Karate Cop

Let me start by saying that I enjoy finding and watching bad movies. That doesn't mean that I love them all, but sometimes I find ones I like. This one hits many of the right buttons.

It is hard to say why, but I think mainly because it is really entertaining and light. The actors all seem to be having fun yet are somewhat serious as well. The movie also hasn't got any down moments.

Ron Marichini is fine. I liked Omega cop with him as well. Carrie Chambers is amazing looking. I wish she had been in more movies. The cheap sci-fi wasteland feel works well. David Carradine's scene is funny. Overall it is just a good little B-movie to stick in for some mindless entertainment.

If you ever want to make a direct-to-video martial-arts movie, just watch 'Karate Cop' and take some notes. You will be well on your way to creating your very own direct-to-video karate video. Awesome.

John Travis (Ron Marchini) is the last cop on Earth. What exactly happened to the rest of the police or what caused this post-apocalyptic vision of Earth is never quite revealed. At all. In fact, it was only viewing 'Karate Cop' and looking it up on IMDb that it was a sequel to something called 'Omega Cop'. Anyway, John's a pretty busy guy, being the last cop on Earth and everything. He saves Rachel (Carrie Chambers) who turns out to be a scientist AND the leader of the 'Freebies', a group of freedom fighters who resemble Peter Pan's lost boys more than fighting rebels. Offered hot food, Travis offers to do some errands for Rachel, including karate-ing the local gang led by Lincoln (D.W. Landingham).

Did I mention that David Carradine makes an appearance? I guess that was just assumed.

'Karate Cop' reeks of being straight-to-video. Most of the dialog is irrelevant, and generally consists of Travis talking to himself. As for acting... Well. Here's what I think happened: Every time one of the actors made an attempt at acting, that actor was beaten until they learned to stand there remembering lines instead of actually acting. That is the most logical explanation I can think of. With the exception of Lincoln and Lincoln's champion (Michael M. Foley), the bad guys strike me as being 'inspired' by '1990: The Bronx Warriors', an obscure Italian movie which was itself 'inspired' by 'Escape From New York'. It may be a stretch to make these comparisons, but hey, I call them as I see them. As for Lincoln, he reminds me of Mojo from 'X-Men' and the Champion is nothing but a Bolo Yeung clone. Awesome.

As an action movie, it is VERY cheap. Ron Marchini spends most of his on-screen time anti-acting, beating people up or hiding from bullets and explosions. 'Karate Cop' is definitely one of those movies that will entertain if you enjoy mindless b-movies. None of the action scenes are of any mentionable quality, but hey, what do you expect?

'Karate Cop' is just a b-grade action movie. If that's your thing, check it out. It is a poor movie, but sure to entertain some - 3/10

With a name like "Karate Cop", what are you really expecting? This movie is a perfect example of a brainless, bizarre, early 90s action movie. It has terrible acting, has a plot with as many holes as swiss cheese, and stars a third-rate Chuck Norris clone (ouch!) and David Carradine (who is only in one scene and gets killed).

That said, my circle of friends enjoyed this movie because we have a soft spot for god-awful movies. So if you enjoy MST3K, frequent the IMDb's Bottom 100, and love to make fun of Norris, Segal, Van Damme, and Stallone than this movie is worth a look on a Sunday night, possibly after a few too many beers. Otherwise, avoid like the plague.

In the future the world has been depleted to an incredibly cheap movie set, where bionic meat-heads live to beat each other up, whether it be in gladiator combat or priceless crystals which look like something you could buy at a garage sale. Oh and are our hero in question (Played not so well by Richard Marchini) must compete in a tournament that the winner gets to have a woman for whatever purposes they wish to fulfill with her. Karate Cop is a title that makes little sense, since while Richard Marchini knows martial arts and is a futuristic law enforcer, being that there is obviously no law in this phony futuristic scenario, can one still be considered a police officer, if you no longer have a public to serve? Such philosophical questions are wasted on useless movies such as this. The main reason we watch this is for the involvement of one said David Carradine, too bad he is barely in it, which of course is a gigantic letdown. Also why do bad Mad Max rip off have to be this putrid? The fight sequences themselves aren't very good but the worst thing about this is just how deadly dull this thing is to watch. Still there is no denying the unintentional laughs that come from the unconvincing sets and special effects which look as if they were filmed on a budget lower than most pornos.

* out of 4-(Bad)

This is a real bad movie. I can live with bad movies, but when it's a bad sequel to a bad original, than apparently the makers choose not to learn. Even when it's your own movie and you're proud of it, you just have to admit that the original was a bad film.

I gave this movie a 3, instead of a 1, but only because they got this movie made and released with practically no budget, which I respect. But this collection of bad acting, bad fighting, no story etc. on tape deserves no better point.

The only enjoyable thing is Michael M. Foley (Lincoln's champion) who seems to enjoy his part (bad as it is) and someone who enjoys his role is fun to watch.

But for fans of sci-fi, there is none. For fans of martial arts, there are no good fights. You may skip this.