Outside the Law

If she was such a great agent. Why does she still drive a yellow truck, not change her looks. And all the bad guys only attack her one at a time. The lines are bad. Acting is worse.

Another Cynthia Rothrock action film where she gets to be better than all the men and kick a lot of ass. Over the last couple months as I've delved deep down the rabbit hole of Rothrock films, I'm a little saddened that I didn't grow up with these films as I'm sure I'd be a bigger fan. I came to the Rothrock party late, but making up for it has been a lot of fun and as derivative as this film may seem (in general) it's Rothrock that makes it worthwhile. This plot has been used by just about every action film star (and it'll be used again) but if you're a fan of the featured star than a derivative plot is not why you watch the film in the first place. Rothrock seems to be having fun and the audience has fun with her and that's what keeps the film entertaining and engaging. This is a fun film that will stay with you if you're a Rothrock fan, but if you're not then it may just seem like a general action film.

Cynthia Rothrock continues to plod a path through Z-grade material in OUTSIDE THE LAW, an entirely redundant B-movie in terms of originality or on-screen excitement. The only notable thing about this is that it was shot in Puerto Rico, which must have been fun for the cast and crew, but sadly that exotic experience doesn't translate into fun for the viewers at home.

Rothrock plays a disgruntled former secret agent trying to turn her back on her old life. However, she soon gets involved with various hoodlums, and is forced to rely on her fighting skills in order to survive. I don't mind bad stories in action vehicles for stars like this, but I do demand quality fight scenes. Sadly, they're very badly filmed here, choppy and poorly edited throughout, and it's obvious that Rothrock was being doubled half the time.

Even worse, Rothrock's acting isn't too hot, and she's saddled with the stupidest-looking wig for most of the running time. Fellow martial artist Jeff Wincott also appears in a non-fighting role - what's the point of that? - alongside the familiar faces of Stephen Macht (THE MONSTER SQUAD), Brad Greenquist (PET SEMATARY), and Don Harvey (DIE HARD 2).

Even at the age of 45, Cynthia Rothrock is a superb martial artist, but "Outside The Law" / "Never Say Die" is a mediocre vehicle for her. The plot is completely uninteresting, and the scattered fight scenes don't compensate for that, because a) they are mostly shot in too-tight close-ups, b) the editing is choppy, c) the villains don't offer much of a challenge to Cynthia. Only James Lew is introduced as a worthy opponent, but even their fight scene at the end of the movie is not as long as it should have been. There is an amusing nod to Rothrock's Hong Kong film past ("You can read Chinese?", her friend asks her - "Enough to order from a menu", she responds). Sidenote: when an action film starts with a couple discussing how many kids (and pets) they will have when they get married, you know one of them is not going to be around for long. (**)

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Martial arts star Cynthia Rothrock enters suddenly and unexpectedly back into our lives with this standard chunk of DTV action fodder.As a Grade-D action flick,it serves it's purpose well.The plot is a little wavey and disjointed,but Rothrock is the driving force of the show.She's not just a great martial artist,but she ain't a BAD actress either,and both these assets are in equal abundance throughout.***