Bubblegum Crisis (1987-1991) OVA Review and Retrospective - Episode 3: Blow Up

In this episode, GENOM (the evil corporation seen before) tests and tries out a new boomer, a combat model capable of causing great destruction. Priss is warned by Linna about this combat boomer and both drive to the battle area where the boomers are having a shootout with the A.D Police. They are aided by Nene and Sylia. All of the girls had a night of bad luck.

Priss finds a lonely boy and waits for his mother to arrive. She cares for the child and tries to support her hard working single mother, who lost her husband and home. Priss is also stressed out and lashes out against Linna. Mason, a fiendish GENOM executive, plans to launch his attacks at the knight sabers; he also tries to evict people out of their houses using his threatening boomer bodyguards.

As the building is being demolished, an accident occurs and the mother of the young boy is killed. Priss then tries to take matters into her own hands by using her exo-suit, but the girls catch up to her and break their code in order to help her.

This initiates a battle between the knight sabers and the deadly combat boomers. 

Here we have some of the usual virtues and flaws seen in the show. Since the animators had no idea if the most current episode was going to be the last one, their stories tended to be sort of awkward and the narrative would repeat some of the same beats and scenarios and their resolutions wouldn't be as definite as they should have. 

This episode has solid animation work and fun character writing moments, but the core dramatic and emotional impact feels a bit stale because of it's very limited runtime, I wish they delved more into Priss' friendship with the boy and the mother, but I gotta say, the little amount of information we get is enough to give it a sadness and melancholy that sort of makes it work regardless.

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.

Martial Law II: Undercover (1992) Movie Review

Martial Law 2: Undercover (sometimes titled Karate Cop) is an action crime flick and a sequel to Martial Law from 1990. It’s directed by Kurt Anderson, who was a producer in the first one, and stars Cynthia Rothrock and Jeff Wincott. Rothrock is the only returning lead from the first film.

Detective Sean Thompson (Wincott) and cop Billie Blake (Rothrock) team up to solve a dangerous case. Billie goes undercover at a nightclub in order to infiltrate a criminal organization that might have been responsible for the death of one of Sean’s colleagues but the bosses are guarded by powerful martial artists the heroes must face. 

Surprisingly an improvement over the first movie. The story doesn't really work as a whole because it's so disjointed and muddled, but every little vignette and action sequence works quite perfectly as a small highlight that you do enjoy watching the film even if the glue that sticks it together isn't really that rewarding.

The choregraphies are top notch and not only do the fight scenes have their own beginning, middle and end but they sometimes work towards a crescendo and end in a very interesting punctuation blow to finish the sequence (like Rothrock breaking the leg of a mugger after beating all of his group) that gives it a more interesting flare not expected from one of Rothrock’s typical American films. So it's ultimately sort of creative.

The flaws from the first film, and most of the other nineties Rothrock films quite honestly, are there still but not to a higher degree. This time, the cinematography becomes quite good looking sometimes and the events do unfold in relatively engaging ways, making it of higher quality than usual.

If you are up for a worthwhile early nineties martial arts effort this one can be quite entertaining for you. Recommended for genre fans.

There was a third movie in the franchise but it has nothing to do with Rothrock and it changes concepts altogether. 

Tiger Claws II: Back on the Prowl (1996) Movie Review

Tiger Claws II is a sequel to the previously reviewed Tiger Claws, which featured a decent cast of martial artists doing what they do best. The writer (and associate producer) of the original film, J. Stephen Maunder eventually decided to take matters into own hands and wrote and directed the two sequels, this one and Tiger Claws III in 1999.

This sequel brings back the same cast and basically rehashes the same storyline without shame, having the Tiger Claw killer (Bolo Yeung) escape jail and plan to open a portal and reach an ancient temple (apparently). City cops Tarek Richards (Jalal Merhi) from New York and Linda Masterson (Cynthia Rothrock) from L.A are back on the case after they learn of a string of murders with the same modus operandi. 

Rothrock is sidelined even further, the rambling detective work is lost in a sea of routinary and tangential kung fu cult fights. The fights are less exciting, shot in such a dull and unenergetic way, this gets rid of the only redeemable aspect of the first film.

This is definitely the type of sequel to completely redo the exact same premise of the original film, bring back characters from the last movie (with less stakes and seemingly almost completely unmotivated) in contrived and uninteresting ways, cheaply recycling the same old ideas but sort of jumping the shark by adding absurd plot points that make everything more convoluted.

It's a wildly forgettable sequel that can really only entertain those who aren't very demanding and wish to see more of what was shown in the first picture. Only for Rothrock super fans.

Tiger Claws (1991) Movie Review

Tiger Claws is a 1991 action crime movie produced by Film One Productions, a company founded by Jalal Merhi, the star of the film alongside Cynthia Rothrock and Bolo Yeung. The film was directed by Kelly Makin and written by J. Stephen Maunder, who would go on to actually direct the two direct sequels: Tiger Claw II: Back on the Prowl (1996) and Tiger Claw III: The Final Conflict (1999).

There has been a string of ghastly killings, the victims are martial arts masters. Two fellow martial artists cops, detective Linda Masterson (Rothrock) and Sgt. Tarek Richards, join forces and begin investigating, hoping to find the seemingly unstoppable serial killer.   

It's sort of disappointing how a more than solid premise with incredible storytelling potential is wasted by a formulaic and by-the-numbers vessel of genericness and dullness. This slapdash police investigation plotline never actually becomes compelling or captivating enough for us to care about the main characters or the resolution to the conflict.

Rothrock delivers once more with the fights, employing her usual techniques and moves to fight her enemies. Never not delivering, Rothrock certainly shines once again but her scenes are not nearly as numerous or as memorable as they were in her Hong Kong days. At this point, you can tell she was being dangerously sidelined and barely promoted and featured in the films (even when she was the best part of these flicks by an ocean of difference).

The filmmaking is elemental, there are very few notable or interesting visuals or editing techniques that could potentially elevate a mediocre script. That, mixed in with what's probably the most meandering plot construction in one of these movies is what ultimately makes this one a rather boring and often tedious enterprise. Not a horrible experience by any means (occasionally the film will pick up some energy and present some neat action) but the overall experience is not as rewarding as it could have been. 

Only for Rothrock fans.