24 Hours to Midnight

Cynthia Rothrock, whose first film this is, appears on the video cover and has a couple of fight scenes in the opening 5 minutes. Then her character is dressed up as a ninja for the rest of the running time, except that the woman inside the ninja suit is NOT Cynthia. It's easy to see that from the close-ups of her eyes, and the ending credits confirm it. But even if you ignore this fraud, "24 Hours to Midnight" is not a good movie. The script, full of irrelevant and recycled scenes, is strictly amateur hour, the direction is inept and the "action" scenes are uninspired. The criminal organization that "Cynthia" goes after is supposedly making billion dollar deals, yet its headquarters seem to be a small cheap room. The only bright spot in this movie is a sexy female cop (Myra) - without her I would have given it a "Zero" rating for sure.

I hadn't watched this infamously bad flick since I bought it way back when, and upon viewing it over 20 years later, can remember why!

24 Hours To Midnight is definitely one of those so-bad-its-good movies that just keeps you laughing the whole way through. I get that its an independent film (although with a budget), and very early on in the fantastic Rothrock's career - who incidently was dating the producer at this time. She had made her debut in HK the same year with the incredible Yes Madam (aka Police Assassins 2), but I'm not sure what came first. I'd like to say this one...

In fact, only because of her fame as an action star soon after, I firmly believe that she became the main lead on promotion for 24 Hours To Midnight to help sales. Cyndy gets a couple of brief scuffles in the early part of the film which hardly match her HK action standards but let us see that she can move. She goes on the run after her husband is killed and starts dressing as a ninja to exact revenge on the bad guys that did it! But only, the ninja assassin is very clearly not Cynthia Rothrock!!

With recognisably different eyes and voice, fake Cyndy ninja keeps thinking back to her (dreadful) crying scene in the car before picking a weapon off her bed and going out to kill. Once she (or the ninja) gets a bit of action going, she grows a couple of foot and turns into a man.

The film has two storylines going on that would make Godfrey Ho proud. One with Cyndy ninja getting her revenge, and another with two cops (who reminded me of an early Rothrock and Norton team-up) who dress bad and like kicking ass. They kind of pull themselves together at the end, but by that stage you don't care...

While the acting isn't terrible from everyone involved, at times you can see a tiny wee bit of potential trying to creep through - and a times, it plays like a poor mans China O'Brien due to its mid-west setting, ridiculously costumed gangs and dialogue, but honestly, there isn't much that could put this 80's flick down as a classic. I would quicker grab for Rothrock and Fong's second outing - Fight To Win - before going back to this.

Overall: For Rothrock completists only - or anyone who loves bad movies! (I'm still laughing)

This movie originally came out in 1985. It was one of Cynthia's first roles. The re-release of this movie has Cynthia Rothrock as the headline star. Now, if it were true, then the movie would have been better, but you only see about 3 minutes of her in the whole movie. She is suppose to be the ninja who gains revenge on the drug lord and his henchmen for killing her husband. You see her in the very beginning and then through a series of flashbacks to the beginning scenes, but the the ninja is NOT her. They used some double and kept her face covered for the whole movie. I felt I was watching Game of Death. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone! Rating 1/10

OK, I needed a job in 1991 (or thereabouts, I really can't remember)...and I was friends with Leo Fong...a very nice guy and hopeful film-maker. He enlisted my help to resurrect a film that had been started a few years earlier, and then quickly abandoned, after a dispute between Cynthia and her boyfriend, and the producer(s) of the film. My job was to retrieve the printed work-print and sound rolls from a storage vault in Hollywood (during which I seriously injured by back, which I suffer from to this very day), and piece together the measly amount of actual footage shot with Rothrock during a two or three day period. Then I incorporated new footage that was shot, and helped suggest new scenes to make the "story" work...It was a complete mess, but I did the best I could...(at the same time I was cutting this at director's sound in Burbank, I ran into Charlie Napier who was there looping for "rocketman", and asked him to appear in Don Jackson's "Return to Frogtown"...another story all together...) Should I write an autobiography of my life in the low budget film world??? Would anybody read it??? I guess not...

Because I know the filmmakers and how this film came to be...Well,I survived. Stock footage of Cyntia Rothrock,voice over by BRINKE STEVENS and some very kewl walkons...Leo Fong and Stack Pierce. Tulare ,California was supposed to be what BIG city...Anybody know ? Wait a second was PHIL CABLE even listed in credits ???