The Stabilizer

I would like to start by saying I can only hope that the makers of this movie and it's sister film The Intruder (directed by the great unheralded stylist auteur that is Jopi Burnama) know in their hearts just how much pleasure they have brought to me and my friends in the sleepy north eastern town of Jarrow.

From the opening pre credit sequence which manages to drag ever so slightly despite containing a man crashing through a window on a motorbike, the pitiless destruction of a silence lab, the introduction of one of the most simultaneously annoying and anaemic bad guys in movie history and costume design that Jean Paul Gautier would find ott and garish. Make no mistake; this is a truly unique experience. Early highlight - an explosion (get used to it, plenty more where that came from!) followed by a close up of our chubby heroine and the most hilarious line reading of the word "dad" in living memory. And then... the theme song...

Yeah, this deserves its own paragraph. Sung by AJ, written by people who really should wish to remain anonymous, it makes the songs written for the Rocky films sound like Schubert. This is crap 80's hero motivation narcissism at an all time high, with choice lyrics such as "its only me and you, its come down to the wire" and much talk of having to "cross the line" (it'll make sense in time - our hero cares little for the boundaries of bona fida police work) abounding. Not to mention the Indonesian Supremes cooing the film's title seductively. At this point anyone wishing to switch off officially has no pulse.

Our hero is Semitic cop Peter Goldson (essayed brilliantly by Intruder star Peter O'Brien), the "stabilizer" of the title. The man's bull in a china shop approach to crime fighting and particularly his less than inconspicuous undercover work truly leaves much to be desired, but he is without question an entertaining guide through the mean streets of downtown Jakarta, with local sleaze ball connection Captain Johnny in tow, as well as Peter's own waste of space partner in fashion crime Sylvia Nash, who does little. So many highlights, so little time - the "slide please" arrogance of Peter's not all too convincingly argued case against chief baddie Greg Rainmaker (Intruder fans will know hirsute slimy bastard Craig Gavin as the monstrous John White - helluva name eh? No! Oh well...), the x marks the spot location map stupidity, our hero taking horrible advantage of heroine Tina Probost during a moment of weakness on her behalf, the latter turning up at a sting operation dressed like a member of a particularly flamboyant dancing troop. And believe me that barely covers it.

There wasn't even time to go into the plot revolving around the hunt for a drug detection system and a kidnapped professor with an alarming but commendable amount of national pride. Or our hero turning up at a funeral dressed as if an extra on Boogie Nights. Or the absolutely hysterical craic between Captain Johnny and Goldson - two guys have never made more heavy weather of buddy buddy shtick than these clowns. The trowel was possibly too subtle me thinks.

Ah it tails off people, and you never thought scenes of wanton destruction and general mayhem could be so unbelievably boring, but the character interaction is stupendous, the dialogue truly priceless and the incompetence on show somehow endearing. Oh and the shoes people - watch out for the shoes!

This film is extreme fun, I've seen with my friends so many times that the VHS tape is badly worn. Luckily Troma has released this gold nugget on DVD.

What I've noticed about "The Stabilizer" is that there are "homages" to other movies. The scene where the Stabilizer is taken captive to meet Victor at a pool house is exactly like a scene from the James Bond film "For Your Eyes Only". And the picture of The Stabilizer in the death scene of the girlfriend looks very much like the poster from "Cobra", starring Sylvester Stallone.

Some gems in the movie:

The guy that says "babyyy, babyyy" and eats a lizard. The shot of what looks like the asscrack but actually is the armpit. The "Location Map".

I recommend "The Stabilizer" to everyone who likes action and insane violence. Two thumbs up!

From the opening theme (which by the way happens to include women singing Sta-bil-izer), you know this is cinematic gem. This film regards the exploits of one, the Stabilizer in his quest to thwart the villan (Greg Rainmaker) whose nefariousness is capped of by raping the Stabilizers girlfriend and then stomping her to death with his cleets (this is all done off screen while the camera focuses in on a picture of the Stabilizer that his girlfriend happened to have in her room). Not to mention that Greg Rainmaker has also captured a important scientist, with the assistance of the Indonesian Mr. T, and an endless supply of look-a-like henchmen. How will our hero ever prevail, or in this case Stabilize? Well, if Stabilization has anything to do with exploding and or killing everything in site, then the forces of good are bound to prevail. The Stabilizer in this film, rides dirt bikes onto peoples faces, fist fights at least a hundred guys with machine guns, sets fire to warehouses, puts a criminal underling in a barrel which he then roles around in the back of a truck and jumps off a helicopter while shooting it cause it to explode. Not to mention sleeping with the girl who he had just met. Hot. Not five minutes goes by in this film without some form of overt action and or destruction. And as it is conducted by guys with greasy 70's haircuts, well, it just doesnt get any better than that.

Do you like explosions? How about fighting? Well, this movie has both of those. You know the other thing you can't have a movie without: a kick ass motorcycle, the type that bounces off someone's head and knocks them out at the same time. You bet the Stabilizer has one. There's even a classic cliff scene.

All in all, I'm quite proud that I have even seen this movie...and even prouder to have my review be the first one...YES!

The acting is poor, the plot is thin, but who cares? "The Stabilizer" delivers non-stop action! In my estimation, at least 75 out of this movie's 90 minutes feature some form of action - vehicle chases, fight scenes, gymnastics, shootouts, explosions, crashing through walls and floors, etc. The action is outrageous, bloody, funny, destructive, and overall very enjoyable to watch. Peter O'Brian (probably one of the worst actors ever, but that's beside the point) is notable for his unorthodox fighting style, which can best be described as bull-in-a-china-shop. One of the things I really liked about this film is that it gives the women, and there are several of them, a significant part of the action, and they are almost equally as deadly as the men, with or without a gun in hand. If you enjoy Jackie Chan's Hong Kong movies but wish they were more R-rated, you'll probably like "The Stabilizer" as well. It's as unpretentious as an action movie can get. **1/2 out of 4.