Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The quintessential cheeseball martial arts flick!!, June 9, 2003
This review is from: Kill & Kill Again (DVD)
When I was ten years old, I had no idea what martial arts were. All I knew was about something called "karate" where people wore funny suits and tried to chop boards in half with their hands. Then one day I stayed home sick from school (5th grade) and saw this film on Showtime. That was 21 years ago and I've been an avid martial artist ever since. If you're a grown-up film snob, then yeah, avoid this film. But it's perfect for kids. It's true that the acting is ultra-cheese and the plot is a formulaic ripoff of "Enter the Dragon," but kids don't care about that kind of stuff. This movie makes an effort to educate the young viewer as to what the martial arts are all about (despite the title, which is NOT what the martial arts are all about), taking time to specifically narrate about different martial arts styles and even the meditative/spiritual side of the martial arts. The fight scenes are totally unrealistic (if memory serves me, some dude jumps over a helicopter at one point) but SO WHAT!! ...This is a kids' movie!! Don't expect it to be Cannes Film Festival material!! You rent a martial arts film from 1981 with actors you've never heard of--what did you expect!!?? This movie is good old 80's cheeseball martial arts flick fun! It really is a classic in that regard.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Karate comrades save the free world., May 28, 2000
This review is from: Kill & Kill Again (DVD)
A scientist has discovered how to convert potatoes into fuel, however an unfortunate by-product is a mind control drug. Marduk, an evil madman kidnaps the scientist, and plots to take control of the world by tainting the water supply with this drug. Leaders of the free world approach Steve Chase and his band of elite mercenaries and hire them to free the kidnapped scientist, destroy the mind control drug, and rid the world of the evil Marduk. This martial arts adventure stars James Ryan as Steve Chase, martial arts champion and leader of the elite mercenary group. The mercenaries consist of "The Fly" (Stan Schmidt), a martial artist who has reached the esoteric heights of martial learning; Gypsy Billy (Norman Robinson), "ex-champion of the world" and reluctant derelict; Gorilla (Ken Gampu) former pro wrestler banded for biting the ear off defeated opponents; and Hot Dog (Bill Flynn) con artist and comic relief. Joining this group is Kandy Kane (Anneline Kriel, former Miss World), the supposed daughter of the kidnapped scientist Dr. Kane, later exposed as an agent working for the government. Chase and his team infiltrate Marduk's compound, known as the "New Babylonia", but before they can liberate Dr. Kane and destroy the drug, they are discovered and taken captive. Each member of the team must face one of Marduk's karate trained soldiers, with Chase facing Marduk's "champion of champions", the "Optimist" in a battle to the death. "Kill and Kill Again" is a feel good action/adventure that the whole family can enjoy. This movie is a tongue-in-cheek swashbuckler that sometimes pokes fun at itself. There is no graphic violence or offensive language, just good clean escapism.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Great nostalgia value, little else., March 25, 2008
This review is from: Kill & Kill Again (DVD)
Kill and Kill Again (Ivan Hall, 1981)
There are some bad movies I love, and I can't justify my love of them in any way save pure nostalgia. Kill and Kill Again, a movie I was obsessed with throughout my teen years, is one of them. It is, I believe, the first martial arts movie I ever saw; while I have seen many since, some worse, most better, this one holds a spot in my heart that nothing will ever replace.
Steve Chase (James Ryan) is a martial arts superstar who is called upon by the beautiful, deadly Kandy Kane (Anneline Kriel) to save her father from the clutches of the evil Marduk (Michael Mayer), who is planning on releasing a mind-control drug (developed by Kane's father) into the American water supply. Of course, Marduk has leaked all this in order to attract Chase, so he can pit Chase up against his own pet martial arts champion, Optumis (Eddie Dorie). Chase gets together a team of fighters, and off they go to save the world.
It's astoundingly bad, even more so than I remembered. The script is derivative, the acting wooden, the plot convoluted and manipulative. And yet it's a stupidly fun movie to watch, one I could (and have, at many points in my life) see again and again without it ever getting old. Though I grant you, if you didn't first see it when you were young and impressionable, I doubt it will hold the same magic for you. **
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
