Firepower - Il ring della morte

This movie is a masterpiece. Truth be told the reason I latched onto it was because Gary Daniels was in it and I've been a rabid fan of his for a while. That coupled with a ravaged near future (borderline post apocalyptic) setting and the ULTIMATE WARRIOR as one of the greatest villains to ever grace an action film, makes this a movie to flock to.

The story has been summed up enough and basically rings true and delivers what it promises. The only problem I had with this movie was that Daniels wasn't' the lead actor and was overshadowed by Chad McQueen. McQueen gives a good performance, but watching Daniels in full on action hard-ass mode is one of the greatest cinematic guilty pleasures of all time ( check out Rage, Cold Harvest and Blood Moon for a sample of awesome Gary).

Regardless of my obviously biased review (I can't help it Daniels is an action Icon for me) this film contains enough standard action film fodder to please pretty much anyone. It has car crashes, laser gun fights, CAGE FIGHTING, future wastelands and pretty much anything else they hoped they could squeeze in there. If you're ever lucky enough to happen upon this do yourself a favor and pick it up, you won't be disappointed. MASTERPIECE.

Firepower is the kind of film that fits right in with the wrestling crowd. It's story is average but the action is top notch. You even have an ex-wrestler in the film. The fights are well done and Chad McQueen does an OK job in his role as does the rest of the cast. It is definitely for late night crowd.

Man is Gary Daniels' acting bad! But man is he a great athlete! They should have given him less dialogue and let him speak more with his body. They did that with Jim "The Warrior" Hellwig, and that guy comes across with a frightening physical presence; however, his long-awaited fight scene with Daniels is short and disappointing. Apart from that, the fight scenes are where this movie shines: the choreography is fast, brutal and well-executed by guys who know what they are doing. It's when the action steps out of the ring that it becomes generic and uninteresting (there IS one plot twist that you won't see coming, but it doesn't really help the film in any way). In my opinion, "Firepower" should have been titled "Death Ring", and should have spent more time in it. (**)

So directors, explain yourself. Why did you call this movie firepower when the story has NOTHING to do with firepower, huh???

With that out of the way, this movie sux. The basic story is that the cops have made a 'zone of personal freedom' in the middle of LA, where there is no police assistance provided. But, those crafty criminals (i thought it would have been pretty obvious), they commit crimes and then run and hide in hellzone. So anyway, one time, the most feared gang leader, the swordsman (ooooohhhhh) is arrested and then his crooks break him out of jail in a bloody attack on the police station. Then, these two cops decide they have no choice but to go in after them.

This is where the movie loses it completely. Why the hell do they need to go in after the crooks into hellzone? Basically, they arrive, see a fighting ring, watch for 10 minutes (the audience is treated to the whole 10 minutes of fighting), and then completely forget about their mission of revenge and decide that their only option is to enter the death ring competition and FIGHT! Apparently this is to infiltrate the baddies (like ANYONE cares, its actually legal anyway), but they achieve nothing as they have numerous oppurtunities to get the baddies. So basically, the ENTIRE movie is fighting. Yep, they soon jettison the story and have non stop death ring matches. I guess i should have seen it coming with a WWF wrestler, but still.........

Anyway, to sum it up i wrote a haiku:

This movie sux hard It has no story and that what a crap movie.

I hope this assists you in making the decision not to watch it (not that you'll be able to find it anyway........)

`Yeah, well keep your ‘stick' in the ring. Don't practice on my girls. I need them to concentrate on their jobs, so my business doesn't suffer...'

In the year 2007, crime has risen at an exponential rate. Once highly populated metropolises such as Los Angeles are no longer inhabitable. These cities have transformed into `Hell Zones,' ruled by violent street gangs. Talk about Y2K!

Two brave cops, Braniff (Chad McQueen), and Sledge (Gary Daniels) must risk their badges...and their lives when they enter Los Angeles's `Hell Zone.' Entering the Hell Zone is insanity...escaping from it is impossible. The Hell Zone, formerly called the `Zone of Personal Freedom,' is a safe-haven for criminal warpaths everywhere. This Hell Zone in LA is controlled by a criminal mastermind named Drexal (Joseph Ruskin). For the sake of entertaining his crowds of decadent losers and underlings, Drexal has staged a series of lethal, no-holds-barred matches in the `Death Ring,' where the winner takes all of the glory...while the defeated one shall lose his self-respect (or maybe just his head).

Meanwhile, Braniff and Sledge are obliged to go undercover in a clandestine mission as Death Ring fighters themselves. Sledge is actually having fun roughing up his Death Ring rivals while Braniff finds his martial vows in jeopardy as he himself becomes attracted to a beautiful woman named Lisa (Alisha Das). However, this married cop must remember his priority. Braniff, along with his robust and agile partner, Sledge, must fight for their lives in order to expose an alleged `black market' involving the sale of counterfeit AIDS vaccines. Will these two men triumph against all odds in the Hell Zone alive or will they pay with their very lives?

FIREPOWER is probably one of the most ridiculously contrived thrillers ever. This film is completely inept, with terrible acting and an incoherent plot. The script, full of pathetic one-liners and inane drivel, is also embarrassing enough. Incidentally, to make everything worse than it already is, this film is not quite as exciting as the title promises. For instance, the action scenes lack that poetic style. Sure, we have the heroes and the villains shooting at each other and trying to beat one another, but all of these action scenes lack that flair. There is no sense of excitement involved when viewing these action sequences. Also, the fight scenes lack the brutal realism; instead, they just seem like child's play. The fighters constantly beat, maul, maim, and mutilate each other, yet not a single fighter (save for the ones who are murdered in the Death Ring) seems to be displaying any severe injuries. The one-on-one death matches as well get repetitive. Listless action scenes are just part of this movie's innumerable problems. The dearth of both an intense musical score and smooth camerawork only injures this movie even more substantially...

Although FIREPOWER is an appalling movie, I found one factor which almost redeems this whole unpleasantness: The fact that this movie is amusing, whether it wants to admit it or not. The acting especially is funny. The main adversaries, Drexal and Mendez (Pablo Marz) are more asinine than frightening. You would expect Drexal to be insidious and sinister, but he appears to be more of an ersatz Vincent Price. Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs provides some amusing commentary as a ring announcer. Chad McQueen lacks the appeal and charisma of his father, the late (and terrific) Steve McQueen, but you will chuckle at how he tries to develop his relationship with Lisa. As for Gary Daniels, I must attest that he is one of the most impressive fighters ever. Granted, Daniels does have a thick accent, but after seeing this guy showcase his martial arts skills, you would not even want to comment on his accent! If you do, then prepare to defend yourself! (By the way, his accent does happen to distract from the impact of his one-liners.)

The best acting though, is displayed by Jim Hellwig (known to professional wrestling fans everywhere as the `Ultimate Warrior') as the Swordsman, a barbaric character who yells as if he was raised in the jungles. The Swordsman himself, a formidable opponent, only understands the language of violence. Also, I must comment that a lot of these fighters featured in this movie DO NOT know how to fight! As for the action scenes, it is just awesome how the car crashes and explosions can be seen from different angles in this movie! It is just brilliant! The (mostly unintentional) humor keeps FIREPOWER from becoming too lackluster.

It is a complete shame that FIREPOWER could not be a better movie. The special effects looked silly, but they worked, and the plot too held some potential. The sub-plot in particular, about a counterfeit AIDS vaccine seems very promising. It is quite sad that the filmmakers did not take advantage of that opportunity; it would have given the film more substance. Unfortunately, the anemic direction by Richard Pepin and the mediocre cinematography are unacceptable as well. Anyway, FIREPOWER is not worth the time if you happen to watch it by yourself. Instead, gather a group of friends, sit on a cozy couch, and prepare to have fun. Trust me, your colorful comments for this movie will be uninhibited!

RATING: ** out of ****. (For a high amusement factor.)