Thanks to a sharp-eyed poster at the Kung Fu Message Boards, this Richard Norton action flick was revealed to co-star legendary Bruce Le. While not Bruceploitation by any means, the film still warrants review because it showcases Le (credited under the name Lushao Lung) in the mid-80s a la FUTURE HUNTERS.
During Vietnam, a group of sadistic Marines slaughters an entire village and steals their gold. Sixteen years later, members of this American military unit begin getting killed by an assassin. Of course this doesn't sit well with Col. Ryan, the man who led the group during the massacre and still keeps the gold hidden. So what does he do? Why he gets Major Cooper (Richard Norton), that "know-it-all kangaroo from down under," on the case. The Colonel's logic being that Cooper, being the expert investigator that he is, will find out who is killing these Marines. Of course, once Cooper starts "sticking his nose where it doesn't belong" and meets Quan Nhien (Bruce Le), a Vietnamese scout who was with the Marines when the carnage happened, the Colonel gets mad. Things look bad when it is found out that the killer is training terrorists in the art of jujitsu at a top secret training camp (which resembles a set from Most Extreme Elimination Challenge more than a deadly training facility). But it gets worse when it is revealed that the killer is in fact Quan Nhien's brother (Dick Wei; billed solely as 'Bad Brother'), who also witnessed the murders (he was working for the enemy) but is more pissed about his missing gold. Man, why they gotta bring family into this?
This is your typical mid-80s Richard Norton vehicle and I think you know what that means: a laugh riot! Damn, this movie is funny. Right from the Vietnam prologue, I knew this one would be full of laughs. How can you not laugh when the poorly dubbed Colonel yells to his troops, "Okay, men, let's do it! High kill ratio, no prisoners, let's bring that body count! I want corpses not casualties. Let's show those heathens the wrath of God!" And believe me, it gets better from there. Later, when the Col. Ryan brings up the idea of using Cooper, his crooked underling objects. "He sports a beard and long hair! What is the Corps coming to," the lackey protests. Yeah, a beard is taboo but killing a bunch of innocent people for gold is cool with you.
This movie is a dumb with a capital "D." At one point three soldiers find Wei putting something in a helicopter. While one chases him away, the other two pick up the object he left it there and stare at it for a few seconds. It has a clock and wires and some clay like substance. "IT'S A BOMB," yells the smarter of the two men right before it blows them up. However, the best part is the film is when Norton goes to a bar looking for information. He gives a prostitute $20 for some information and she says, "Wow! Twenty dollars!" Immediately another prostitute walks up and says, "Hey, it's that twenty dollars you owe me" and snatches it from her. Norton gets no info either.
Fans of Bruce Le's 70s Korean martial arts outings will probably be disappointed here. Le doesn't get to do much fighting. He has a quick hand-to-hand fight with Dick Wei at the end that is probably the best fight of the film. But he doesn't even get to kill him per his sensei's orders (Norton gets the honors), which is a bummer. Regardless, he gets lots of screen time and it is cool just to see him up there holding his own against that Aussie.
Reviewed by William.