An Eye for an Eye

'Chuck Norris doesn't need a weapon... he is a weapon!' Oh, yeah. Don't you know it! This is what I like to see. Where can you get a Norris film which has him in a red sports car, flaunting a blinding fashion sense, glowing golden hair, a sensitive pet dog called Mort, Mako as his comical martial arts mentor, an unstoppable henchman, Richard Roundtree, Christopher Lee, haunting flashbacks, plenty of fodder for some ass-whooping and of course that fuzzy mo. Hey wait on. What, there's no mo on show?! I don't know, but I guess I have to deal with it. Even though it has dynamism of its own. More so than the man! Anyhow all of this can be found in director Steve Carver's "An Eye For An Eye", who was also responsible for the highly amusing and surprisingly stylish Norris' outing "Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)".

Carver knows his stuff, by keeping it at a cracking pace, competent flair and plastering it with brilliantly stylised and choreographed action set-pieces. Some lively suspense, and jolting thrills are randomly worked in along the way. The premise is routine, and the twists foreseeable. Vengeance, vengeance. I think Norris has got vengeance on mind, and flashy slow motion is the weapon of choice. Of course nothing is going to get in his way. This makes it quite exciting, over-the-top and at times comical. Yes there's some intentional humour too, even in the wonky script. The San Francisco backdrop is well-used (from the gritty to the attractive) as its spaciously photographed and William Goldstien's moodily appealing score is pitch-perfect. The wooden plank that's Norris does what's needed of him, and strangely holds your attention in an adequate turn. A tip-top supporting cast give it a little more credit. Mako brings a wilful personality that suitably feeds off Norris. Richard Roundtree's cynical, frown-beating Capt. Stevens and Christopher Lee's smooth presence features largely as Morgan Canfield. Rosalind Chao, Maggie Cooper and Matt Clarke are solid too. In a role that's hard to forget is Professor Toru Tanaka as the formidable, stone-engraved opponent that Norris must encounter. A swiftly executed and undoubtedly engaging actioner.

Now, this film really takes me back to my youth, where you were a member of a video shop... or fifteen (I counted the cards I used to have)... and you would troll around them all to find a movie worth watching - at least it kept us fit.

This is pretty much your basic '80's action flick. Where the good guy is out for revenge for the death of a lover, a family member, friend, or in this case a partner on the force. The plot, like this one, would usually revolve around drugs trafficking. Throw in a love interest and loads of exciting fights and you have the perfect mix. This was the start of the "Leave your brain at the door" movies. To be fair, it's nice to let enjoyment and excitement take you out of your daily routine. I know I need it at the moment.

So in this story, you have Kane (Norris) and his partner, Dave (Kiser), heading to an undercover meet. However, it's a trap and Dave is killed, in quite a nasty way. From here on in Kane is out to solve the murder and get revenge for his dead partner. This leads him and Dave's girlfriend reporter, Linda (Chao) into a world of drug trafficking...

So what makes this a film worth watching?

Well there is Chuck Norris, who to be honest, isn't too bad in this film. He was just coming into being an actor in his own right at this time. These types of characters, like the films, were ten-a-penny and you were lucky if they made it to two-dimensional, let alone three. I have to believe that it's the likes of Christopher Lee (Canfield), Richard Roundtree (Captain Stevens), Matt Clark (McCoy), and even Mako (Chan) that elevated his acting up a notch or two for this movie. The rest of the cast are solid actors and carry the film and the much-used scenario easily.

Next, there's the direction. Steve Carver does a really good job with the camera work. There are some really well-framed sections. I loved the part where Kane goes to visit his sensei and master Chan. He parks his beautiful red Mustang and gets out. This is all superbly framed in a long shot by an ornamental oriental fence. Even on the drive up to his masters home, he is followed by a helicopter. This is filmed smoothly; you have a side portrait of Norris driving and outside the passenger window you see the copter flying at his side. There's also a nice sequence where Kane runs from his house, down his pier to his private jetty, opens his speedboats enclosure, jumps in and speeds away. There is a lot in this film that Carver should be proud about. Even the slow motion sections of the fight scene's work. When a lot of martial arts opted to speed up the action, slowing it down works really well - especially when you have a master of the arts like Norris.

Carver also sets a nice rollercoaster pace for the movie. He knows when to slow down to drive the plot and quicken it up to boost excitement and tension. A Lot of filmmakers could take a few notes from this film.

The only thing in the film that irked me was the love interest, Maggie Cooper. This was mainly for Sullivan's wooden performance. In some scenes, she appears so laid back that she may have been sampling the product the bad guys were moving.

If you like your martial arts flicks and are not too worried about plot, then I would recommend this one to you. It may not be intellectually brilliant but it is kick ass entertaining.

Chuck Norris has gotten a bit of a bad rap over the years, but watching some of his earlier films, it's hard to understand why. No, he's not the best actor of all time, but his fighting skills are pretty impressive. This movie gives him a lot of room to do what he does best, and it's great fun to watch him take out bad guy after bad guy with his amazing kung fu kicks. There are also good performances by Mako and Christopher Lee, both of whom make any movie worth watching, and the director has some cool camera shots throughout.

That said, I have to admit it has plenty of unintentionally hilarious parts, and I'm not just talking about the cheesy 80's soundtrack and polyester suits. For one thing, it seems like something is a little wrong with ol' Chuck. He does some genuinely odd things throughout the movie that make you wonder if he's OK in the head. The most shocking example is when a guy asks him, "Kane, do you know what is permeating this room?", and he sniffs the guy's face, rubs his cheek, and says, "Is it your cologne?" Then there's the scene where he knocks a man out, then places a pillow behind his head and pats his hair. He also spends a lot of time talking to his dog, Mort... and not just in a friendly way, but in a maybe-he's-hearing-the-dog-talking-back sort of way.

The character of the Professor is funny too (funny-odd, not funny-haha). The scene where he gets hit by a car and responds by beating the car up is not easy to forget.

These things are a bit unsettling, but where the film really loses it is at the end, when everything goes unexpectedly and completely bonkers. I am referring to the surreal scene where dozens of businessmen who all look like Ron Burgundy have a full-scale war with the police. It's like watching "Die Hard" with the terrorists being played by the entire cast of "Dallas." Cheesiness aside, however, this is an enjoyable, action-packed film that any fan of Norris is sure to love.

7/10 stars.

Avemb's "An Eye for an Eye" is an effective martial arts actioner vehicle for the current champ of the genre, Chuck Norris. Helmer Steve Carver mixes a realistic approach with comic strip elements effectively and though results are routine. Pic should please fans of chop-socky.

Norris toplines as a San Francisco cop who quits the force and goes after revenge when his partner and partner's girlfriend are killed by drug traffickers. Aided by his former police boss Capt. Stevens (Richard Roundtree), Norris evens the accounts and takes care of the drug ring.

Making solid atmospheric use of S. F. locations, Carver segues from realistic violence and tension to comic strip hokum in the form of a huge oriental villain (Toru Tanaka), whose menacing antics tip the audience that the film is all in fun. Format has Norris, in traditional Western genre fashion, helped and heckled by an old pro "master" James Chan (Mako), whose wisecracks provide comic relief.

Norris's acting is improving and his balletic fighting and kicking skills remain tops in the field. Chris Lee is fine as an urbane villain, while Maggie Cooper is cute as romantic interest for Norris. Tech credits are good, My review was written in August 1981 after a Midtown Manhattan screening.

This early Chuck Norris fare is one of his entertaining and exciting one to view. Done by Steve Carver who later did the sightly better Lone Wolf McQuade(1983). Its about a Police officer who quits the force to find the people responsible for his partner's death. He ends up joining forces with James Chan played by Mako when he battles some Triad organization. The Triads are portrayed differently in this film then they would be during the mid to late 1980s. This was before gunplay became a big part of the Triad pictures from the Heroic Bloodshed genre in Hong Kong cinema. An Eye for An Eye(1981) is much better then any of Chuck Norris's movies from the 1990s.

The battle between Chuck Norris and Professor Toru Tanako is one of the top martial arts match ups in any Norris flick. Chris Lee makes a great villain as the diabolical Morgan Canfield. Mako adds to the already good cast with his presence and wisdom. Mako is probably the only person to have appeared in a movie or TV show with Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, and Sammo Hung. An Eye for An Eye(1981) must have been the inspiration for the Steven Seagal film, Hard to Kill(1990) because the plots are almost identical. Anohter memorable character is The Professor. Future Cythnia Rothrock co star, Richard Norton provides some of the stunts for the film.