Armed Response

The Roth clan gets wrapped up in underworld double and triple crosses after youngest son Clay (David Goss) is shot by his P.I. partner Cory (Ross Hagen). Seems the duo was hired by Tanaka (Mako) to reclaim a jade statue from some thieves (Dick Miller and Laurene Landon) and Cory felt it was the perfect ticket to good life. So ex-cop/drunk Papa Roth (Lee Van Cleef) corrals his two remaining sons Jim (David Carradine) and Tommy (Brent Huff) to get some family revenge.

This action flick was technically my first Fred Olen Ray film as I remember my dad renting it back in the day. I don't know why, but knowing that FOR pulled one over on my pops with the allure of Carradine and Van Cleef makes me smile. Anyways, I barely remembered it so tonight's revisit was almost like watching it anew. This moves fast and is actually better made than some of the films Ray made right after it. It is simple stuff plot wise but I enjoyed it and there are a few good shootouts here and there. The biggest surprise is that the leads are really there for the whole film and Carradine and Van Cleef really give it their all. Trying to swallow Lee as David's dad is kinda funny though as they were separated by roughly 11 years in real life. Lots of great character actors in supporting roles like Michael Berryman as a fortune cookie giving hit-man, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as a long-haired torturer, Bobbie Bresee as a stripper (who stays clothed), Michelle Bauer as a stripper (who doesn't stay clothed), Conan Lee in the first five minutes, and Dawn Wildsmith (aka Mr. Olen Ray at the time) as a barroom tough girl.

Anytime a film delivers what it promises, it gets at least a 5 rating from me, and "Armed Response" gives you exactly what you would expect from a low budget action movie. The weak points would be , numerous explosions and gratuitous car crashes, a paper thin plot, finally a shootout in Chinatown with grenades and automatic weapons that goes totally unnoticed by anyone. The strongest point is the fun of seeing David Caradine, Lee Van Cleef, and Michael Berrymen together, and they do not disappoint. Another plus is the musical score, which seems to fit perfectly. Top that off with some lively one liners and you have an entertaining action film. - MERK

My review was written in October 1986 after a screening at UA Twin theater in Manhattan.

"Armed Response" punches up a mundane action-revenge film plotline with above-par casting and enough style to make the formula work for genre fans L. A.-lensed opus was filmed early this year under the better title "Jade Jungle".

Instead of his real-life acting clan, David Carradine here is surrounded by a dissimilar dad (Lee Van Cleef) and brothers (Brent Huff, David Goss) in a simple tale out of the "Maltese Falcon" bag. Youngest sibling Goss is a private eye hired with his partner Ross Hagen to retrieve a stolen jade antique for Japanese gangster Mako, who must get the object and save face before a war with the Chinese Tongs breaks out. Greedy Hagen executes several double crosses, with Goss ending up dead and his family now at odds with Mako, who kidnaps Carradine's wife and daughter.

Papa Van Cleef is an ex-cop and Carradine a war vet plagued with recurring nightmares (weak flashback footage) of Vietnam, so both grab their weaponry and lurch into action. Helped by some effective car stunts and pyrotechnics, plus several allusions for film buffs to catch, pic delivers the action goods.

For his sixth feature film, director Fred Olen Ray steps up to a bigger budget with some stylish compositions and a few elaborate setpieces. Cast is adequate, overcoming some cory dialog, with Ross Hagen as the double-dealing bad guy making a strong impression resembling the late Gig Young.

This movie was corny but it's some much fun at the same time. The film definitely get's better after repeated viewing by the way, the story is very simple but I feel for a low budget film sometimes that's best.

I found this one at a video store back in 2012, I have to admit the first time I watched this I thought it was OK at best, but on repeated viewing it just got better and better. The movie is your average direct to video action fair, but it's fun for what it is.

Now, on to the action; the action scenes are pretty cool, the explosions are good and the fire fights are fun too. This film is mostly a shoot 'em up type, so they're no real good hand to hand brawls, I mean David Carradine does punch a few guys around but we don't see him use his martial arts.

The characters are mostly quirky types and the tone is sort of campy but I like that the film knows what it is, and there are funny one liners too.

Overall a fun campy action b-movie that I really liked.

I give it a 6/10. Just have fun with this one, you know, have some beers with friends and have a great movie night.

Here's your typical B grade, run around action pic that does deliver, in action, only it has good actors in it, or wastes good actors. It is, I dare say an interesting pic with some real heartless and nasty baddies, male or female. Two brothers, and his father, Lee Van Cleef, of all people, the most wasted star here, are all combat veterans, who avenge the death of their other family member, the third brother who got into some shady dealings with these really bad people, led by Tanaka (Asian icon-Mako) The late brother was also double crossed by a partner (Hagen) who at the end, Carradine gives a double meaning to the term surface. We're off to a great start when one of Tanaka's guys apologizes for dishonouring him, by cutting off one of his fingers, which the that tall bald headed goof Michael Berryman picks up, smiling at it. There are some unintentionally moronic lines I just found funny, or as if in "You've heard this all or saw it all before in many other pics, it's mundane". Some funny moments occur in that torture scene, where the second brother openly defends his family honour, stating how all of them were proud to be vets. The torture scene too which includes a mysterious middle aged Asian woman, we don't know anything about (there's always a mysterious figure in these scenes you never see again, it's eerie, as never more here) assisting in a some poison needle torture, where soon the brother count is down to one. It's then up to man (Van Cleef) and son (Carradine) to avenge the dead. I really liked Carradine in this who as an actor, led a very private life and had closeted publicity. Here his character, Jim, has violent 'Nam' flashbacks that trigger momentary anger if provoked, as displayed in one early scene of family gathering, a nice touch as in the family bit, which you get to know too, a bit more later. Armed Response has pretty much what you expect, though I do say, I enjoyed it more I thought an I would, which as an action pic, does pack a punch, but again it falls into that so so mundane, or moronic type, ala Chuck Norris territory. No surprise too, Corman great, Dick Miller shows up in this.