Manhattan Chase

Following his two previous forays filming action films in the big ol'USA, bad movie god, Godfrey Ho made this, which as it happens, was very sadly his final venture before retiring to teach film-making to students (try not to laugh please).

Loren Avedon appears here as Jason, a hit man for the mob who is apprehended (and administered an ass whooping!) at the beginning of the film by a feisty female cop played by perennial high kicking babe, Cynthia Rothrock. Six years later and having served his time in the old slammer our man has subsequently seen the error of his ways (upstanding and sure proof of the efficaciousness of the penal reform system there.....) not least of all due to him missing out on his precious time with his young son; a kid who delivers all of his lines as though he is struggling to practise ventriloquism in fact......but I digress.....

Reunited at last, Jason is determined to make a go of it as a dad and vows never to return to his old criminal ways - a refusal which displeases his old boss somewhat. This is where matters take a more convoluted turn; Said crime lord is presently searching for some stolen drugs and has a whole family taken out in his quest - except for the daughter who escapes.....and literally runs into Jason's car. Yes, as you can probably guess, our hero as a result becomes embroiled in the affair, now working against his old employers in the protection of the girl who yes, you've guessed it, he becomes romantically involved with. Ostensibly our Godfrey loves coincidences as much as he loves to elicit bad acting displays from his cast for in another bizarre twist of events, Jason's ex wife turns up out of the blue, also eager to reacquaint herself with her son (said child was previously being raised by an auntie). And wouldn't you know it, but said ex is only none other than Cynthia Rothrock's sis!!!! Wow, what a small world eh?

Anyway, to cut a long story short, matters come to a head in central park with a violent shoot out......and a surprisingly downbeat outcome which I won't spoil here.

Well, what can I say about all this? The good news is that with our man Godfrey at the helm, the film is predictably, delightfully dreadful on the acting, editing and general logic front - great news for bad movie aficionados. For instance, as is in keeping with the world according to Ho, everyone and their uncle in this appears to be expert at martial arts(!) Yes, even bag snatchers are shown to be highly trained and disciplined fighters, ready to unleash their deadly skills at a moments notice. Unfortunately, and shockingly however, there isn't nearly as much fighting in this as you would expect, indeed, bizarrely, the film actually plays out more like a dreadfully forced sentimental melodrama with some fight scenes sporadically thrown in just to keep you awake.

Still, for fellow Ho completists, it's probably worthy of at least a peek although be warned, those hoping for something as glorious as his cut & paste ninja output or else the classic, Undefeatable will likely be left sorely disappointed.

This movie was incredibly funny and great.

Quintessentially in the tradition of films like "Deadly Prey", it encapsulated every thing great about a bent story line.

Loren Avedon at the beginning is arrested for trying to assassinate someone with a sniper rifle. Where from you may ask? - The lawn of a public park wearing a black bandanna mask in broad daylight. Hahahahaha. So terrific. He even stuffs up some of his lines but the directors don't even bother to re-shoot the scenes.

You have to see this just for the effort of trying to continue on the tradition of excellent movies that are just so far out - you don't know if they're miss-intended satire or just a work of genius.

Get this for sure if you want to see a unique and funny film, and at times, very odd like the ending. Hahahaha goodness, you're just going to think "Did that really need to happen?" Enjoy.

I suppose you could define MANHATTAN CHASE as a watershed moment in action cinema given that it's the last movie directed by the infamous and inimitable Godfrey Ho before he retired from the movies. Ho had previously shot Cynthia Rothrock in a couple of well-remembered action vehicles from the early 1990s entitled HONOUR AND GLORY and UNDEFEATABLE; both were classic so-bad-it's-good cinema with some surprisingly good fight scenes.

MANHATTAN CHASE aims to offer more of the same although with diminishing results. Ho couldn't sell the film to a distributor in America and Hong Kong wasn't interested either, so this is one of Rothrock's more obscure movies. The actress is on autopilot here although her fight scenes are typically exciting, and she's partnered with fellow B-movie star Loren Avedon for the plot.

The story sees the pair going up against the usual criminal gang types and there's plentiful action, most of it very cheesy in terms of stunts and staging. An early alleyway fight in which Rothrock tackles a couple of purse snatchers is very well staged and looks like it belongs in one of Corey Yuen's fight flicks of the 1980s. Outside of the action the film is really bad and the acting entirely wooden. You'll be chuckling at the scene in which Avedon gives his kid an old Gameboy for a gift; this film was made in 2000 so the technology is at least a decade out of date and I'm not sure the kid would be best pleased!

Even in just its opening scene the movie demonstrates absolute forthrightness and disregard for authenticity. Patrick Chi-Yin Kwok's score is sometimes cheekily enjoyable with its extra flair for drama - though the profuse repetition of one notable theme is deeply grating. Johnny Koo's cinematography is serviceable yet unmistakably reflects the low budget of the production, but the very attachment of Godfrey Ho's name to the title pretty much says it all: he is known for nothing if not turning out a high number films quickly and cheaply, with a general passe attitude toward mindfulness. This isn't to say Ho's movies are abjectly bad, as so long as one can get on board with the unflinching ham-handedness and carefree (or is that careless?) spirit they possess, they can be pretty fun. Where Ho emphasizes martial arts action, it is done well and is surely his core strength. Unfortunately, 'Manhattan chase' is not an action-thriller that particularly makes use of such disciplines, and the dregs we're left with are often a struggle to abide.

What fight scenes we do get mostly look good, owing to the experience of Ho as a director and cast member Cynthia Rothrock. Some, though, are flavored with embellishments so tawdry as to be garish, and some seem to have a certain loose sloppiness to them, as though this film were especially rushed. More regrettable still is that the basic premise, portending crime drama and action thrills, belies a course of events that tends far more toward the former than the latter. The movie is awash in scenes of family drama that are pointedly accentuated and which distract from other elements in the narrative. Yet I'm only just scratching the surface, as there's a bewildering lack of genuineness in the writing - dialogue, scene writing, narrative, or characters. This screenplay would seem to be the only credit for Lisa Cory, and if it's representative of her capabilities, sadly I can't say I'm surprised it stands alone. 'Manhattan chase' really does come across as a gauche, halfhearted effort at the genres it tries to play in, as though everyone involved were phoning in their contributions for an easy paycheck.

Rest assured, that "phoniness" certainly applies to the acting; it broadly seems like no real effort was made to attain believable, realistic emotions, body language, or delivery. One could be forgiven for thinking that some cast members were literally just pulled off the street for a few days of work. This wouldn't be so critical a flaw if the feature devoted more time and attention to action sequences, but the quieter moments fill such a substantial portion of the runtime that the weak performances are glaring. Rothrock, known for her martial arts films, only has a small supporting part and a paucity of time on screen. Furthermore, at large the same lackadaisical indifference seems to apply to most aspects of the production, as filming locations, set decoration, and wardrobe, for example, would appear to have been provided by the cast themselves. Editing and sequencing is shoddy, sound design is thin, and the rudimentary timing of some moments is questionable.

Against all odds, there are glimmers of wit or cleverness in the writing at scattered, irregular intervals. The action sequences serve up a measure of excitement. There are good ideas here. But one hardly needs to be a master filmmaker to firmly grasp that the story 'Manhattan Chase' wants to tell requires a baseline level of care for one's own work, the capability and/or willingness to see it through - and nuance. Cory's writing required significant revisions, and one can only guess that Ho was less than enthused about this specific project. That lack of enthusiasm is passed on to the cast, and to the viewer. Even at Ho's best his approach to film-making would not have served the concept very well, and this isn't his best.

Disappointing an experience as 'Manhattan chase' is, it's not completely rotten. I see the value it does bear, and the potential that simply was not realized. It's not the worst movie I've ever seen. Frustratingly, however, that's not necessarily saying much. No matter what it was that drew your attention to this title, there are better ways to spend your time, and that includes other movies made by Godfrey Ho or starring Cynthia Rothrock. There's certainly no need to go out of your way for it, and even if you happen to come across it, it's probably best saved for a very rainy day, if at all.

MANHATTAN CHASE is technically a Hong Kong movie, though only as much as director Godfrey Ho's previous US-set features HONOR AND GLORY and UNDEFEATABLE are Hong Kong movies. While stylistically similar, MANHATTAN CHASE does not share any of the joyful goofiness that made those films cult classics, and is actually pretty dark. This is Ho's "serious" action-drama, and while substantially better than his worst work, this one scrambles for an average rating. It gets it, mostly due to the scrappy strength of its action content, but I have a hard time recommending this one.

The story: After being released from prison, an ex-gangster (Loren Avedon) finds himself on the opposite side of crime when he becomes involved in a matter of stolen heroin.

A king of unintentional surrealism like Godfrey Ho probably had to restrain himself considerably to film a story as "normal" as this. The closest we get to a taste of his trademark buffoonery is a scene wherein a boy on rollerblades is kidnapped by two thugs, also on rollerblades, and costar Cynthia Rothrock chases after them on a motorized scooter. A ton of poor acting will give cheese-lovers reason to chuckle, but overall, this is clearly supposed to be a serious crime story…and I have to admit, I hate it. The depressing portrayal of female characters crosses a boundary of taste. Though Rothrock co-leads and remains as cool as one would expect, the film's world is excessively antagonistic towards women otherwise: if female characters are not being terrorized, assaulted, or murdered with abandon, they're scapegoated for the story's dumb turns. Additionally, minority characters face a fierce rate of mortality. These trends come across as dramatic shorthand for "this is gritty and realistic," but their gratuitousness pushes the film into exploitation territory and tarnishes the viewing experience.

The action content is this feature's saving grace, and a few more additions to the seven full-length fights would probably have pushed this one to a higher score. The filmmakers are clearly working with little more than the skill of the stunt ensemble, and luckily, this is conducive to the Hong Kong-style of action. Coordinator and costar Steve Tartalia does very well in maximizing his resources, and though Avedon and Rothrock have had better fights against flashier opponents, they personally look close to their best, here. A scene wherein Cynthia chases down a couple of purse-snatchers probably could not have been done much better even in Hong Kong in 1986, and a mid-movie brawl between Loren and Tartalia is particularly satisfying. The feature also introduces Roberto Gutierrez to the screen, who has not done any film work since but whose wushu moves are especially eye-catching.

I'm pleased that Loren Avedon is given a chance to flex his acting muscles a bit, even if his Brooklyn accent is as evasive as anything Kevin Costner has ever attempted, but the movie he's in just isn't that great. Fluctuating production values add to the list of detriments chipping away at the film's quality, and even though nothing bearing the name of Godfrey Ho should be regarded with more than modest expectations, this one still falls short. For die-hards, only!