Blastfighter, l'exécuteur

Having watched "Blastfighter", I can now proudly say for myself that I've seen the entire repertoire of lead actor Michael Sopkiw. Not that this is such an exhausting or praiseworthy accomplishment, as this peculiar macho star only ever appeared in four movies, but they are nevertheless rare and offbeat highlights in the category of shameless early 80's Italian exploitation cinema. Sopkiw's career was quite bizarre, because he only played four leading roles and then completely disappeared from the film industry, but the movies he did are forever printed in my head and all still rank high in my list of personal guilty pleasures. "After the Fall of New York" and "Massacre in Dinosaur Valley" are his two most superior achievements, whereas the double feature he shot with director Lamberto Bava is putrid but tremendously amusing cheese-material! "Monster Shark" is a daft and utterly retarded "Jaws" rip-off and this "Blastfighter" is an outrageously inane travesty of the Sylvester Stallone vehicle "Rambo". This is an incredibly askew and misfire of an action flick; hilariously entertaining for all the wrong reasons. The screenplay is incoherent and full of holes big enough to rush a reasonably large bobsled through, the inept dialogs make you go "WTF?" every couple of minutes and the overuse of typically 80's syrupy chansons is mildly infuriating. We open with Sopkiw's character – awesomely named Tiger Sharp, ha – walking out of prison after doing his eight years of time for murdering his wife's murderer. Why his wife died or in what sort of scandal Tiger got involved eight years ago we never find out. We just knew he was a cop in the Bronx and now he returns to his hillbilly-infested hometown somewhere in Arizona. At least I think it's in Arizona, because that annoying theme song repeatedly sings something about "Sunset across the Arizonian border". Anyway, Tiger promptly gets into conflict with a bunch of redneck lumberjacks led by the crazed brother of Tiger's former best friend Tom. George "Anthropophagous" Eastman depicts Tom and I truly, madly, deeply adore this guy! Tiger then receives a visit from his teenage daughter Connie (although it takes an awful long time before he realizes she's his offspring) and it looks as if he finally found some peace and quiet in his chaotic existence. But the vendetta with the rednecks escalates, and Tiger is unwillingly forced again to dust off his multifunctional machine gun. Watching "Blastfighter" is an indescribable experience and I only address myself towards fans of Italian exploitation cinema, because all the other 'normal' movie lovers are likely to label this as the worst movie ever made. Don't get me wrong, it IS one of the worst movies ever made but also amateurishly charming, irresistibly cheesy and the ideal piece of junk to watch together with friends. Every slightest aspect about this movie is unintentionally zany, like the wannabe sentimental moments with the Bambi deer, the "Deliverance" homage near the beginning, the continuously straight-faced acting performances, the exaggerated showcasing of hillbilly clichés, the copious amount of action sequences that look identical to "Rambo", the seemingly unceasing number of hostile lumberjacks that our hero is up against, the demented father/daughter interactions and the totally bonkers final confrontation with Tom. Michael Sopkiw is a handsome (kind of resembling Franco Nero) and reasonably talented actor and he probably deserved better than to star in trash like this. I can't possibly afford to grant a positive rating to "Blastfighter", but rest assured it's an entertaining and highly recommended film!

They obviously ain't seen BLASTFIGHTER then cuz this is one kick ass flick we got here! Made the same year as his equally lightning-paced film DEMONS, and featuring the exact same Claudio Simonetti score used in MASSACRE IN DINOSAUR VALLEY (a film I highly recommend BTW), Blastfighter is a hot little piece of celluloid. Genre favorite Michael Sopkiw (AFTER THE FALL OF NEW YORK) is here as the hero who seeks revenge on the redneck bullies who killed his daughter and ruined his life. Also, Joe D'Amato reg George Eastman co-stars doin' what he does best: playing a bad guy. Here, he actually has speaking lines! There's lots of action, a good storyline with a fair amount of suspense and drama, and of course loads of gory violence toward the end. Now, after seeing this, is L. Bava really as bad as most say? I think not. You might be very well surprised.

My review was written in December 1985 after watching the film on Vestron video cassette.

"Blastfighter" is a routine action picture, filmed in Georgia in 1983 by Italian filmmakers. Unreleased theatrically, it is now available Stateside in home video format.

Yank actor Michael Sopkiw (of "After the Fall of New York") toplines as Tiger, a cop on the Atlanta police force just released from a lengthy prison term for killing the thug who murdered his wife and partner (but couldn't be proved guilty in court).

Returning to his small hometown in Georgia, Tige soon runs afoul of th young Good Ole Boys tere, who are mistreating animals -they hunt deer and other forest denizens but do not kill them, delivering them seriously wounded to a local Hong Kong-derived merchant who requires live animals to fabricate medicine and aphrodisiacs from their innards. Tiger tries to run the H. K. dude out of town and stop the cruelty to animals, but as a result the heavie kill his pet deer and terrorize him.

Matters deteriorate further when Tiger i hiking in the woods with his grownup daughter and two friends -the locals kill the friends and later shoot down his daughter, precipitating a fight-to-the-death climax. Film's title derives from a high-tech rifle Tiger uses in the final reel, which blasts out fireballs rather than conventional ammunition.

Cast is personable, especially Sopkiw and Valerie Blake as his attractive, feisty daughter, but the crudely postsynched dialog stamps this effort as an Italian import rather than an All-American picture. Dumb, inconclusive ending involving a shootout between Sopkiw and Italian thesp Geroger Eatman (duo previously teamed in "After the Fall of New York") is very disappointing.

Oddest touch here, perhaps a first, is a pseudonym used for the director's credit. Lamberto Bava helmed the picture, but is credited as "John Old, Jr."; his late father Mario Bava occasionally used the Anglicized name John Old with the fake moniker apparently handed down.

I saw this one for the first time back in 1989 at the age of twelve. What a rush it was and love at first sight so to say. Blastfighter manage to serve us really good actionscenes for its time and keeps the excitement all the way to end credits. Michael Sopkiw got potential to be something more than he became, but as we all know, the moviebusiness can be very tough. Blastfighter remain a good b-action flick for many viewers, but for me a little more than that. This movie will be linked to nice childhood memories and for me it is a true action classic.

Next to DEMONS this is probably director Lamberto Bava's best film. Having just been released from prison for a crime he didn't commit, leading man Michael Sopkiw just wants peace and quiet in the wilderness. But wouldn't you know it, as soon as he pulls into the town trouble arises in the forms of lowlifes with manners and tact all but absent. They give Michael static and while he tries not to fight back you just know that something is going to make him snap and get even with these small town hooligans and their sadistic ways.(Check out Michael's super tricked out futuristic(?) rifle. This is just a very entertaining film to watch, especially with friends. The soundtrack is amazing as well containing a driving instrumental and a warbles country & western tune.