Die Macht der Fünf

(1981) Force: Five ACTION ADVENTURE

Co-written and directed by Robert Clouse, it has a senator employing the services of an agent, Jim Martin (Joe Lewis) to save his daughter, Cindy (Amanda Wyss) away from a cult-like leader, Reverend Rhee (Bong Soo Han) and his disciples along with his bulky sidekick, Carl (Bob Schott) confined on an island. Jim does this by assembling his own group pf fighters, such as his former flame, Laurie (Pam Huntington), Lockjaw (Sonny Barnes), Ezekiel (Richard Norton), Billy Ortega (Benny "the Jet " Urquidez) and a guy who was supposed to be confined in a Central American prison named Willard (Ron Hayden) , also called "Force: Five".

It is one of those movies in which if users do "not" know who some of the characters are, then the overall experience may have sucked. But because I was already aware or familiar with professional kick boxers with the likes of Joe Lewis and Benny "The Jet" Urquidez along with Linda Rondstadt's former bodyguard by the name of Richard Norton whose martial arts filmography is vast, who worked for the likes of Chuck Norris to Jackie Chan makes this movie watchable. You just might say, there actual fighting experiences, particularly for Benny "the Jet" Urquidez (on his very first acting gig) and Richard Norton led them to bigger and better movies. Benny "the Jet" was part of one of the all time best on screen fights of all time called "Wheels on Meals" and "Dragons Forever" who sparred with Jackie Chan, while Richard Norton did fight choreography for "The Octagon" and was memorable with his fights on "Magical Crystals", "City Hunter", "Mr Nice Guy" and "Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars".

This movie rocks! Not only is the action top notch, but it isn't being performed by a bunch of Hollywood "actors" who took karate lessons for a couple of weeks. I am talking about living legends of the martial arts. Master Han, the indelible Mr. Joe Lewis, not to mention "the jet". Team of five must rescue a girl from a island fortress ruled by a ruthless religious leader. Constant action and great "action" music. If you liked any martial arts movies made before 1985, then this will NOT dissapoint. Find it, rent it, buy it, watch it and thank me later.

Broadly speaking, the plot is just about as standard as it gets for action flicks: a group upheld as antagonists, a person in their midst, a contingent of heroes that are tasked with the retrieval of that person. The leader of those heroes handpicks his friends for their particular skills, and - well, you don't want spoilers, but you've also seen this movie before. And that's okay! Sometimes a silly little nothing, that we can enjoy without actively engaging with, is exactly what one needs, and formula and familiarity fits neatly within that aim. And so we have 'Force: five' (the colon is very important), made by acclaimed filmmaker Robert Clouse ('China O'Brien!' Oh, and 'Enter the dragon.'), and starring martial artists, action heroes, & recognizable faces like Joe Lewis, Richard Norton, Benny Urquidez, and Bob Schott. Yes, it's a silly romp. It's also fun!

Despite sober underpinnings in the plot and some unexpectedly strong violence, 'Force: five' doesn't take itself all that seriously. That's for the best, given the premise, and furthermore in light of some over the top sequences and acting (the introduction of Norton's character is a total blast for just these reasons, not even taking into account his blonde hair). The only significant surprise here is the diversity in the assembled team, for otherwise the feature is pretty much exactly what one might assume (including, for the record, outdated ableist or racist language, gratuitous nudity, and an underhanded "blonde joke"). Even at that, though, this is duly well made. The story and scene writing may be a little common, and mostly just a vehicle for the action, but they're quite suitable and written well such as they are (though some bits are better or worse than others), with light humor at times. Those stunts, fights, and otherwise action sequences look great and are choreographed well, and I would certainly expect no less from something Clouse is involved with. Sets and filming locations alike are pretty fantastic, as well as any effects that are employed.

There's nothing super remarkable about facets like Clouse's direction, the hair and makeup work, or William Goldstein's music, but all these are fairly solid, too. Anyway, maybe all this assessment is a tad beyond the point. 'Force: five' only wants to have a good time, and it achieves that - with the caveat that anyone who isn't receptive to second-tier martial arts flicks won't find anything here to change their mind. It's reasonably well done, but no must-see by any means, and even those who are fans of such fare may find the end result unremarkable. Both the active intrigue and the action come and go, for example, and in a more general sense, there's just not anything major to stand out. Still, it's a sufficient diversion for a lazy day, and sometimes that's all a film needs to be. Don't go out of your way for this, but if you happen to come across it, there are far worse ways to spend 100 minutes of your time.

The only thing "Force: Five" proves is that the chances of finding a good American martial-arts film are about as many as those of finding a good Hong Kong Western. Yes, the film stars real martial artists who obviously know their stuff, but keep in mind that:

a) most of them can't act (Richard Norton is excepted)

b) most of the time they're fighting useless morons who stand around like sitting ducks, waiting to be kicked.

And how about the fact that the doors of the rooms where the "bad guys" keep their drugs-and-guns-for-sale and the dead bodies of their victims are unlocked and unguarded?

Cheap and stupid. But the actors sure know how to kick high. (*1/2)

This is sometimes silly but easy to take martial arts escapism that benefits from its spin on director Robert Clouses' genre formula. In this instance, the "hero" is a collection of five specialists (hence the title) who never have a hard time wading through many bad guys. Other than some interesting touches (the bull, the intense torture sequences) this isn't of any real distinction, it's just decent undemanding fun. The cast in this thing aren't great as actors - some of them, anyway - but when it comes to kicking ass, they accomplish their mission. The movie, a remake of the earlier feature "Hot Potato", has an acceptable pace to it and a moderately entertaining finale (although it really doesn't have much action in it).

A bunch of performers familiar to fans of B movies are featured in this straightforward story of Jim Martin (Joe Lewis) hired to retrieve a brainwashed rich girl from the clutches of religious cult leader Reverend Rhee (Bong Soo Han). For the mission, he assembles a team of four associates: Lockjaw (Sonny Barnes), Ezekiel (Richard Norton), Billy Ortega (Benny Urquidez), and Laurie (Pam Huntington), and also breaks Willard (Ron Hayden) out of prison so he can serve as their helicopter pilot.

One may have to suspend their disbelief with this, but it *is* amusing in any event. As was said, there's not a lot of action, and our heroes have such little trouble with the enemy that some viewers may feel underwhelmed. It's fairly violent at some points but isn't as gory as viewers might want it. Production design, photography, and music are all adequate, and you might derive some entertainment from seeing people such as Peter MacLean (the sheriff in "Squirm") as a drunken senator, Amanda Wyss ("A Nightmare on Elm Street") as Cindy, Tom Villard ("Popcorn") as one of Rhees' many disciples, and Mel Novak ("Game of Death") as an inept assassin.

Watchable enough for devotees of this genre.

Seven out of 10.