Rivales de sangre

This movie just came off as bland, so bland that even Steven Seagal would probably have said no to starring in it. Instead they get this actor sporting a glorious mullet similar to JCVD in the movie Hard Target and dresses like the countless grunge rock bands that were dying out at that point. My hair is longer than Lorenzo's and I'd still be the jerk telling him to cut it to look more legit if I was the director or an executive producer.

The first 30 minutes minus a shootout in this mansion were pretty generic and could easily have been cut from the movie. Then again the movie would be under an hour if so. The oil truck scene would have worked if it didn't feel like a video game such as Goldeneye on Nintendo 64 where enemies kept appearing out of nowhere during the shootout as well. The Russian mafia boss hardly sounds Russian. They could have just bugged Ron Jeremy to be in it.

Lorenzo can fight, this almost comes off as a vanity project as everyone loves him and thinks he's so awesome. He's a little too soft spoken to the point he just comes off as kind of boring. Lorenzo is this walking wood chipper who doesn't lose a single fight so to me anyways you don't get very involved in this. The villain was pretty bland and the story was nothing special. It was like a better made Samurai Cop. However it just drove me nuts that this more than likely 100% North American looking guy knows Cambodian fluently. Besides that the last fight was just boring how it ended. Were they going for a PG13 rating? Either way a 3.5 star from me. The fighting was good, the opening score was catchy, there was a plot to follow and the locations were somewhat diverse. I love the explosions from the grenade launchers. However this movie was just bland and I feel could have been done better. I wonder if this was direct to TV or one of those direct to video ones no one had ever heard of and are as bored as I was on a Sunday night to watch. My big question. Did this movie make any money?

First, understand that Lamas will never get a compliment out of me in regards to his acting. He just can't. This movie, however, was probably his best one. He is a cop who is also a martial arts expert and knows how to speak Cambodian. While assisting another agency on a case involving Oriental gangsters, he becomes involved in a sinister criminal plot that eventually endangers himself, his friends, and his family.

The plot is fairly familiar, but still workable. This movie also lets Lorenzo display his martial arts skill, which is considerable. That must be given to his credit. He should do more movies like this one and he would probably be a greater success. Hey, if Jean-Claude could, why not Lorenzo? Overall, this is a pretty good movie: entertaining, good action, decent bad guys, okay hero. Not outstanding, but still entertaining.

Lorenzo Lamas stars as John Kang, a half Asian cop who takes on the yakuza when said boss (James Lew) marks Kang and his cop buddies and their families for death, along the way Kang finds out that their pasts maybe intertwined. Let's be honest here. Lorenzo Lamas just isn't up to the same standard as say a Jackie Chan or Jean-Claude Van Damme (or even Michael Dudikoff, for that matter) So this means that production values will be lower, this means scripts will be worse and directing will be done in the most routine and workmanlike manner. Let's also be honest and admit that if you want to see a plot like this play out, in which martial artists use kung fu and gunfire to take on the martial arts trained mobsters, you're better off renting The Street Fighter (with Sonny Chiba),Showdown In Little Tokyo, The Punisher (1989), Steele Justice,The Perfect Weapon, The Hunted and Red Sun Rising those films have personality, imaginative action sequences and far more charismatic protagonists. Indeed the only redeeming quality to this otherwise deadly dull dud, is the swagger shown by long time screen heavy James Lew, who deserves to be the star of his own movie, yet gets stuck in awful movies like this one. The action sequences are passable, but as usual the script makes no dramatic sense, character development is zilch and the movie lumbers from mediocre action sequence to the next. Better production values than usual for a Lorenzo Lamas programmer, but unlike say Snake Eater 1-2, this one doesn't have any of that Bad Movie charm.

*1/2 out of 4-(Poor)

I'm not a fan. His movies are generally awful, but this was kind of fun in a dumb dort of way. The film has a ridiculous idea not worth repeating and also every cliche in the action book.

Lorenzo "look at my biceps and my lovely hair" Lamas poses his way through various fist fights and gun battles. The is some decent action there though that makes the film watchable. The fights in particular showcase Lorenzo's Martial arts skills.

Overall this is worth the 3 pound I paid for it on DVD. This is a good friday night after the pub movie, at home with your mates and a curry, when you don't want meaningful entertainment of any kind. When you want to see the sort of film that is inane and generally cheap and tacky. **