Gymkata: O Jogo da Morte

Looking like a bizarro MacGyver and armed with a deadly gymnastics/karate hybrid fighting style, real life gymnastics champ Kurt Thomas flips, kicks and spins his way though a host of vaguely ethnic baddies in the fictional nation of Parmistan. His mission; to win The Game, a deadly race through Ninja filled forests and a town full of crazed maniacs. If he wins, his prize is one wish, which he will use to allow the U.S. to place a satellite monitoring station in Parmistan to act as an early warning against a potential nuclear attack. Thankfully, there are plenty of uneven bars and pommel horses in Parmistan.

Maxim once voted 'Gymkata' the 17th worst film of all-time, but honestly it's pretty entertaining. The plot is beyond dumb and the acting is atrocious, but the fight scenes are a blast thanks to some creative choreography, the real life skills of Thomas and a director who knows the genre in Robert Clouse ('Enter the Dragon', 'Blackbelt Jones', 'The Big Brawl' and 'China O'Brien 1 & 2').

People love to rip on this camp classic, but I have probably seen this movie as many times as Star Wars. Johnathan Cabot(Kurt Thomas) is a swashbuckler like no other, and he has an uncanny knack for finding gymnastics equipment to do routines on and defend himself. The pommel horse in the village of the crazies is a perennial favorite, as is the horizontal bar in the middle of the town of Karabal, on the Caspian Sea.

Look for a cameo by the Where's the beef? lady in the village of the crazies, and a plot that is a convenient afterthought to the creation of a context where Thomas' gymnastics skills can be highlighted.

As if one bad movie about Gymnastics wasn't enough, Mitch Gaylord decided he'd give it a shot in American Anthem, which came out a year later.

Unfortunately, this Gem is not available on DVD.

-CNW

Wow! This one has been stuck way in the back webs of my mind. Almost erased until I stumbled across it on the IMDb! As soon as I saw the title I immediately remembered the movie as if it were last week. I can see why many would consider this to be a bad movie, but oh well, opinions are like #*$holes, everyone has one. So be it. I liked it. The cheesy element made it work in a weird way. The locations were authentic from what I remember and the action was pretty good.

The scenes that stick in my mind are the crazies in the village, very funny, but almost creepy. I remember when he entered there were creepy noises, I was 11 yrs. old in '85. Also, the flagmen, dressed in colorful uniforms pointing the way to the next obstacle. I liked this movie and I remember it as a late night classic on HBO/Cinemax in the 80s. I hope cable brings it back with this release. If not, I will purchase it.

"Call me Snake"

This is one of America's finest films. If you don't know, now you know. In the words of Lord Bephfington "I would give my right arm for DVD copy of this classic." By combining both humor and action, Gymkata makes for easy viewing over and over again.

It's hard for me to explain in words the passion i have for this work. If you will imagine me thrusting my hands into a chalk bag and clapping them together - bursting an advancing white cloud into the air - but mentally - before i can begin to describe to you the unadulterated genius of Gymkata - then you may begin to fathom this...passion. A gymnastic Tour de Force for Thomas. Who doesn't loose themselves watching this and straddle their ottomon in Bruce Lee-like pantomime as Thomas "pommelhoarses" several battalians of earnest shedsmen?