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Post by Mulholland Sully on Mar 9, 2009 18:20:19 GMT -5
Canon/Golan Globus offering is easily their best; starring Michael Dudikoff and Steve James from the American Ninja series, this one deals with a ruthless, right-wing hunting fraternity who put lefties in the N'awleans swamps and hunt them down for opposing their way of life (that old Reagan-era chestnut). Their target: Larry Richards (Steve James), a black man running for the senate. What they don't count on: Matt Hunter (Michael Dudikoff), Larry's best friend and former CIA operative, standing by Larry's side, ready to fight the good fight.
Some of the editing leaves a little to be desired, and the acting is questionable, but amidst the admittedly shitty fodder Canon released in the `80s (shitty not neccesarily meaning bad), this one feels rather polished and first-rate. It is at its best a nail-biting thriller with beautiful, bravura set pieces, some rather unexpected plot twists (one of which involves the massacre of several key characters), and a truly heinous villain in John P. Ryan's Colonel Glastenbury. The finale in the swamp and the denouement in Glastenbury's mansion is awesome, and the open-ended "evil still exists" closing is rather unexpected for an `80s action movie, especially considering the majority of `80s action films prided themselves on letting the good guys win, get the girl, and save the American way of life.
Has anyone else seen this one? It's easily one of my favorites.
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Post by bodieci5 on Mar 9, 2009 20:01:08 GMT -5
This is one of my favourites, too. Probably the best kickass film Cannon laid their name on and a very gripping thriller in its own right. I reckon Michael Dudikoff gave his best ever performance in this one as Matt Hunter. He is amazingly effective in the later scenes when he and his sister are being hunted through the swamps. What I like about him is that he gets beaten up quite a lot and you wonder if he'll ever get defeated, but he is one shit-kickin' survivor and his final showdown with Glastenbury is right up there with the likes of Rocky vs. Drago, Deveraux vs. Scott and Riggs vs. Joshua. Pity we have to see stunt doubles' faces, though. More money and time into this film would have made it an all-time classic. I first saw it on Sky in '02 before snapping it up on DVD 3 years later. One of the best bits is James and Dudikoff twatting those sons of bitches at the shipyard. These men were the Riggs and Murtaugh of their day.
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Post by Mulholland Sully on Mar 9, 2009 21:05:17 GMT -5
So glad to see another fan; I grew up watching this movie, and I would mow down a mall full of idiot security guards to get a proper DVD release with a commentary by Dudikoff. Too bad James and Ryan are no longer with us.
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Post by bodieci5 on Mar 9, 2009 22:16:07 GMT -5
So glad to see another fan; I grew up watching this movie, and I would mow down a mall full of idiot security guards to get a proper DVD release with a commentary by Dudikoff. Too bad James and Ryan are no longer with us. My DVD copy is not even properly remastered . This really should get the deluxe treatment. Digital picture enhancement, teasers and trailers, audio commentaries from The Dude and director Sam Firstenberg, a tribute to Steve James and an isolated music score. George S. Clinton really sold himself on this one. No wonder he was chosen for American Ninja 2.
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Post by Kimble on Mar 9, 2009 23:26:37 GMT -5
I had this on VHS for awhile but never got around to watching it. I also had River of Death...another one I didn't watch.
I no longer own either, sadly.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2009 9:37:27 GMT -5
Yet another exciting-sounding action thriller from Cannon, so it seems, but there's only one Matt Hunter in my book.
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Post by Nail It Shut on Mar 10, 2009 13:36:48 GMT -5
Avenging Force is a GREAT film! I love this movie and pray to the Gods of underrated cinema that they will bestow a remastered dvd upon us. Maybe a bunch of us should start pestering the shit out of Anchor Bay or someone like that? One of the best last 20 minutes of ANY movie...
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Post by WesReviews on Jan 10, 2012 13:02:53 GMT -5
Pestering MGM would be a much better way to get it released. They've released a number of old Cannon movies on their movies-on-demand DVD-R label lately (Mercenary Fighters, The Assisi Underground, Enter the Ninja) so I would expect that it's only a matter of time before we see Avenging Force, River of Death, Platoon Leader, etc. What a lot of people don't know about this one is that it's actually a sequel to Invasion USA. Chuck was offered the chance to play Matt Hunter again, but passed for whatever reason. Exit Norris, Enter Dudikoff. An early trade advertisement for Avenging Force, under the original title "Night Hunter"...
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Post by bodieci5 on Jan 12, 2012 10:39:43 GMT -5
Well, it's worth noting that Chuck Norris did appear with Steve James a few times in The Delta Force and Hero And The Terror. But even though he wasn't a great actor, I liked seeing Dudikoff alongside James, they looked good together.
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