Voxitype
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
Robert Joyner
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Geraldine
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
RandomFlux
If it hadn't been for Rifftrax, I would never have seen this steaming pile.Sexist, racist, obnoxious in it's portrayal of humans as walking stereotypes, and a story a five year old might have put together with about as much continuity and depth.It's sad to think people saw this mess as anything but a bad parody.I realize 80's tech doesn't compare to what we have now but it still looks and sounds like it was filmed and recorded using a potato.What 'story' there is, consists of the plot from any generic, low-budget, Kung-fu movie.The 'filler' between the laughably choreographed fights consists of training montages, an attempt at a music video, some terrible characters being terrible, and lots of pointless, awful dialogue.If you watch this movie without Rifftrax, you are wasting time that you will never get back. Don't do it. It's not worth it.
Steve Shubert
Oh dear god help us all... I actually watched this expecting it to be a genuine JCVD early flick; I prided myself on having found ALL of the JCVD stuff, including his early works, even though I don't consider myself to be a hardcore fan of his. In fairness, I must admit that I couldn't finish this; I'm not even sure I got halfway through it. I was expecting "cheesy"—that's part of the reason I watched it to begin with—but what I *wasn't* expecting was "Karate Kid Meets Street Fighter".I managed to watch quite a bit of it before I grabbed my phone and started searching for reviews on it. I finally managed to find one of the reviews on here that confirmed what I had already started suspecting: THIS IS NOT A JCVD MOVIE! I should have realized that when the opening credits started rolling, and his name came up at the tail end as "Introducing Jean Claude Van Damme as 'Ivan the Russian'". However, when he made his appearance early in the movie, I expected to see quite a bit more of the mafia scenes with his fighting; I was a sucker.How the producers/promoters got away with pushing this as a JCVD film, I do not know. But the acting was so horribly bad, it wasn't even amusing, not even as a ... Well, I guess I should take that back; I did sit through "Flesh-Eating Mothers" while playing pinochle with some Army buddies years ago, and I guess the acting here was similar. If you ever watched the extremely over-exaggerated Kung Fu Theater movies on Saturday mornings, imagine that being done with an American film. That's what you wind up with here.I'm tempted to go back and finish it just because so many have talked about the later fight scenes, but honestly... I got to the part where the "ghost of Bruce Lee" shows up and starts training the guy, and seriously...Whoever cast that guy as Bruce Lee must have been guilty of the stereotypical mentality, "They all look alike". Ai-yi-yi... Apart from the hairstyle and the gray gi, this guy was laughable. The constant smacks on the head during "training" were a complete ripoff of "Enter The Dragon", and were way overdone. If you're looking for early stuff featuring JCVD, then yes, this does have JCVD in it. However, if you're looking for a real action flick featuring some kickass fight scenes, don't waste your time with this putrefaction. Do yourself a favor and find "Flesh- Eating Mothers" and watch that for a real laugh.
FlashCallahan
Jason Stillwell, a Bruce Lee fan, is beaten numerous times by some really badly dressed people, and trains with the ghost of Lee.....Jason then must use his newly acquired skills to save Seattle from a crime syndicate, whose top martial artist is the deadly Ivan T. Russian, played by Van Damme, who is easily the best thing about this movie.This film is basically Rocky IV, meets Breakin', with a little bit of Ghost meets The Karate Kid, and its as bonkers as it sounds.The acting is hideous, even making Van Damme seen sincere, but its a good laugh while it lasts.Their are so many troupes in this, you could write an essay on how many there are, and how its scarred so many action movies since.The soundtrack is brilliant, the fight scenes are a little cheesy, and the bad guys are fitted into two categories, high school bad guys fighting for the affection of a badly cast love interest, and the gangster side, where everyone dresses as Roger Moore circa 1975.It's w love it or hate it film, I like it because I loved these types of films, but I'm giving it a realistic rating.But it is the best film ever made about a boy giving a girl a rabbit for her birthday..
ctomvelu1
Not much to be said for this typical 80s action flick, except for the the jaw-dropping fight at the end. A young man and his dad, a Lo Angeles dojo owner, move to Seattle after some New York mob types injure the dad and take over his dojo. In Seattle (where they apparently have palm trees), the kid, who knows a little karate, takes a beating from some local karate bullies and ends up training with the ghost f Bruce Lee, whom the kid worships. Yep. That's what I said. The ghost of Bruce Lee. This leads to a final confrontation with one of the New York hoods who hurt his dad. Van Damme is that hood, and he is only in the film for about five or 10 minutes. Basically a ripoff of The Karate Kid. Skip all but the last seven or eight minutes of the film. Your jaw is guaranteed to drop, if you're a martial arts fan. The legendary Corey Yuen directed this no-budget B movie.
