Rage and Honor (1992) Movie Review

Rage and Honor is an American action crime martial arts film written and directed by Terence H. Winkless. It stars the DTV action movie team up Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton, along with Terri Treas, Brian Thompson and Catherine Bach as a police chief. Interestingly enough, with this film Rothrock would start becoming an associate producer in a lot of her following films.

Schoolteacher and martial arts teacher Kris Fairfield (Rothrock) joins forces with justice-seeker policeman Preston Michaels (Norton) in order to eliminate a dangerous and powerful drug lord after a student gets murdered by the criminal gang.

The lack of Rothrock in favor of more protagonism for Norton is kind of what keeps this one from coming alive, especially at a time when Rothrock could carry a film by herself. However, the two do have some nice quips and their overall chemistry is endearing. Their moves are just as phenomenal as in other films, their fighting skills are top notch and the choreographies in this particular film are nothing short of competent and well done.  Unfortunately, the entire production is a very by-the-numbers affair, ending up as a very standard DTV product with little variety or changes.

Some stylistic flourishes are present, such as the handheld videocamera shots from the opening, which relate to a character in the movie, but not much is done with this device and when the character is practically out of the movie it just disappears. The rest is a very formulaic plot executed appropriately, only slightly memorable because of some peculiar scenes, like the alley fight with the female gang members, the slow motion sequence and the scene where Rothrock has to battle Norton. The climax is a bit underwhelming and the storyline isn't as engaging as other films of this kind but it's enjoyable as a beat 'em up flick.

Recommended for Rothrock completists and fans of cheesy action films from this era.

Honor and Glory (1992) Movie Review

Zong heng tian xia (also known as Honor and Glory, Angel the Kickboxer, Power Heat and Naked Fists) is a 1992 crime action movie directed by legendary actionsploitation film director Godfrey Ho (here under the pseudonym Godfrey hall), this being his first American feature (he's also known in the subgenre for Angel Enforcers, Undefeatable, Lethal Panther, Princess Madam, Manhattan Chase and Terminal Angels), and written by Ho himself under the other fake name Herb Borkland. It stars Cynthia Rothrock, Donna Jason, John Miller, Chuck Jeffreys and Robin Shou.

The film follows FBI agent Tracy Pride (Rothrock) as she travels from Hong Kong to America in order to investigate a case of extortion and murder linked to corrupt businessman Jason Slade (John Miller), with the help of her partner, Dragon Lee (Shou). She reunites with her sister Joyce (Donna Jason), a news reporter who becomes her new partner as well. Both also cross paths with their absent father John, who basically left them to be raised by a kung fu master, played by real life sifu Tai Yim. They also meet with one of Slade's bodyguards, Jake Armstrong, whose moral compass makes him switch sides and join Tracy in her search for capturing the villain.

Now with enough time and resources to put together a full feature, Godfrey once again shows that he has the skills to be not only coherent but rather notable as an action director. The characters speak the language of martial arts and communicate with ease through movements and physicality. The best example of this is the small fight between Tracy and her sister once they see each other again while trying to snatch the car keys from each other. A little bit of their dynamic and background is expressed there without having to say much. A highlight.

The rest stands up to par, delivering some potent choreographies expertly executed and shot. While most copies of the film are somewhat shoddy, I think you can still see through the defects of the VHS version and appreciate the very sharp and striking visuals by DP Michael Law (Lethal Panther, Undefeatable). The fight sequences have a lot of energy and rhythm, allowing the performers to show off their moves and forms quite organically and swiftly.

The performances are very alright. None of them rise above what we have seen of them before or what we might expect but none of them are actually bad. The only issues I had with the film is that it was a bit more disjointed than I remembered, losing steam whenever the main plot wasn't in motion. The emotional or dramatic scenes are not particularly powerful either, and Joyce gets kind of underutilized in the second half of the film. Other than that, it's a very swift and short experience running just 86 minutes but getting to the good stuff fast and often enough to entertain.

Recommended for action movie fans and Rothrock enthusiasts.

Lady Dragon (1992) Movie Review

Let's continue our Cynthia Rothrock series with Lady Dragon, an action martial arts film from 1992 starring Rothrock, Richard Norton, Robert Ginty and Bella Esperance. Directed by David Worth and produced by Imperial Entertainment, the film was so successful that a sequel titled Lady Dragon 2 (1993) was released the following year.

Kathy (Cynthia Rothrock) is a tough martial artist who frequents an underground fight ring as she gets close to the mob boss (Richard Norton) that murdered her husband the day of their wedding for revenge. After a close encounter with death, she is found by a martial artist who teaches her new techniques so she can defeat the criminal boss.

Lady Dragon starts things up with a bang, with intense action right from the beginning. It's a very good idea to set everything up (setting, characterization, tone and style of action) in the first scene of the film, not only do you get a taste of our heroine's skill level and strength but you also get to see the way the underworld works and its rigid but savage way of functioning, which becomes integral by the end.

Rothrock's usual decent acting skills flourish here to good effect and her martial arts prowess is still notable (even if the film never takes full advantage of them). Her character is handled in a more intimate way than in the typical vehicle of hers, which gives a bit more of an emotional resonance to the storyline. I also like the side-characters and villains, the script delves more deeper into their personalities and motivations than in the average flick of its kind which makes it more effective overall. Norton and Ginty are also good in it but perhaps a bit wooden at point.

The cinematography is quite polished and the direction is also solid enough, with a great grasp of cinematic compositions while also making everything dynamic with its moderately rapid editing. The choreographies also shine because of it.

A real blast from the early nineties, Lady Dragon is definitely the B movie classic that will satisfy fans of the martial arts genre and casual moviegoers as well.

Angel Of Fury (1992) Movie Review

Angel of Fury (not to confuse with Lady Dragon 2's alternate title), also known as Triple Cross, is a 1992 action film directed by Ackyl Anwari (Virgins from Hell) and starring Cynthia Rothrock, Chris Barnes and Peter O’Brian. The film was an Indonesian production by Rapi Films, other countries that co-produced the film were Thailand and The Philippines. A strange mix of the people responsible for low budget grindhouse fare shot in foreign countries and a western star like Rothrock. As far as I can tell, the common version is the newest US cut of the film, which features a shoddy dubbing work.

Nancy Bolan (Rothrock) is a security specialist who must deliver a valuable computer to Indonesia. Her ex-boyfriend is revealed to be part of the operation, while evil forces plot against Nancy.

This is a very enjoyable entry, featuring dynamic action nonstop. A Cheesefest of a pretty high caliber presenting the usual B movie goofs and funny flaws like the hilarious voiceovers, they even dub the little kids badly!

The director has some good grasp on what to show and how to approach its material but it's undone by its awkward execution, like the odd tracking shot that accompanies Rothrock to an exposition scene, sticking these distracting techniques into mundane sequences. The direction is sort of standard or clunky when it comes to anything that isn't the fights and it never takes itself too seriously. A trite story with a bunch of recycled crime/agent movie tropes and not much else to hold onto.

There are also some really weird moves that they had Rothrock do, like when she stops mid air and kicks a moving car or does the same to defeat an enemy. It's a little badly executed and comes off as clumsy attempts at imitating the daring stunts from Hong Kong films. The quick cuts can't hide the odd movement or lack of movement when it comes to what's on screen, the Hong Kong filmmakers were more skilled at doing these tricks, often fixing it with fast cutting and kinetic energy in the frame. We are very much away from those days at this point in Rothrock's career. Not for long though.

Recommended for schlock movie fans. This one is well paced and silly in funny ways. Some really good trash but with a shining Rothrock at its core.