4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
By far, the funniest movie I've seen in my life, November 29, 2007
This review is from: Impulse (DVD)
Words cannot describe just how (unintentionally) humorous this movie is. It gets better with each showing.
See Harold Sakata, James Bond's 'Odd Job', chased to the death through a car wash!
See the incredible cinematography, where nighttime shots are clear as day (because they're shot during the day!)
See Shatner outsmarted by a little girl!
Don't take it too seriously and you'll have a blast. Best experienced with some pizza and beer.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Shatner at his worst, July 10, 2007
This review is from: Impulse (DVD)
The early seventies were not kind to William Shatner. Typecast as Captain Kirk and briefly homeless after his wife divorced him and got everything, Shatner has admitted that he took any role offered him. This certainly explains Impulse, a horrible thriller that is nevertheless a must-see for bad movie fans.
Filmed in Florida on a very low budget, Shatner stars as Matt Stone, a gigolo/con man who was forced to kill his mother's abusive boyfriend in self-defense at an early age. Matt wears the loudest, tackiest, ugliest clothes imaginable and spends his days swooning lonely, loaded widows. He's also a killer who is fond of sucking on his pinky at emotional moments. Matt soon meets Ann Moy, an attractive widow who has her hands full with her rebellious daughter Tina. Matt and Ann fall for each other and Tina hates Matt already, but when she finds out that Matt's a killer, the film turns into a battle of wits between Matt and Tina. Guess who wins?
Shatner's not the only familiar face embarrassing himself here. Veteran character actress Ruth Roman plays Julia, a rich widow (and Ann's best friend) who crosses paths with Matt. Harold Sakata (Oddjob from Goldfinger) pops up as Matt's partner in crime/boss/pimp/we aren't really sure, who is chased by Matt through a car wash in the film's funniest sequence.
But it's Shatner who steals the show. With his overacting in full force and bolstered by amateur directing and a laughable story, Impulse is a must-see for fans of bad cinema.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
William Shatner Plus William Grefe Equals A Suave And Psychotic Mess In Plaid, May 12, 2010
This review is from: Impulse (DVD)
William Grefe is known for cheap and ridiculous action-horror movies (e.g. "Death Curse of Tartu") while William Shatner is known for being, well, Captain Kirk. It was produced by Socrates Ballis, who is probably best known for his acting on "MacGyver." This post-"Star Trek" psychological thriller stars Shatner at his hammiest as Matt Stone, a suave con man, who jumps from woman to woman, killing them when he's finished extracting all the money he can from them. The film opens in 1945 in black and white with a young Matt killing his mother's assailant with a saber before the ridiculously cheesy title card is even shown.
The film jumps to 1974 with Shatner enjoying a belly dancer, much to the annoyance of his soon-to-be-late flame ("Nobody's 'just friends' with a belly dancer!") Shatner starts the film chewing the scenery, and it only goes downhill from there. The dialogue the actors were given didn't give them a lot to work with, I grant you. I was especially amused by the exchange Shatner has with his then-wife Marcy Lafferty as a hotel clerk-trollop: "Your buzzer's ringing....You better believe it is." I gave the film two stars, one of which is for Shatner's extensive polyester wardrobe. I have never seen leisure suits this gaudy anywhere (not even on Herb Tarlek,) and the striped tank top with red pants combination clearly must have been from a distant galaxy.
Before long Stone is trying to get money from a nutty old woman, Julia Marstow (played by Ruth Roman, who was best known for having been on the "Andrea Doria" when it sank,) and her attractive younger friend Ann Moy (Jennifer Bishop.) Unfortunately for Stone, Moy comes with a horrible daughter, Tina (Kim Nicholas) who goes to talk to her father's grave daily and distrusts Stone. I honestly couldn't decide which character was more unlikable: Stone or Tina. Of course Stone is mixed up with some unsavory criminals and is chronically indebted, hence his need for swindling. The only one we meet is a very strange Asian man, "Karate Pete" (Harold "Oddjob" Sakata) who wants in on the current scam. Stone doesn't want to share, so he arranges to meet him at a car wash where Pete shows up in a Winnebago emblazoned with a huge sign that says "Karate Pete" on the side for some reason. Nothing like maintaining a low profile when you are a vicious criminal. Unfortunately for Pete, Stone arranges a surprise hanging in what would be one of the most impossible to pull off subplots in B-movie history. Pete has a knife handy and cuts himself down, which leads to a long and silly fight with Stone. That, in turn, leads to the second star in my rating for one of the most ludicrous chase scenes in film history. Stone gets in his car and chases Pete through an operating car wash before running him over with his newly waxed car. Now I'm no expert, but I'm fairly certain that a man on foot can get through a car wash a lot faster than a car can, but I guess then we wouldn't get to see Stone run over Pete. Twice. (Once in reverse.)
Unfortunately for Stone, junior sleuth Tina has been tailing him by riding unnoticed in the back seat. When he finds out he goes nuts, though Tina never contacts the police. Nobody believes Tina's story anyway because of her predisposition to jealousy, but her story is borne out when Stone duels with Julia using guns and daggers, crashes a funeral, tries to drown Ann in an aquarium (!) and is finally gored to death by a saber by none other than his arch-nemesis, Tina. Oh, the irony.
The film is just jaw-dropping. It isn't scary, the acting is bottom-of-the-barrel (Roman acquits herself best,) the photography is poor (the day-for-night shots are abundant and terrible: Ed Wood would be ashamed,) and the transfer is not great either. Still, for a hilarious look at one of Shatner's most over-the-top performances and some of the worst clothes you will ever see anywhere, "Impulse" is a guilty pleasure for fans of camp classics.
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