Rabbia e onore

Witnessing a drug deal involving local gang members and cops, an Australian police officer feels he can no longer be just an observer. He joins forces with a local teacher who just happens to be a karate expert and together they try to take back the streets.

A standard story is invigorated by some quirky and surreal characters and a slight step away from the traditional action plotting, however, there's a tendency of the plot getting a little too complex and twisty for its own good, and the pace can flag in some spots especially when there's talking. But the story, the action, the chemistry between Rothrock and Norton, their one liners and the menacing presence of Brian Thompson compensates for these downsides.

RAGE AND HONOUR. I saw this back in 1996 video release. I wasn't really too happy about this one.

Basically, the story was so confusing at times..

Well, all-in-all this one was worth a watch, but I wasn't happy with it.

Cynthia maybe a good action movie star. But it's a shame that the script fails to bring up the movie questionwise..

I think Cynthia needs a decent script rather than this chop-socky mess of a film. Good, but not that good. Too much pappy show in this one!

Some how I missed this series of films and enjoyed this flick from the beginning to the very end. Cynthia Rothrock,(Kris Fairfield),"Manhattan Chase",'2000, was a high school teacher and decided after work to use an ATM and had some very nasty encounters by some real bad bad dudes, who hit on her in more ways than one! Richard Norton(Preston Michaels),"Mind Games",'03, played a cop who got himself messed up with all kinds of characters and mainly a very hot, hot sexy everywhere Red Head and things started to POP! Terri Treas," House IV '92, was a very sexy mean mama, who did not mess around and had her eyes set on giving Preston Michaels a real hard time in more ways than what she wanted. There was lots of combat and it is up to you to figure out if the Male or Female won the battle of the bulges.

What can I say? This is a lot of fun! It's a B-grade action/crime thriller that knows exactly what it is, and stakes no claim otherwise. The backgrounds of the chief characters skirt the edge of Movie Magic contrivance, and their partnership completely blurs the line. Hair, makeup, and costume design are done well, such as they are, but it seems like all such contributions were specifically guided into pointedly exaggerated styles. The character of Hannah is written with definite overemphasis on her manner of speaking, and Alex Datcher absolutely leans into it, while filmmaker Terence H. Winkless' screenplay calls for similarly overt delivery at other points. One or two lines are repeated as a running joke, and there's cheeky levity built into how many scenes are written and orchestrated. The fight choreography is great, and any scenes of action are fun - and at the same time, though definitely a concoction of such second-tier fare as 'Rage and honor' represents, the story is pretty solid. No one will ever mistake this as something it's not - and it carries no such pretenses - and with that, it's easy to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

Most martial arts flicks of this tenor don't especially require its cast to actually act. That's mostly true here, too, yet there are scenes in which the actors are expected to illustrate some range and nuance - and to my surprise, they rather succeed. No one will ever accuse this ensemble of being world-class performers, yet Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton, and somehow even Brian Thompson show glimmers of acting skill to lightly complement their considerable physical prowess. It's a great joy to see Toshishiro Obata here, even in a small supporting part, showing the same force of personality as Chan Lu as he has demonstrated elsewhere; Stephen Davies offers some welcome, consistent comic relief. They're helped by a gratifyingly balanced screenplay that undeniably has B-movie flavors, but some meaningful intelligence and heart as anchors. For all the blunt or overcooked dialogue, it's not insincere, and fits any given moment and the characters. Those characters are given strains of real, varied personalities, and values and beliefs. There's sufficient variety in the scene writing so the movie never feels stale, and enough wit and vigor to keep us engaged while propelling the narrative. And at that - if straightforward and not as completely gripping as it potentially could be, the plot is solid, ably serving its purpose as a vehicle for the action sequences.

Sure, it won't quite be up everyone's alley. If nothing else, I'll admit that it's not quite as high-energy a romp as I had hoped for. That utmost stimulation is traded in for a measure of genuineness to keep us watching; how effective it is - well, that's up to each individual viewer. All I can say is that for my part, I honestly had a good time. 'Rage and honor' is an imprecise blend of silliness and sobriety that somehow churns out a fair measure of entertainment in its content, and behind the scenes aspects like set design and decoration are pretty swell too, and Darryl Way's original music. Whether you're here for the stars, martial arts bombast, or just action generally, there are better features you could be watching - but I think 'Rage and honor' itself is quite well done itself.

Back to my Cynthia Rothrock phase with another addition to Tubi! I started my triple feature with this film which I actually really enjoyed because of its great supporting cast. Even though it feels like a made for tv film, it's still quite entertaining and engaging and Brian Thompson as the main villain was just a lot of fun. I wasn't expecting this. Keen eyes will notice other famous tv stars of the era. If your a Rothrock fan, this is one of the better films and a must watch, but for general audiences it will be hard to distinguish this from the other '90s action films that flooded the market.