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Nick Branca (Kevin Bernhardt) is an alleged "ambulance chaser," constantly getting his rear end caught in one urban crossfire after another. As the heat intensifies and the situations become more explosive, Nick ironically now finds himself a part of the action within...

By saving a woman's life from a burning car, Nick has proven himself an inspiration for his peers and others alike as to show true heroes go an extra mile just to serve the community... However, once Branca has been declared a media hero... Nick finds a lot more excitement than what he is use to handling... He has been given a realization only too well that his boss, "Buddy" (Bernie Angel) plans to sell him out...

Nick is always at the wrong place...at the right time... Now, his involvement with an unscrupulous, greedy boss has placed both him and his girlfriend's life in danger... Nick Branca has drawn himself into this dilemma...and only he can pull himself out of the war zone...

Midnight Warrior was a shockingly inept drama with a boring execution that fails to breathe life into a promising premise. Excellent cinematography capturing the glitter, glamour...and decadence of the streets of Los Angeles does little to redeem what is essentially a flagrant and mean spirited story. The film itself, inserts too much effort into attempting to be a "gritty thriller" just for the full blown reason of being "dramatic," but this blatantly distracts the film's course and purpose.

Midnight Warrior, perhaps when it was written down as a script, had plenty of subtle intentions. The motion picture wanted to satirize on the media, portraying it as a cold hearted institution that cares only about two values: Money and ratings. The media is seen in this film as a corporation which doesn't care about the triumphant spirit of human life and courage; rather the media is only willing to capture the "best" stories which will attract higher ratings. As for the main character, Nick Branca, he learned only too well that his life was endangered numerous times by dire encounters...

Midnight Warrior does receive acknowledgements for being an admiring tale of a power driven media hungry for a grandiloquent image. Having that been said, Midnight Warrior is most unfortunately, a poorly constructed film. Slow paced with little action, and full of plot holes everywhere which are never resolved by the end, Midnight Warrior does not succeed in fulfilling its potential. A few explosions are thrown in for good measure. Midnight Warrior had a great idea in its hands, but the overall resultant is a disorganized, unkempt hodgepodge. It's pure low budget silliness with an invalid script, plain and simple. Luckily, Joseph Merhi later improved as a director and subsequently, the PM Entertainment Group films have progressed slightly...

RATING: NO STARS out of ****.

My review was written in April 1989 after watching the movie on Raedon video cassette.

"Midnight Warrior" is a low-budget made-for-video feature that captures an authentic film noir mood in approximating the B pictures of yore.

TV star Kevin Bernhardt portrays a principled tv news cameraman in L. A. who resists the blandishments of his boss Bernie Angel, who is more interested in a fast buck than integrity. Pic documents in episodic form a series of assignments leading to the hero becoming cynical and replacing Angel as the exploiter.

Modestly lensed, pic is buoyed by a persuasive Bernhardt performance and capable supporting cast. Topic of tv news as exploitation remains a timely one and is treated convincingly here.