Dimension de la mort

There is something about this Z grade martial arts flick that might make you want to take a shower after you watch it. A seedy, sleazy feel pervades every frame, and if you know about the LA scene of the 70's, and what was going on at the time, it feels even sleazier. Iconic martial arts master, and the "King of Cool," Jim Kelly made a handful of these movies, after his appearance in the very successful "Enter the Dragon," starring Bruce Lee. A lot of fans were disappointed that Kelly's ultra-cool character is killed off so early into that film, because we wanted more of this guy. And movies like "Death Dimension" give Jim Kelly a chance to show his stuff. Among these films, all of which are memorable and great in their own way, "Death Dimension" stands out as one of the cheapest of the lot. Filmed in the Nevada desert, and the glitzy Reno casino strip, on a very small budget, the movie still manages to be atmospheric and entertaining. Featuring a cast of cheap looking women who look like they were borrowed from a hardcore porn movie, as well as some truly mean looking men. There is an evil Haitian thug with a scarred face that will make your skin crawl. He likes to beat women and slice people's throats with his razor-like pinky ring. And the king pin scumbag is just called "The Pig," and he is truly a pig, in his skin tight polyester shirts bursting under the strain of his sweaty, big body. when Jim Kelly is on screen though, everything comes together, and we are reminded just why we are watching. Kelly's martial arts skills are finely tuned and hyper-energetic; the man is truly incredible to watch. Here he is partnered with Myron Lee, a Chinese undercover agent, and the two work very well off each other, kind of like the pairing of Conan and Subotai in "Conan the Barbaian." Some highlights include scenes of Jim Kelly walking around the neon-saturated Reno strip at night. The man is just so cool in everything he does. As far as the plot goes, well it concerns some evil bastards trying to get their hands on a machine that can freeze the weather in a concentrated area. It sounds a bit like the plot from "Black Samurai," another Kelly film that is actually better than this film. Anyway we don't watch these films for their brilliant story lines, do we? I recommend this movie for fans of exploit cinema and martial arts movies of the 1970's. It's good, sleazy fun.

Death Dimension aka The Black Eliminator is one of two films that Jim Kelly made with infamous schockmeister Al Adamson. Both of these movies are really bad, this is the worst of the two. Black Samurai was the better of the two, it was just as poorly made as this. However, it was more over the top and entertaining. This has a lame plot that has Jim Kelly go after a villain named "The Pig" and has to save a woman from getting killed by a freeze bomb. The only reason to watch this movie is Jim Kelly, who really deserved better. There are a few decent karate fights and Jim Kelly still is a cool hero. I would have rather Jim Kelly fired his agent to get him better projects, but doing crap like this you can't really blame the guy for his exit from the film industry to pursue a career in tennis.

I think anyone studying film making should be required to watch this film, and learn how NOT to make a film! This is just plain stupid!! I can see why the "Goldfinger" director had OddJob mute. Because Sakata's line readings are so bad, they might as well have dubbed in his voice. Why was poor George Lazenby cast to play in such trashy films? Was he really that bad in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"? Did the director of this film think that by casting two Bondian actors in this film that he would be raising the production value of such a horrible script? The action scenes are so tame and unexciting, that you can't believe why Jim Kelly would allow this to be vehicle in his career after the success of "Enter The Dragon". The only one aspect of this film worth viewing (with the exception of the Bondian actors) is the soundtrack. Not that it's completely brilliant, but it definately has a Rare Groove edge to it (if that's your bag), but I doubt a Soundtrack album ever accompanied this "drive-in" "B-" movie. Oh, and Jim Kelly has a cool red jump suit to wear. But that's about it. If the opening scene (with a woman getting stitched up in a nauseating slow pace) doesn't get you to turn the video off, the action will slowly put you to sleep. Only interesting if you were ever curious to see what George Lazenby got up to after his turn at James Bond.

Pure comedy. I hired this film from a video store as a kid in the late 80's. Along with brothers and friends we were looking for dodgy 70's films with afro's, car chases, gun fights and most importantly a 'twangy' 70s soundtrack. We were not disappointed. We still talk about this film today. There is one scene where a character called 'The Pig' holds a turtle above a woman's breast and declares 'one bight of your tit and you have to cut head off before he let go'!!! (Said in dodgy Chinese accent - same guy who played Odd Job in Bond movie). If you are looking for laughs, get this film. Terrible plot, awful acting, hilarious fights and an amazing script!! I just want to get my hands on this again!!!

Well, the cast of this movie certainly has great cult value: Jim Kelly, George Lazenby, Harold Sakata. The movie itself, however, is not as much fun as it could have been. Kelly still has the moves, but while some of his fighting isn't bad, it is spoiled by the unslick presentation (lighting, framing, etc.). Sakata is, for me and many others, an iconic presence: his Oddjob is arguably the best henchman in the entire Bond series. However, his role here adds nothing to his stature, in fact it probably detracts from it. Lazenby's participation is minor. The film is poorly directed, and obviously drawn-out at the climax. Worth a look for its cast, but don't expect too much. (*1/2)