Ring of Fire

WOW, this movie was garbage, by looking at the cover and reading the back of the box, it looked sorta cool... but no, no it was not. I would not recomend this movie to anyone... I may as well have rented Titanic, although that seemed a bit more interesting than this, the only good part to this movie was the 30 second old skool Thai fight scene with the ring of fire and tar/glass hands wraps... that is all!!! Garbage... oh yeah, did i mention that this movie was garbage?!

Ring of Fire (1991) is just another bad action film starring Don "the dragon" Wilson. Somebody must have thought highly of him because he cranked out so many bad movies during the late 80's through the early 90's. Well this one is just like the others and it's pretty bad. The action is boring, the acting is like one of Bruce Lee's kung-fu dummies (wooden and stiff). Even Maria Ford isn't enough to recommend this dreadful action "movie".

Unlike N.G.'s Seasonal Films productions (which was a big competitor of the producers of this video dreg). They knew what they had to work with an didn't even try to take their productions seriously. These folks should have watched and learned.

Not recommend for the faint of heart.

F

Alright kids, we got a movie with Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Gary Daniels, Vince Murdocco, Eric Lee and many other badass guys, also, we have Maria Ford, we can expect 100 minutes of badass violence and probably get to see some boobs.

Yes, we get violence and boobs, but unfortunately we get too much romance, some of the fights are pretty cool, but the amount of "romance" pretty much ruins the movie (and sometimes, it gets boring), oh yeah, Don Wilson manages to kick some ass only in the last minutes.

I was going to give this movie a 5 out of 10 because of the fights, but i decided to add one extra star because of Maria Ford.

With a cast like this, i would make a proper action/martial arts film, but instead they decided to make a movie that would appeal the female audience.

I remember watching the 1991 martial arts action movie "Ring of Fire" on VHS a couple of times back in the early and mid-1990s. Back then I had purchased the movie because I was a fan of Maria Ford. And then I stumbled upon "Ring of Fire" again here in 2023, needless to say that of course I opted to revisit the movie.

The movie is actually still as good, watchable, enjoyable and entertaining as I remembered it to be. So writers Jake Jacobs, Richard W. Munchkin and Steve Tymon definitely managed to put together a good script and storyline for the movie. Sure, it was full of early 1990s martial arts cheese, but that is what makes the movie so enjoyable.

The acting performances in the movie are fair enough. You know when you sit down to watch a movie such as "Ring of Fire" then you're not exactly in for Academy Award winning performances. But Don "The Dragon" Wilson actually carries the movie well enough with his combination of acting and martial arts skills. And of course it is a pleasure to see Maria Ford on the screen. I had actually totally forgotten about Eric Lee being in the movie, and he adds a wonderful element to the movie with his performance and character.

The martial arts sequences in "Ring of Fire" are fairly good. And the movie does have sufficient enough fights throughout the 100 minute runtime to keep it entertaining and action-packed.

If you enjoy the 1990s martial arts movie, then "Ring of Fire" from directors Richard W. Munchkin and Rick Jacobson is definitely well-worth watching.

My rating of "Ring of Fire" lands on a six out of ten stars.

While PM Entertainment – that glorious company of action and excess – had already made action movies featuring martial arts, RING OF FIRE is the studio's first genuine karate flick, as well as a triumph for martial arts of the B-movie scale. It's also a pretty unique vehicle for star Don Wilson – possibly one of his best, which is ironic given his limited input to the action content. As a genuinely exciting kickfest that's powered by a real plot and investable characters, I deem this a must-have for fans of low budget action and just about all of the performers involved.

The story: In the middle of a violent gang rivalry in Los Angeles, a doctor and cousin of the Asian gang's leader (Wilson) falls in love with the sister and fiancé of the Surfer gang's leaders (Maria Ford).

I believe this is the perfect role for Don Wilson, who I find enjoyable though not for the quality of his other movies. In an all-time low count for a feature advertised with his name, Wilson has only a single fight – the finale – and spends the rest of the film interacting with others in a dramatic way, opposed to a physical manner. Don is naturally likable and gives a smooth performance, all the while acting well with costar Maria Ford. Ford's acting ability is often underrated in favor of her sexuality, but here it is clearly at the forefront of her performance. Together, she and Wilson make a sound dramatic duo and a believable couple.

Thematically, the movie may not be particularly strong, but I say that it's as significant as the viewer allows for. It's obvious that this is a take on "Romeo & Juliet" with kickboxing, but it's also one of only a handful of films at the time that addressed interracial romance from an Asian perspective. Race relations would be a non-factor in most of Wilson's films to come, so it's all the more significant that he sets such a positive standard for a masculine Asian-American who perseveres for the sake of love. I haven't seen many western films wherein an Asian male is portrayed as desirable and romantic; Wilson makes the absolute most of the opportunity to be both, and delivers one of the best performances of his career.

The action content is both ample and solid, with approximately eight full-length matches providing a good stage for a supergroup of film fighters: Steven Vincent Leigh, Dale Jacoby, Vince Murdocco, Eric Lee, Gary Daniels, Ron Yuan… (And those are only the performers with additional acting scenes.) Admittedly, many of the matches are a bit too heavily edited for my taste, but the occasional creativeness of the choreography and the consistent athleticism of its performers shine through, making for a cumulatively enjoyable adrenaline package. Even the final showdown featuring Wilson (and even more editing) can be considered among Don's personal best, making it worth waiting for.

The film bounces along with an agreeable pace and hums with a level of energy that PM would frequently try to recapture and often fail at. It's enjoyable, and despite its imperfections, that is the most I can ask of a movie. If you know this is your kind of picture, I encourage you to check it out.