Incidente en Manila

Once again I fell victim to deceptive video box art. Even though actress Melissa Moore appears prominently on the cover brandishing a gun, there is no gunplay in this pathetic low budget martial arts action film. The biggest problem with this film about a female kick-boxing competition is that none of the girls can fight! The main actress, who is billed as a legitimate award winning martial artist, only exhibits a handful of different moves, and all of her semi-competent fight scenes are laughably performed by a male stunt double in drag! Another fine example of an American girl-fu film that completely misses the mark.

Okay, I'm lying. The acting is bad. The sound is dubbed poorly. And, I've seen better fight choreography on the Batman television series. All that having been said, I have to admit, when it comes to breasts and martial arts, this movies has them both.

The late Cat Sassoon, though no great actress, gets kind of endearing by the end of this flick. I realized that, although she was in a bad movie and had nightcrawlers for lips, she probably couldn't help either. And, there were no good actors to make the bad actors look really bad. Two of the characters look so much alike, however, that the viewer might get confused for a while. Don't try to give this movie the benefit of the doubt...just enjoy it for what it is:

A b-movie worth seeing by anyone who enjoys female martial arts action...

Perhaps the main highlight of this film is the action and fighting-both on and off the mat. There is plenty of action during the kickboxing tournament sequences, and those are well done. There is also a fairly coherent plot-surprise!-as Cat Sasoon tries to avenge and get to the bottom of her sister's death. All in all, an adequate film with lots of action. See it for that and the lovely Cat Sasoon and gorgeous Melissa Moore.

** 1/2 out of ****

Filmmaker Cirio H. Santiago must have really liked his 1974 martial arts movie "T.N.T. Jackson", because he remade the same basic story in two more movies before his death, "Firecracker", and this movie. I didn't like the first two versions, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that I didn't like this version. It's technically inept, with poorly recorded (or dubbed) dialogue and sound effects. It's also very poorly made elsewhere, with fight sequences that are not only badly choreographed, but directed and edited in ways that suck the little life there is in the combat. As for Cat Sassoon, she doesn't come across well, not looking terribly beautiful (she has freckles all over her face and body), but also acts in a way that often doesn't make her character endearing. The only plus that the movie has is some gratuitous nudity, but it's not as frequent as it should be. Even those who love movies where women kick ass will be bored by this.

On the hunt for vintage T&A flicks, I came across 'Angelfist' on a list. I was intrigued as it looked unique standing out from all those screwball comedies, hot lady cops, prison flicks, love trysts, missions to get laid and countless bikini romps within the genre. It's low budget thru & thru and while the action I hoped for isn't great the obvious doses of female skin are here in a paper thin story that's serviceable.

When her kickboxer sister Kristie (Sibel Birzag) is killed while competing in the Philippines, tough LA cop Katara "Kat" Lang (Cat Sassoon) goes down there looking for answers. Inserting herself into the tournament, she finds out her sister was witness to the murder of an American Army Colonel having took photos and there's a conspiracy at the heart of the country's civil unrest. Can she get those pics, win the tournament and stay alive?

I naively hoped 'Angelfist' could deliver the required nudity, somehow be a female equivalent to 'Kickboxer' in terms of decent production values and fight sequences. I know, I know. The fight choreography is weak. I had forgotten for a moment that even a cheap b-movie can spring for a decent movie box. No one here is really a skilled martial artist and there's very little gunplay.

However it's not without charms. There's some awful dubbing, cheese grade acting, woefully inadequate villains (some of who run around dressed like ninjas) and gratuitous shower scenes. Not to mention the silliness of Kat in action as a LA cop and saying she's a black belt in taekwondo like that's a legit fighting style. They marketed her as a World Karate Association North American Champion (hint: its made up).

Produced by Roger Corman and helmed by Philippines director Cirio H. Santiago, 'Angelfist' half delivered like I sheepishly wanted. I'd later learn this was the director's blueprint for very similar movies with his specialty - female topless fight scenes - a treat and the late Sassoon is easy on the eyes. As is Melissa Moore as a rival fighter who once posed for Playboy and is probably most well known for her appearance in the cult film 'Samurai Cop'. With an 80 minute runtime things move at a brisk pace and remain titillating if you're game.