O Ajuste de Contas

What a cast "An Eye For An Eye" has! There's Christopher Lee, Mako, Professor Toru Tanaka, Richard Roundtree, and Terry Kiser. Oh, and there is also Chuck Norris, and unfortunately once again he gives a performance that is pretty lacklustre, especially since the supporting players give pretty lively performances. But I'm sure that Norris' inadequate acting doesn't matter to many people, since they are more concerned if the movie delivers some solid action. Well, there are some good action sequences. The martial arts, while not as breathtaking as those found in Hong Kong movies, do come across as believable and exciting. The problem is that we often have to wait for a considerable amount of time for the action sequences, and this surrounding plot is familiar and predictable. The movie is fairly well produced, looking a lot better than Norris' low budget movies made in the 1970s. In the end, this movie is only so-so, but if you've ever wanted to see a martial arts movie produced by Frank Capra Junior, here it is.

In my review of Forced Vengeance, I mentioned that there are three looks to Chuck Norris: smooth-faced, moustache, and bearded. I'd call "Forced Vengeance" Moustache-Norris' best, "The Hit-man" Bearded-Norris' best, "The Delta Force" Norris' best in general and "An Eye For An Eye" Smooth-Faced-Norris' Best.

Despite being a sold action movie that is very fun and thrilling, the acting is bad and story is unoriginal. Chuck Norris plays a cop who witnesses his partner being murdered after being set up, quits the force and seek vengeance. There's really nothing more to it than that. And as I mentioned earlier, the acting is bad (for the most part). Chuck Norris is simply a bad actor. I've seen better acting by first-time high schoolers in a drama class. He has gotten better over the years, rising from terrible to just okay. I laughed at Norris during a few parts. Nobody else is necessarily "bad," but everybody really is cheesy. Every martial-arts film is cheesy-as-can-be! Christopher Lee is the only real actor in this that can be taken seriously. But due to an all-around corny movie, it affects him. A movie with good acting was not what they were trying to get at. This is a straight-up action movie that stirs-up smart thrills and excellent action. This features some of Norris' best physical fight scenes and gun fights. Easily top 5 for Norris in terms of action and suspense. The build-up of mayhem and destruction that comes is exciting. Even though its cheesy, its the good kind; the over-the-top, cartoony cheese. There can't be a strong sense of danger and not be thrilling. Actually it can be dull, but this isn't a bad movie. The action is fabulous and danger is lots of fun. Props to Christopher Lee too.

3.5/4

This was chuck's 2nd best film, Lone Wolf McQuade being his 1st. Chuck just walks through this movie without jumping into any form of acting ability, an ability which he has never had. but what you see a Norris movie for is his Martial Arts, and he delivers here!!! Some great fights (Lots in slow mo) and a great soundtrack. It also boasts one of the worst WAKING UP FROM A NIGHTMARE pieces of acting in the history of film. Mako is great, Christopher Lee doesn't do a lot and Chuck has NO BEARD, which makes him look about 4 (Although that would make him the hairiest 4 year old ever!!!) All in all a great early 80s actioner which is never dull. Chuck Norris should have made all his movies with Steve Carver.

'Chuck Norris doesn't need a weapon... he is a weapon!' Oh, yeah. Don't you know it! This is what I like to see. Where can you get a Norris film which has him in a red sports car, flaunting a blinding fashion sense, glowing golden hair, a sensitive pet dog called Mort, Mako as his comical martial arts mentor, an unstoppable henchman, Richard Roundtree, Christopher Lee, haunting flashbacks, plenty of fodder for some ass-whooping and of course that fuzzy mo. Hey wait on. What, there's no mo on show?! I don't know, but I guess I have to deal with it. Even though it has dynamism of its own. More so than the man! Anyhow all of this can be found in director Steve Carver's "An Eye For An Eye", who was also responsible for the highly amusing and surprisingly stylish Norris' outing "Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)".

Carver knows his stuff, by keeping it at a cracking pace, competent flair and plastering it with brilliantly stylised and choreographed action set-pieces. Some lively suspense, and jolting thrills are randomly worked in along the way. The premise is routine, and the twists foreseeable. Vengeance, vengeance. I think Norris has got vengeance on mind, and flashy slow motion is the weapon of choice. Of course nothing is going to get in his way. This makes it quite exciting, over-the-top and at times comical. Yes there's some intentional humour too, even in the wonky script. The San Francisco backdrop is well-used (from the gritty to the attractive) as its spaciously photographed and William Goldstien's moodily appealing score is pitch-perfect. The wooden plank that's Norris does what's needed of him, and strangely holds your attention in an adequate turn. A tip-top supporting cast give it a little more credit. Mako brings a wilful personality that suitably feeds off Norris. Richard Roundtree's cynical, frown-beating Capt. Stevens and Christopher Lee's smooth presence features largely as Morgan Canfield. Rosalind Chao, Maggie Cooper and Matt Clarke are solid too. In a role that's hard to forget is Professor Toru Tanaka as the formidable, stone-engraved opponent that Norris must encounter. A swiftly executed and undoubtedly engaging actioner.

Now, this film really takes me back to my youth, where you were a member of a video shop... or fifteen (I counted the cards I used to have)... and you would troll around them all to find a movie worth watching - at least it kept us fit.

This is pretty much your basic '80's action flick. Where the good guy is out for revenge for the death of a lover, a family member, friend, or in this case a partner on the force. The plot, like this one, would usually revolve around drugs trafficking. Throw in a love interest and loads of exciting fights and you have the perfect mix. This was the start of the "Leave your brain at the door" movies. To be fair, it's nice to let enjoyment and excitement take you out of your daily routine. I know I need it at the moment.

So in this story, you have Kane (Norris) and his partner, Dave (Kiser), heading to an undercover meet. However, it's a trap and Dave is killed, in quite a nasty way. From here on in Kane is out to solve the murder and get revenge for his dead partner. This leads him and Dave's girlfriend reporter, Linda (Chao) into a world of drug trafficking...

So what makes this a film worth watching?

Well there is Chuck Norris, who to be honest, isn't too bad in this film. He was just coming into being an actor in his own right at this time. These types of characters, like the films, were ten-a-penny and you were lucky if they made it to two-dimensional, let alone three. I have to believe that it's the likes of Christopher Lee (Canfield), Richard Roundtree (Captain Stevens), Matt Clark (McCoy), and even Mako (Chan) that elevated his acting up a notch or two for this movie. The rest of the cast are solid actors and carry the film and the much-used scenario easily.

Next, there's the direction. Steve Carver does a really good job with the camera work. There are some really well-framed sections. I loved the part where Kane goes to visit his sensei and master Chan. He parks his beautiful red Mustang and gets out. This is all superbly framed in a long shot by an ornamental oriental fence. Even on the drive up to his masters home, he is followed by a helicopter. This is filmed smoothly; you have a side portrait of Norris driving and outside the passenger window you see the copter flying at his side. There's also a nice sequence where Kane runs from his house, down his pier to his private jetty, opens his speedboats enclosure, jumps in and speeds away. There is a lot in this film that Carver should be proud about. Even the slow motion sections of the fight scene's work. When a lot of martial arts opted to speed up the action, slowing it down works really well - especially when you have a master of the arts like Norris.

Carver also sets a nice rollercoaster pace for the movie. He knows when to slow down to drive the plot and quicken it up to boost excitement and tension. A Lot of filmmakers could take a few notes from this film.

The only thing in the film that irked me was the love interest, Maggie Cooper. This was mainly for Sullivan's wooden performance. In some scenes, she appears so laid back that she may have been sampling the product the bad guys were moving.

If you like your martial arts flicks and are not too worried about plot, then I would recommend this one to you. It may not be intellectually brilliant but it is kick ass entertaining.