Octagon: Escola para Assassinos

Scott James a retired martial arts champion gets caught up in a complicated web involving a wealthy heiress trying to hire him for an assassination job that includes an international terrorist group of ninjas and their training ground called 'The Octagon'. Who's actually led by his brother, turned nemesis from his youthful days. His friend A.J. takes up the offer of the job, but Scott does he best to convince him out of it. Although he finds himself stuck in it, when A.J. goes after the group. Along the way he gets help from an old friend/work buddy McCarn.

Whenever you got a ninja problem, Chuck Norris is your man. Though, I take it you already know that and will be relishing in every sequence involving Norris putting his boot into some ninjas. He's here to punish those who abuse their ninja abilities. It's too bad that many of those moments are very few and far between. As Norris wants to play detective, have flashbacks of his past, go for job interviews and constantly listen to his pondering voice in his head. And what's with the echoing lisp to it… I couldn't stop myself from laughing whenever he decided to take some time out to express his thoughts… in his head. Just brilliant! Only Norris could pull it off with such grace, ha-ha! This bizarre aspect only enhanced the unusualness and hazy cloud that formed amongst the over-populated material. I never thought I'll be saying this about a Norris film, but it has too much going on in the story and this makes it feel rather drawn out when its not shoving in those crackerjack martial art sequences. Otherwise with so much going on and it never truly being clear. From that it manages to rally up many random revelations and plot developments. Despite this its still a corn riddled outing on Norris' behalf and the junky script only goes on to prove it. The stupidity, machismo and ninja talk features rather heavily… to heavily in the woodenly talkative script.

This is one of Norris earlier features and one of his first lead roles. He's pretty much leaden in his acting abilities on this occasion (they gave him too much dialogues, when he should been kicking ass and having fun with it), but he would go on to hone down that charismatic appeal and personality he holds so greatly in the films that followed on. Or am I the only one of a few who thinks that? I find his presence to be far more engaging when his in more action-oriented roles that ask for some slight wit along the way. Anyhow this was probably made to turn him into the next American martial arts star, which would take him to Hollywood for even bigger roles. Oh no, that didn't entirely happen and he did get into some b-grade action flicks that flooded the 80s with the odd occasional big flick (Invasion USA, Delta Force). His acting is passable as a reluctant, but I must do it for the team Scott James, but when it came to the action. Those alert senses were brisk and flashy. When the film finally kicks into gear (in the latter end), up pops the very well choreographed and swiftly executed fight sequences capably directed by Eric Karson. Those final two fight scenes are a real blast. Too bad he couldn't get the pacing of the whole film to be like that, as it's downright sluggish for most part. Making up the rest of the performances is the wittily badass Lee Van Cleef (who steals the few scenes he's in) as the sneaky underhand McCern who feeds Scott with information he needs. Karen Carlson is horrible. Best leave it at that. Art Hindle is reasonable as Scott's go-getter friend A.J. Tadashi Yamashita nails down that venomously vile turn as Scott's brother Seigura. An elegantly biting Carol Bagdasarian turns up as a trainee terrorist who wants to make amends. Also in tiny, but potent parts are Jack Carter, Ernie Hudson and Richard Norton. The gloomily cheap b-grade production pretty much looks it. The lighting comes across as poorly dim and editing is quite haggard, but the beaming music score and stylishly vogue camera-work are competently suited into the picture.

A mildly amusing (and at times unintentionally rib-tickling) offering, but it just takes too long break out of it chains and the flat-nature to begin with for some might just be too hard to overcome. Really Chuck Norris' fans need only apply.

In a world of choices, for one man there is no choice , a hero named Scott James/Chuck Norris must face The Octagon . A martial artist expert (Chuck Norris who sports a bushy mustache in this fourth starring role in a cinema movie of action) must defeat a plan by ninjas to create a worldwide training camp for terrorists . Scott later becomes drawn closer to a vicious crime ring known as The Octagon ruled by Seikira (Yamashita) . Along the way Scott James is helped by Justine (Karen Carlson) , McCarn (Lee Van Cleef) and A. J. (Art Hindle) . At the end takes place a breathtaking combat in arena , an "octagonal training compound of the Ninja cult, a school for terrorists of all types" (the set had a 12' foot perimeter wall and was built north of Los Angeles at a location known as Indian Dunes and spanned the size of an American football field) .

Action star Chuck Norris in this exciting picture filled with thrills , tension , suspense and violent as well as spectacular fights with high Body Count : 40 . The movie displays a plethora of martial arts fights , as Norris cleans up the nasty fighters by means of punches , kicks , bounds and leaps with struggles certainly slick . It's violent, frenetic and hectic and not particularly literary but worthy entry in Kung-Fu genre , although runs out energy surprisingly early . Average Norris-thriller , moving and tense at times with fine fight-work from Norris , Yamashita and Richard Norton . Impressive and fierce combats , as Chuck Norris kills eleven bad guys and beats up another twenty-one of them . The film belongs Norris's early period , during the 80s such as : ¨Code of silence¨ ,¨Delta Force¨ ,¨Silent rage¨ , ¨Forced vengeance¨, ¨Delta Force¨ I,II , ¨An eye for an eye¨ , among others with successful box office at cinemas and video-rentals . In the 90s and 2000s with exception of ¨Walker Texas Ranger¨, the Norris star has gone down .

Fighting Stars Magazine ranked the climactic fight between Chuck Norris and Tadashi Yamashita as #13 on their list of the 25 greatest fight scenes of all time . A few years after this film was made and released, the word 'Octagon' later became in 1983 the name of a caged enclosure used by mixed martial arts matches and the Ultimate Fighting Championship . Nice production design , cost approximately US $200,000 to blow-up "The Octagon" major arena and fortress set. This was cheaper and more cost efficient than dismantling and disassembling the gigantic construction and taking it away to the dump . First major Ninja picture of the 1980s popular ninja movie cycle which was first released in the 1980 year before Enter the Ninja in 1981 , the 1967 You Only Live Twice and Sam Peckinpah's 1977 film The Killer elite had both previously featured ninja characters . Thrilling screenplay by Paul Aaron , in fact the movie's finale was re-written to make the climax of the film a much bigger pay-off .

The movie featured three members of the Norris family in acting roles. These were Chuck Norris , Aaron Norris, and Chuck Norris' character of Scott James at eighteen years of age was portrayed by his real life son Mike Norris . Actor Richard Norton played dual roles in this movie , though he is completely mute and never speaks for the entire picture ; Norton portrayed both the characters of Longlegs and Seikura's enforcer Kyo . The motion picture was regularly directed by Erik Karson . This was debut theatrical feature film directed by Karson , an expert on thrillers and action movies . Action addicts will give this one a passing grade ,all others need not apply . If you're a previous Norris fans ,you'll appeal it but contains enough action and violence for enthusiastic of the Karate genre .

Fighting expert Scott James (Chuck Norris) takes an interest in a dancer named Nancy. He takes her to her place where she is attacked by masked intruders. He realizes that they are ninjas although ninjas don't exist anymore. In fact, a ninja group is secretly training international terrorists in their craft. Scott encounters another damsel in distress, Justine (Karen Carlson) who is also being targeted. Meanwhile, his friend AJ (Art Hindle) has been doing his own investigating. McCarn (Lee Van Cleef) is his mentor.

The writing is a mess, but I don't think anybody care, least of all the writers. It's a lot of contrivance, and silly stupidity. It's ninjas. They may as well call this Chuck Norris vs Ninjas. That would be a better title. The training camp is much more interesting than listening to Chuck Norris' inner whisper voice. WTF. This is Chuck camp.

This one just joins that line of Chuck no brainers, but seriously, The Octagon isn't a badly made film at all. It takes itself too seriously, where chop suey kickarse action, takes a backseat between long bores and snores for some, and you can see it that way, but the serious element, only enhances the quality. The Octagon does have a few things going for it, like the extra hot Karen Carlson, a beauty who just sizzles up the screen, and enlists help of badarse bodyguard, Chuck, who doesn't put in a half bad performance, but there's still that stoic acting seeping through, and is outweighed by better actors and performances like Carlson's, and Art Hindle's, but Chuck holds his own. Hindle (Porky's) who plays Chuck's best buddy, AJ, is a real engaging reck-loose, fly off the handle character, and gives the downplayed movie, the buzz it needs. Carlson is on a personal mission of revenge, sort of using Chuck, who's mission here, hits a little too personal, as involving former family members. The Octagon is kind of patchy too, not a total clear path of story, and action fans, will fare better, renting many other Chuck flicks. Some quite heavy blood spilling violence, early in the peace, and again Lee Van Cleef is wasted as Chuck's former protegee, an old buzzard with an iron will, and is underused here. What's bloody annoying here, is the unnecessary use of Chuck's echoing voice overs, that echo that annoyance, I got out of all those QT'S unnecessary V.O'S. in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Here, it just adds self consciousness, and amateur feel, and this flick is a little self conscious. Watch out for fine character actor, Tracey Walter in a scene stealing cameo. Regardless of it's faults and it's restrained, short sheeted volume of action,The Octagon still warrants a viewing, especially Chuck fans, but sexy lass Carlson in that fur coat, a chick with class (Two Marriages) will remain imprinted in memory. Don't believe the way over hype about the end fight. It was saggy, and in no way memorable, like Carlson.

The Octagon's premise is simple. Chuck Norris vs Ninjas. That's really about it. Norris is Scott James, a man haunted by memories of his growing up and rivalry with his former martial art brother Seikura, who now heads a Ninja training camp and is teaching international terrorists the ways of the Ninja. James must stop the organization and face off, once and for all, with his former brother.

There's little in the way of story, and sadly the film takes it's time in getting to the point where Norris finally takes out the Ninja trash. Like a lot of his movies, the lack of much plot means the film moves pretty slowly between the action. When the action does kick in, it's quite impressive. The real standout though is Norris infiltrating the Ninja base in the film's climax. It's classic Norris.

The cast are okay. Lee Van Cleef and Richard Norton pop up in small roles, Richard Norton actually has a few different roles here.

I would have rated it an 8 out of 10 if there was a bit more action in the middle half of the film. For the most part, only Chuck Norris and ninja fans will get the most out of THE OCTAGON (1980).

Overall worth watching..7 out of 10