Customer Reviews

Final Impact

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was pleased to see that Final Impact was released on DVD. Upon watching this the first time, I was pleasantly surprised with this film. I wasn't expecting much because I never heard of the title, but I was glad to see Michael Worth from "To Be The Best" playing the 2nd role. Lorenzo Lamas, who usually is a lousy actor, does one of his better performances in Final Impact as the lead. There are also lots of ring fights and most of the movie takes place in Vegas.

Lorenzo Lamas plays Nick Taylor, the formal light heavyweight champion, who trains Danny Davis (Michael Worth) to beat Jake Gerard, the fighter Nick lost to in the ring years earlier. Its not a deep story but there is a surprising twist I did not expect. There are a good deal of fights throughout the movie, most in the ring and one outside in Vegas at night. The choreography is pretty well done thanks to choreographer Eric Lee (who played in Ring of Fire 1 & 2). Gerard is a lousy actor, but keeps the villain role alive with great fights in the ring. The final fight in this movie is a good 5 minutes, but I didn't like the way it ended so suddenly. There is a really cool uppercut that is executed in the fight that is awesome.

If you liked To Be The Best or Deadly Bet, Final Impact is right around the same neighborhood. Final Impact is a lot better than most of those cheesy martial art films.

You've seen this movie before. Really...you have. Rocky. The Karate Kid. Same thing.

Lorenzo Lamas plays Nick Taylor, a former kickboxing champion. After losing a title fight, he figures he is all washed up. A few years pass and an up and coming talent named Danny (Michael Worth) looks for Nick's help. Danny wants a trainer to show him how to be the best fighter around.

Anyway, you can fill in the rest of the plot from there. Nick trains Danny. Danny becomes the next kickboxing champion. THE END. If it doesn't sound very exciting, that's because it isn't. This type of film has been done much, much better before. Just look at the two flicks I already mentioned.

Of all the no-name karate/kickboxing pictures produced during this era, few are as genuinely worth your while as "Final Impact". Of course, when I mean "you", I'm referring to fans of DTV action cinema who, like me, spend a lot of time trying to track down worthy little gems amidst the giant mountain of trash that accumulated during this time. If you're a cinematic snob or worship The Matrix, don't even bother with this one, which is kinda cheap but nevertheless rises against the tide of its medium and proves itself as one of the few good Lorenzo Lamas martial arts vehicles and a promising start to the film career of Michael Worth.

The story: when up-and-coming kickboxer Danny Davis (Worth, Acapulco H.E.A.T. - The Complete Series) approaches dejected former champion Nick Taylor (Lamas, Renegade), he's disappointed to find his hero burnt out and running a dingy fight bar, but Danny's fighting spirit has what it takes to rejuvenate the ageing champ, and he promises to train the boy for the world championships...though failing to mention his lasting vendetta against the current champ (Jeff Langton, Lionheart) and his desire to get back at him through Danny's talents.

Okay, the story wasn't what I was talking about when I said the flick was above-average. There's very little explanation why Danny wants to be the world champion and the animosity between Nick and his rival could've used a bit more elaboration. Luckily, the reduced storyline lets the talents of the otherwise so-so actors shine a bit: Lamas makes a great conflicted teacher (although someone older might've been better), Worth does real good as the never-say-die student, and they're both complimented Lorenzo's spiffy ex-wife Kathleen Kinmont (C.I.A. Code Name: Alexa), who seems kind of a throwaway hottie at first but later comes into the story effectively. Again, the acting's not worth raving about, but for this kind of movie, the roles are filled just fine.

Choreographer Eric Lee directs the kickboxing content of the film well: nine good fights, two of them very good, and featuring guys like Gary Daniels (Fist of the North Star), Ian Jacklin (Death Match) in some stellar encounters. More than anything, the matches showcase the budding skills of Michael Worth, who's definitely among the top five underrated film fighters of western cinema and gets to really strut his stuff here. Surprisingly, Lorenzo Lamas only has one fight throughout the movie, but is obviously in good shape and contributes to some fun training scenes. If the fights suffer from anything, however, it's a lack of camera movement: while the frozen shots are not debilitating, they nonetheless make the matches look a bit bland to folks who don't entirely value pure athleticism and awesome kicks.

Like the fights, the movie takes a while to work through a few technical issues, but once it's on its way, it becomes a trip worth experiencing. There is at least one genuinely surprising dramatic moment near the end of the film to make up for the silly opening credits and the fact that Lamas walks around for half of the movie shirtless and wearing a cowboy hat (come to think of it, that's not a bad thing - just silly on the wardrobe's part). Again, while not without its flaws, "Final Impact" is definitely worth an investment for folks looking for a decent kickboxing flick, and a must-have for Lamas and Worth fans.

this movie was around 6-8 yrs ago and i watched it a few times then in went off the shelves at the video shops about 4yrs ago until i came across it at amazon and brought it stragiht away and am very very pleaseed that i did because its 1 of my fav movies,this is a great company to deal with and i will be buying more in the future

This was a outstanding purchase. Movie was great and in perfect condition. Would definately do business again. 5 stars grade a+ across the boards. Thank You!