no big, final villain. No one to build up to. No Matthias Hues, Ralf Moeller, or Wolf Larson for Suk to fight. Just…nobody. The soundtrack to all this is almost as whiny as the characters themselves. Early 2000’s-style crud-rock by bands called Dog Eat Dogma, Universal Freak, and Les Respectables pollute our ears the entire time. To be fair yet again, the other music on the soundtrack is credited to a Ferocious LeFonque. This may be a character on RuPaul’s Drag Race, but we’re too busy watching Las Vegas Warrior to know for sure.

Another problem is that this movie needed a name. ANY name. In our review for Expert Weapon, we lamented the dearth of Joe Estevez in that film. If we may quote ourselves, “When your movie NEEDS MORE JOE ESTEVEZ, you have a problem.” To update that for today’s proceedings, we would say forget more Joe Estevez, when your movie needs any Joe Estevez, you’ve got a problem. Hell, get any Estevez. Get Phil Estevez. Get anybody! Just…help!

In the end, the low budget of Las Vegas Warrior could have been transcended with a better script, more exciting and diverse fight scenes, and less amateurish technical qualities. Unfortunately, none of that happens, and the result is flat and dull.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty