Customer Reviews

Talons of the Eagle

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

 

 

This Canadian produced martial arts flick from the early 1990's is a fine example of everything both right and wrong with the DTV flicks of this era, in this case we have a movie with a plot so dumb, it defies discription. So let me try, bare with me, their's something about the DEA and Canadian authorities joining forces, in the form of two "loose cannons" played by Billy Blanks and Jalal Merhi, to bring down a crime kingpin (the always dependable James Hong). They train under a kung fu master, to learn the eagle claw technique, so that they can infeltrate Hong's gang via a martial arts tournament he holds, I guess this is the only way (!). Things go well, so well they save Hong's life from a would-be assassin and are let go from the tournament, I guess, since they never go back. Kinda a forgotten subplot there, anyway. So, now they are Hong's bodyguards, but his right hand man (big dumb looking Matthias Hues) dosen't trust them, and in no time their cover is blown, and I mean that, I don't think much procation was made to protect their cover. So, nothing left to do, but everybody was....

So, of course this fuzzy, sometimes funny storyline is by no means the attraction of this flick, though it ends with a halirously bad title theme power ballad. The strength is in the movie's virtually non stop martial arts violence, I mean action. Lots of fists and feet fly among the bad dialoguge and worst acting. In many ways this, and others of it's kind, are like porn flicks with the fact that the plot exists simply to moves us into another fight sequence. Now that's kinda fun, but there is little else here. And while Blanks is a first rate martial artist, as are some of the other "actors" in the film (Matthias Hues, Pan Qing Fu), there acting is also on the level of porn, and by no means do I mean to leave out Jalal Merhi. Merhi is sometimes reffered to as the Lebanes Steven Seagal, a term I'm sure Merhi coined himself, he comes from a family of wealthy Lebanese jewel merchants who relocated to Canada and help finance his earliest film efforts, but it's only a ponytail and a few kicks that are a reminder of the American Aikodo master, when it comes to acting, Merhi makes Seagal look like De Niro.

So there you have it, my review should be as disjointed and confused as the movie it is about. This is the kind of movie you should know wheather you wanted to see it or not anyway, nothing I can do to change that, nore would I want to. For those of us addicted to the fist foot way, there's nothing a swift kick to the head can't change.

Talons of the Eagle stars Billy Blanks (Back in Action) as martial arts champ Tyler Wilson. After three DEA agents are killed by crime boss Mr. Li (James Hong, Shadowzone), Tyler is sent on assignment to Toronto, where he teams up with vice detective Michael Reeds (Jalal Merhi, Tiger Claws). The two decide to enter a martial arts tournament to impress Li, but first decide to train at the academy belonging to Master Pan Qing Fu (Playing Himself), who has an experience of his own with Mr. Li. The two also learn about the eagle claw technique, hence the film's title. After saving Mr. Li's life from a rival crime boss during the tournament, Wilson and Reeds are given an opportunity to join Li's line of work, which they accept. At Li's casino, Wilson and Reeds meet up with fellow undercover agent Cassandra Hubbard (Priscilla Barnes, Traxx) who has already found info on Li's gambling and drug operations. The three agents eventually find the evidence they need, but will have to escape Li, alive.

As cheesy and somewhat low budget as the film is, I found it to be quite fun. I especially became fond of the performances of James Hong and Billy Blanks, and the film has some good lines too. "You look like your picture." "I'm sorry to hear that." The fight sequences were cool too.

Recommended.

Also Recommended: Tiger Claws, Back in Action, Expect No Mercy, and Tc 2000.

DVD EXTRAS: The DVD is presented in a decent full frame presentation that is probably the same as the old VHS, if not somewhat better. The DVD is also out of print, so if you find it, especially if it's around $5-$10, get it.

Maybe I am the victim of a bootlegged version, but this is the absolute worst picture quailty I have ever seen on dvd. Seriously, VHS looks better. That's a big minus right there. Maybe its fitiing for this movie, because script, acting, and even the leads are all weak. What saves this film is the good amount of action it has to serve, and a martial arts movie villain favorite - Matthias Hues.

For all of you who know your American martial arts movies, you probably know that Billy Blanks and Jalal Mehri are not the most sought after. In Talons of the Eagle, we actually get to see them partner up and go undercover into a crime-lord's (James Hong - Bloodsport 2, Gladiator Cop) arena. With what I read about this dvd, they enter a martial arts tournament and thats where the description ends, making me believe this movie was going to have quite a tournament or focus on one. As it turns out, there is no more than a 5 minute tournament scene only used for these guys to be noticed by the crime lord and come work for him. I was dissapointed, but there ended up being more than enough action to make up for it.

I have to say that this is once again a typical story with little originality. There are some training scenes that both cops undergo before they enter the tournament. The training involves the style known as "Eagle Claw" While its original and I have not found another martial arts film that displays this style, my interest was yet to peak. Again, its basically the action scenes in this one that stand out.

As for that action, there is a lot of fighting from beginning to end. The end of the movie had a great deal of action, and saved this film and actually made it almost worthy to watch again ofr the action. Matthias Hues gets the final fight against Billy Blanks, which lasted a good 5 minutes. A satisfying fight that seems to keep going when you think it might end. They even fight for a bit in the back of a pickup truck, which was neat while it lasted. Eric Lee (Ring of Fire 1 & 2, Death Match) also stars as one of the bad guys, and has a cool fight against the master that tought the cops the Eagle style of fighting.

This is basically a film to own for the action. There is very little else worthy. With a title like that, what did you expect?

One of the stupidest yet funniest movies i ever watched in my entire life. The acting, the music, and the comments (see example of my review title) are so bad that they end up being hilarious!! It's too bad this movie isn't out on DVD (I wonder why) because I would have bought it directly. If you're looking for a movie to watch with some friends and have a good time laughing, this movie is definitly one of the best, and it's price is very affordable :D
Two thumbs up!

I loved this movie on some many levels, the badness, the cheesiness, the bad acting, the horrible script, even the cover is stupid. I couldn`t believe what I was watching the first time I saw it. It was beyond bad. It`s something you have to see to believe.

By large, Billy Blanks has proven himself a good guy of the karate B-movie genre: as a staple supplier to the low-budget market throughout the early and mid-'90s, most of his eight starring vehicles have delivered quality thrills and exciting fight scenes galore. Then there's Jalal Merhi, a Lebanese-Canadian knock-off of Jean-Claude Van Damme whose attempt to force his subpar acting and martial arts skills onto audiences for ten years resulted in his being labeled by the B-movie community as one of the worst performers ever to have received starring roles. It's beyond me what drove these two to make three movies together, but while I can't speak for TC 2000 or Expect No Mercy, Billy proved himself a brave man for making those two after seeing how "Talons of the Eagle" turned out.

The story: international martial arts-practicing cops Tyler Wilson (Blanks) and Michael Reed (Merhi) are assigned to infiltrate the crime organization of the evil Mr. Li (James Hong, Big Trouble in Little China); to help them do so, they must learn the ancient fighting style of eagle claw from a wizened old master (Qingfu Pan, The Shaolin Temple).

The cast also includes Priscilla Barnes (Three's Company) as their inside girl and Li's mistress, Matthias Hues (I Come in Peace) and Eric Lee (Ring of Fire) as Li's henchmen, and Kelly Gallant (Superfights) as an impressive student of Master Pan's - in case you don't realize it, this is considered a very good draw for a movie like this. With the exception of the perpetually-stunted Jalal Merhi, most everybody performs to the best of their abilities, creating a strong action ensemble but regularly beng outdone by the inimitable presence and voice of James Hong whenever he enters a scene. It's great to see him in a villainous role for a change, but the same can't be said for the energetic Eric Lee, who is given only a handful of scenes and virtually no chance to display his usual infectious enthusiasm. Darn.

"Talons" has no shortage of action and fight scenes, but the quality of these is the major falling point of the movie. I don't know who's to blame for the godawful filming (i.e. constant tight shots and angles that obscure every other blow) and scandalous editing (i.e. regularly cutting away before the point of impact of any kick, punch, or throw) of the karate encounters, but thanks to these techniques, only a couple of the eight or so hand-to-hand battles are worth watching - a shame that these don't include the first-ever showdown between Blanks and Matthias Hues and a weapons-filled battle of the oldies between Master Pan and Eric Lee (but then again, even these are better than Merhi's ridiculous pantomiming and the awkward scene in which he engages James Hong's stunt double on a rooftop with a bladed fan). On the bright side, there are some pretty cool/ridiculous training sequences in which Blanks and Merhi learn eagle claw by doing jumping push-ups, attacking trees, being suspended by their wrists, and having Master Pan jump around on their backs while they strike poses.

The production values are solid but nonetheless hit some rough spots in instances where the color tint suddenly changes for a few shots and a sloppy scene in which multiple explosions are heard but not seen due to an obvious lack of footage. Oh, and we also see Jalal Merhi in a speedo, which may or may not affect your viewing pleasure. A more generous reviewer may give this one a high score based on its production quality, but since the selling point of the entire flick - the fight scenes - falls so below the standards of almost all the performers, it's hard for me to be lenient. Completionists of Blanks, Hues, or Merhi will probably want to pick this one up eventually, but don't let it take precedence over too many others.

Talons of the Eagle

This DVD is definitely a VHS rip. The picture is poor quality, but for those of us who really like this movie, it is watchable.

this one is funny doe ;)

Ed Wood could have done a better job of directing this film than Michael. This is the worst film I have ever seen. I'd rather bang my head against a brick wall than have to watch this movie again!

THIS FILM MAYBE MIGHT OF HAD A FIGHTING CHANCE IF THEY HAD CASTED MAYBE STEVEN SEAGAL OR WESLEY SNIPES IN THE LEADS INSTEAD OF THESE TWO MORONS WHO CAN`T ACT AND HAVE ABSOLUTY NO CHEMISTY. SO BAD IS THIS FILM IT MAKES JEAN CLUDDE VAN DAMME & HIS FILMS MILESTONES IN THE GENRE. THE INEPT STORYLINE SURRONDS TWO DEA AGENTS AND A TORONTO COP WHO INVESTIGATE AND INFLATRATE A CRIMELORD`S DOMAIN, AND WHAT`S THE WORST PART IN THIS FILM IS PRISCELLA BARNES FROM `THREE`S COMPANY FAME AS JALERL MERHI`S

LOVE INTREST IT`S NO WONDER SHE HASN`T BEEN ABLE TO GET ANY GOOD ACTING ROLES WITH HER INABILLTY TO A DELEIVER A REAL GENUINE PERFORMANCE. BILLY BLANKS IS BETTER OFF MAKING MONEY WITH HIS TAE BO EXERCISES THAN AN ACTING CARRER IN HOLLYWOOD. WANT TO SEE A GOOD MARTIAL ARTS FILM SEE ENTER THE DRAGON(1973)OR EVEN BLOODSPORT(1988)