Avenging Force: Dudikoff vs. Nazis

Among ‘80s action films, Avenging Force is a rare creature, indeed – It’s a movie teaming up Michael Dudikoff and Steve James that isn’t an American Ninja movie, AND, even more oddly, it eschews the rightwing jingoistic “soldier for American” storyline that so many Reagan-era action movies embraced. Of course, it still endorses vigilantism and macho posturing with dollops of homoerotic subtext, but in a welcome change of pace, the heroes are battling an underground conservative conspiracy. Perhaps the strangest thing is that this one came out of Cannon Films, the studio responsible for the bulk of conservative ‘80s action, including Invasion USA and the Missing in Action movies. In an even odder twist on rightwing action themes, it is implied that the CIA are the bad guys!

Helming this one is Sam Firstenberg, the ‘80s action director responsible for the two best Sho Kosugi ninja outings and the first two American Ninja movies. Michael Dudikoff, putting his patented “wooden to wooden” acting range on display, is ex-CIA agent Matt Hunter, who retired to a quiet ranching life after his parents were murdered. Cannon vet Steve James is Larry Richards, an altruistic politician from New Orleans running for the Senate. On a routine “catching-up” visit, Hunter ends up in the middle of a botched attempt on his friend’s life at a Mardi Gras Parade, during which Richards’ young son is killed. It turns out that the underground extreme rightwing racist “Pentangle,” led by Glastenbury (John P. Ryan - It’s Alive, Class of 1999, in another great over-the-top performance) has set their sites on ensuring that Richards doesn’t make it to Washington.

Avenging Force kicks off with a great action set piece, where members of the Pentangle wear weird masks (there’s even a leather gimp outfit for good measure) and hunt a couple of guys Most Dangerous Game-style through one of Louisiana’s back bayous. Like most Cannon films, the plot merely exists to hang action scenes on, and this one stands out from much of their other fare in being more colorful and interesting. There’s a gory Mardi Gras shootout, an above-average car chase, an escape from a burning house, another bayou hunt in the pouring rain, a fight involving medieval weaponry, and more. It still has that trashy, slapped-together feel that every Cannon production has, but Avenging Force doesn’t quite suffer from the pacing problems that drag down some of their more famous films.

Steve James and John P. Ryan are always lots of fun to watch, and this time around is no exception. I’ve always wondered why James never got top-billing in any of the movies he was in. He’s certainly far ahead of Dudikoff in the charisma, entertainment and sheer energy department – watch American Ninja 2 for another prime example of this. Ryan gives a grimacing, overacting performance as the slimy racist demagogue. Whether he’s ranting and raving about how “Hitler was right,” or chortling as he shoots an associate in the gut and leaves him to bleed to death, he manages to dominate every time he’s on-screen.

This being a low-budget Cannon production, there are still many problems with the movie. The dialogue is just atrocious, and there are sloppy filmmaking gaffes and plot holes. The ending is also unresolved and anti-climactic. Perhaps they planned an Avenging Force 2, but the world was deprived when it got overshadowed by the latest Chuck Norris feature.

Is this movie worth your $2?
Avenging Force is an overlooked but highly entertaining low-budget action take on Most Dangerous Game plot elements, which have long since become cliché. Any bad action and Cannon buffs owe it to themselves to see this one.

Heroes of the east: Kungfu war of the roses

AKA: Challenge of the Ninja

One of the greatest teams in martial arts films has been the director and star of the classic martial arts film 36^th chamber of shoalin. Director Lau Kar Leung and Gordan Liu (two roles in Kill Bill) have teamed up for several of the most classic kung fu films of the shaw brothers era. Eight diagram pole fighter, executioners from shoalin, legendary weapons of china and one of their best team ups is Heroes of the east.

While this team had mistakenly taken on too much comedy in legendary weapons and the the 36^th chamber sequels here the comedy all in the first half actually works. Gordon Liu plays a wigged(one of the few movies where he askews the Skinhead look) martial artist whose father arranges a marriage to a beautiful Japanese woman. At first he’s against it but he concedes and soon discovers his wife is a well rounded Japanese martial artist.

The first problem this marriage has is that Liu’s new wife is a nationalist all about the superiority of Japan’s martial skills. One time after another her very sensitive husband stomps on her puny Japanese skills until she runs home to the waiting arms of a hunky ninja expert played by Yasuaki Kurata. Kurata by the way is best known to modern audiences for his small but important role going toe to toe with a much younger Jet Li in Fist of Legend.

So in strange attempt to save the marriage Liu sends his estranged wife a challenge for a duel claiming that if she can best him once in 10 challenges he will concede that Japanese martial arts are superior. Nothing says love like a 10 level challenge.

This letter is intercepted by our ninja expert and a whole group Japan’s finest experts are so offended that they travel to China to challenge Liu. Ok So as you would expect the Chinese guy takes them on one at a time and you can imagine this would not play in Japan any better than Rambo II would in Vietnam. There is a whole sub-genre of ‘Chinese martial arts are better than Japanese martial arts’ films. My favorite Kung Fu movie of all time is Duel to the Death a 1982 spin on the theme by Chinese ghost story director Ching siu Tung.

The fights are great but you really have to dig movie martial arts challenges because after the plot is established in the first hour the second is just non stop fights. They are good fights and the Ninja expert played Kurata almost steals the show with his dirty Ninja tricks. His crab style fighting is also really cool to watch. You dig it. What separates Heores from the east from other ‘Chinese martial arts are better than Japanese martial arts’ films is the PC ending. Liu gives this speech that is supposed restore the honor of the defeated Japanese in what looks like a lame attempt at soothing the egos of Japan’s movie goers. I’m sure that makes them feel better after one Chinese dude ina wig beats all their countries experts.

Is it worth your two dollars:

Fans of old school martial arts movies should consider this crucial viewing. Certainly fans of the Kill Bill movies would benefit from seeing Gordon Liu and finding out why QT gave him not one but two roles. YES!