First there was THE FRENCH CONNECTION. Then there was THE ITALIAN CONNECTION. Now there is the CAMEROON CONNECTION! The what? Yes, believe it or not, this African made action flick stars none other than Bruce Le. Now gather round kids as we explore what is quite possibly the most bizarre credit in any Bruceploitation actors' career.
The film proper opens with a young woman in a room. She receives a phone call, to which she replies "Merde!" (I understood that). She leaves the room and we cut to her lying on the roadside gasping for her life. Somehow she crawls back to the same room and dies. Assigned to the case is Inspector Beko (Alphonse Beni), who gets right on it by thumping heads at a local disco. When not on duty, he spends all his free time with a young boy who could either be his son (most likely) or his lover (hey, you never know). Getting nowhere, Beko flies to Paris where he hooks up with some white chick who takes him to a disco. Oh, sorry, this is the 80s so it is a nightclub. Of course, he gets into a fight with the nasty locals but gets saved by high kicking Bruce (Bruce Le). They shake hands and then it is back to Cameroon for Beko. Bruce shows up in Cameroon to run his bottle factory while Beko, going undercover as a cab driver, busts some drug thugs. Bad news shows up when Beko's son (or is it his boyfriend?) is kidnapped. Bruce helps him out and they get the kid back. Meanwhile, Bruce hangs out with some evil voodoo types who like to hypnotize people. What does all this mean? Who knows!
Before we go any further, I should state that I watched this in French with no English subtitles (that's dedication). So if the little nuances of the plot (if there were any to begin with) might have escaped me. And despite a certain level of understanding, I can still tell you this movie is awful. For the first time in my life, I wondered, "What was Bruce Le thinking?" This obscure (and rightfully so) flick is the true bottom of the barrel. No, I take that back. It is worse than that. Pick up that barrel and dig six feet into the ground and you will find this film. Bruce Le is in a majority of the film and looks in good shape. Unfortunately, his opponents have little to zero coordination. Star and director Alphonse Beni is quite possibly the worst fighter in the history of cinema. Displaying all the grace of a third grader, Beni will have you laughing in hysterics (not the desired effect) when he pummels a crook with his fists, stopping very short of the target.
To give the film credit, there is one nice car/motorcycle chase scene about halfway through the film. In order to knock a criminal off his bike, Beko literally rams him with his car. In order to achieve the desire effect, Beni literally rams a guy with his car, much to the chagrin of stunt players around the world. And if you want top notch African music, this is the place to go. I should also say that if the dubbing team who did CLONES OF BRUCE LEE or CHALLENGE OF THE TIGER got a hold of this one and looped it with some funny dialogue, it might be enjoyable. In its current state, it is a cinematic endurance test.
Review by William.