The story: When out-of-work fighters Dave (Dale Cook) and James (Ron Hall) rescue a washed-up Army sergeant (Robert Marius) from a beating, he reveals to them the location of a long-lost treasure in the jungles of Cambodia. Hounded by the henchmen of a greedy crimelord (Nick Nicholson), they enlist the help of kickboxer Julie Webb (Bridgett Riley) and use their combined martial talents to take out whomever stands in their way.
This movie is cheap. Dirt cheap. I imagine that whatever budget the filmmakers had was spent flying the cast and crew to Thailand, and once there, they worked with whatever they had in their pockets. The video quality hearkens back to '70s pornos and the audio is likewise horrible, with incorrectly-synched sound effects and dialogue that sometimes sounds like it was recorded from the far end of the set. Such poor production values mirror the quality of the acting: Cook and Hall are both world-class athletes but can't act their way past a drive-thru window, while Nick Nicholson should be sued for breaching some kind of overacting law. Robert Marius gives pretty much the same performance he does in all of his movies, but there's a trace of charm in his hamminess. Bridgett Riley isn't great either, but her marginally better performance, coupled with her physical stuff, makes me lament that she didn't get more starring roles in her career. She would have made an excellent Cynthia Rothrock-type heroine.
Though it takes a while to get there, the movie eventually redeems itself with some choice fight scenes. Riley looks absolutely legitimate as a trained butt-kicker. Dale Cook, though regularly derided for his other films, also gives a strong showing. The real standout star among the cast, however, is Ron Hall, whose unique fighting style takes precedence more than once over the others. It's a shame that so few people know of him (and that those that do will by way of the godawful VAMPIRE ASSASSINS, but this makes watching him a rare treat and privileged pleasure for those who've spent time tracking down this movie. The fights start off weakly, but build up so that the end of the film is marked by an all-out brawl that's 100% better than the initial bout. The choreography reaches particular heights during a series of three fights, when at one point Ron Hall catches his opponent in a headscissors and pummels him in the face until he's felled; it's a move right out of a video game and really helps to open your eyes to what these guys are capable of pulling off.
There are a few weirdo scenes to contend with, like when Dave and James begin an impromptu beating of bad guys without any introduction, or when a henchmen punishes himself by jumping in a pool. On their own, these seem really odd, but when watched in a zany B-movie mindset, they end up serving as throwaway qualities of a movie in need of all the help it can get. I can't in good conscience give this one a wide recommendation, but if you like low-budget karate flicks and know that you have the patience to sit through some questionable parts, then the chances of you having a fun time with this little-known kicker are good.
