Kill or Be Killed

...or so reads the tagline on the box. This is a curious little film, and from what i can gather it seems south african, famous for their kung fu films(!). Mind you, it has nazis and midgets in it (he has a cool name, but i cant remember it..) and is not a bad film as it goes. bit too much of a enter the dragon rip-off. This video was released in England on the Polestar video label, and is extremely hard to find, so if you see a copy, pick it up.

This movie along with Deathwish 3, Hell train, Commando Amazons and a few other gems are on my unintentionally funny top 10. Some highlights include the incredible plot. The story is of a former SS officer battling his WW2 Japanese equivalent to get revenge for a competition that was held before the war. In that competition the Japanese mastermind Miyagi bribed members of the German team to lose with Diamonds because, as Baron Von Rudolph says "THEY ALWAYS HAVE DIAMONDS!!". Poor Von Rudolph is disgraced and dishonourably discharged by the Fuhrer. 40 years later he is thirsty for revenge. As he recounts the story Von Rudolph quakes with emotion, German war music fills the air and there is not a dry eye in the house. Such is the premise of the competition. Some other highlights include a Dwarf and his doll and action star James Ryan IV dismantling a car with his bare hands to turn it into a sail car for the desert!! Oh yea the martial arts action isnt too bad either. A must rent for the b-movie enthusiast.

I was expecting another Kill And Kill Again. What I got was a slower and much less punchy vehicle. At times, there seems to be hardly any activity at all. The story too, goes off the beaten track a little like when Ryan and his love take off through the desert on their wind sailor, singing jubilantly, eating up too much screen time. The opening music theme, which I absolutely loved, and it's locale scene, a long exterior shot of a big fortress in the desert, as I frankly recall, is the first thing that clicks in my mind when I think about Kill Or Be Killed. With this film I was short changed afraid. There's much less action where you're kept waiting, especially from the start, where it came between long intervals. A slightly younger looking Ryan, with shorter, neater hair, who was in fact only 18 when he made this, plays another Steve character, who's drawn back into a fight in another big arena, where participants fight with weapons of choice. Ryan, a Chard Hayward sounding actor, does have a certain charisma, but not good acting status, where he's surrounded by a few antic characters, that midget guy a hoot. These characters at least add something to this disappointing actioner. After seeing Ryan's other flick, this had me on quite a come down, it had me moping. If you've seen this, and wasn't satisfied, and you've haven't seen the other kill movie, it's vitally imperative you do, as it may just bring your spirits up, for this 'Kill is so over ridden by, it's follow up.

James Ryan portrays Steve Hunt, a karate expert caught up in a grudge match between two WWII war criminals, Baron von Rudloff (Norman Coombes) and Miyagi (!) (Raymond Ho-Tong). The two men are going to have their teams of martial artists square off in a tournament, with the first team to garner 20 points declared the winner. Steve and his girlfriend Olga (Charlotte Michelle) try a few times to escape, but to no avail. There's no way Steve isn't going to end up participating. Fortunately for the two of them, they have a helping hand in the form of Chico (Daniel DuPlessis), a put-upon little person who is the Barons' associate.

Filmed in South Africa in 1976, but not released in North America until 1980, when martial arts mania was then in full swing, "Kill or Be Killed" is on the low-budget and crude side. The 1981 sequel, "Kill and Kill Again", is a little more polished. While the sequel blatantly goes for tongue-in-cheek, this is played somewhat straighter - still, there's plenty of time for some humour, which helps to make the movie very enjoyable. There's lots of fights, lots of action - and lots of fun. Some of the acting is pretty cheesy, especially from hammy villain Coombes. The most appealing performer is diminutive, likeable chap DuPlessis, who figures in one extended, amusing montage where he's recruiting fighters for the Barons' team. The leading lady Michelle is quite gorgeous, the scenery is very striking, and it would be hard not to get into the spirit of "Kill or Be Killed" thanks to that rousing music score (which one has to assume is stock music, given that there's no composer credited).

Highly enjoyable for any fan of karate cinema, with engaging heroes and wonderfully despicable antagonists, including one fighter (who kind of resembles Jeff Conaway) constantly making trouble for Steve and Chico.

The ultimate resolution, however, falls short of being really satisfying.

Eight out of 10.

MASTER PLAN: have the winning team in a deadly tournament. One of several martial arts action pictures that attempted to capture the flavor of the famous "Enter the Dragon" from '73, this one is an effort from South Africa. The villain's stronghold is a bit different, appearing as a white castle-like fortress in the middle of the desert from a distance. The villain himself, a Baron or general, is a slightly more perverse version of the "Dr.No" or Han mold of master villainy, having strange flashbacks to the glory days of Nazi Germany. He does wear the full regalia Nazi uniform at some points. His main ambition in life is to hold an illegal martial arts competition/tournament against his Japanese rival, an extension of their complicity in the 2nd World War (my army is better than your army). It sounds silly and it is, though the suggestion of madness and crazed machismo almost works. The central hero, Steve Chase (Ryan), resembles a white 'Bruce Lee' character, having a similarly lean, lithe physique, though obviously not on the same level of martial arts expertise. I thought he would be some secret government agent here but apparently not. He and his girlfriend have joined the Baron's team of fighters, but decide to quit (what did they think they were getting into?). Of course, it's not that easy. There's an odd sequence of them escaping through the desert using a wrecked car with a rigged sail - those desert winds can do wonders for travel, it seems.

The plot kind of meanders in the 2nd half, as the hero joins the team of the villain's competitor and the girlfriend is held hostage by the villain in a cell, under threat of rape by the hero's rival. The most interesting character turns out to be Chico, a dwarf who is the villain's assistant; he's loyal to the Baron but is sympathetic to the plight of the hero. Much of the fighting utilizes the ballet-like capabilities of the hero, with a lot of leaping and slow motion. The sound FX are also amped up and exaggerated in an attempt to add more impact to the blows. There are a few good fights during the tournament towards the climax, but none really stand out. If one had to pick, I suppose the best involves the brutish muscle man-henchman of the Baron, introduced late in the story (he lifts the back of a car at one point). You wonder how the hero will take him out at the end, since the brute seems to shrug off most of the punches. The acting is very mediocre, descending into camp as far as the girlfriend, who tends to laugh for no reason, as if she's high on grass, though she is very cute. Some of the training scenes are also campy, especially all those guys running over or rolling down the desert sands. And, with such a title, there's surprisingly few actual killings. Ryan, as Steve Chase, returned as a traditional agent in the sequel "Kill and Kill Again." Hero:4 Villain:4 Femme Fatales:4 Henchmen:6 Fights:6 Stunts/Chases:4 Gadgets:2 Auto:3 Locations:5 Pace:5 overall:4+