Circleman

My review was written in June 1988 after watching the film on Academy video cassette.

Being released direct-to-video, "Last Man Standing" is an effective Canadian pic covering similar ground to Walter Hill's classic Charles Bronson-starrer "Hard Times".

Aussie thesp Vernon Wells (memorable as the oversize nemesis in "The Road Warrior") is well-cast as Roo, a streetfighter in what are dubbed "circle fights", bare knuckle boxing inside a steel cage. He works for gym owner Casper (William Sanderson), but there is all sorts of corruption involved, led by club owner Napoleon (Michael Copeman) and crooked cop Tenney (Frank Moore).

Roo is tormented by memories of eight years in an insane asylum and the shock treatment he received there, but in the genre's time-honored tradition he comes back to fight a new star, and then battles Napoleon's cocky pro talent Razor (Real Andrews).

Except for an unconvincing, tacked-on happy ending shot, film plays well, with standard dramatics, okay fight scenes and a most unusual romance between Roo and offbeat leading lady Sonja Belliveau, who works as a mechanic and is big and strong enough to beat up most of the cast. Wells and Sanderson are sympathetic, the villains ordinary. Same production team earlier made another fight film, "Busted Up", toplining Paul Coufos and Irene Cara.