Two Los Angeles cops go undercover to investigate the distribution of steroids to wrestlers and bodybuilders.Two Los Angeles cops go undercover to investigate the distribution of steroids to wrestlers and bodybuilders.Two Los Angeles cops go undercover to investigate the distribution of steroids to wrestlers and bodybuilders.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
Don Wilson
- Neil DeMarco
- (as Don 'The Dragon' Wilson)
Michael Bailey Smith
- Kevin Thompson
- (as Michael Baily Smith)
Joey Sagal
- Pope Kim
- (as Joe Sagal)
Pamala Tyson
- Sharleen Harris
- (as Pamela Tyson)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
When I stumbled upon the 1998 action movie "Whatever It Takes" here in 2021, I must admit that I found the movie to have some appeal. Why? Well, the movie had Don Wilson and also Fred Williamson on the cast list.
And with "Whatever It Takes" being a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I sat down to watch it.
It turns out that this 1998 action movie from writers Jack Capece and Raymond Obstfeld was actually a rather enjoyable movie. Sure, this was a typical cheesy late 1990s action movie, for better or worse. But that was definitely something that, in my opinion, added to the overall appeal of the movie.
The storyline told in "Whatever It Takes" was pretty straight forward. Sure, this was not a movie that revolutionized the action genre, nor did it bring anything new to the genre, but director Brady MacKenzie managed to deliver a wholesome action movie that was driven by a good enough storyline, interesting characters and some good old fashioned hard-hitting action.
While the movie was starring Don Wilson and co-starring Andrew Clay and Fred Williamson, then this movie was first and foremost made enjoyable by Fred Williamson in the role of a drug lord. He was so nicely cast for that particular role and character, and his performance was just spot on. This guys' charisma and appearance definitely added so much to the character.
Personally I am not interested in bodybuilding and such, so I found very little appeal in all the displaying of workout sessions and both men and women with so many muscles that it started to look monstrously bad. But hey, to each their own. But of course, with the movie's storyline, this was a needed ingredient for the movie.
If you enjoy a good old fashioned action movie, then "Whatever It Takes" is a good bet. I found it to be a rather enjoyable and entertaining movie.
My rating of "Whatever It Takes" lands on a well-deserved six out of ten stars.
And with "Whatever It Takes" being a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I sat down to watch it.
It turns out that this 1998 action movie from writers Jack Capece and Raymond Obstfeld was actually a rather enjoyable movie. Sure, this was a typical cheesy late 1990s action movie, for better or worse. But that was definitely something that, in my opinion, added to the overall appeal of the movie.
The storyline told in "Whatever It Takes" was pretty straight forward. Sure, this was not a movie that revolutionized the action genre, nor did it bring anything new to the genre, but director Brady MacKenzie managed to deliver a wholesome action movie that was driven by a good enough storyline, interesting characters and some good old fashioned hard-hitting action.
While the movie was starring Don Wilson and co-starring Andrew Clay and Fred Williamson, then this movie was first and foremost made enjoyable by Fred Williamson in the role of a drug lord. He was so nicely cast for that particular role and character, and his performance was just spot on. This guys' charisma and appearance definitely added so much to the character.
Personally I am not interested in bodybuilding and such, so I found very little appeal in all the displaying of workout sessions and both men and women with so many muscles that it started to look monstrously bad. But hey, to each their own. But of course, with the movie's storyline, this was a needed ingredient for the movie.
If you enjoy a good old fashioned action movie, then "Whatever It Takes" is a good bet. I found it to be a rather enjoyable and entertaining movie.
My rating of "Whatever It Takes" lands on a well-deserved six out of ten stars.
10d_rhino
An awesome Cops and Robbers genre movie! The stunts were great! The "Dragon" was amazing "Dice" was hysterical. Lots and lots of FUN! Hope to see more just like it! The women were beautiful and very sexy! Fred Williamson was especially good as the bad
"Whatever it takes" was not quite as entertaining as previous Don "The Dragon" Wilson movies. Don Wilson is beginning to show his age, and it appeared that it was more difficult for him to perform some of the stunts. The showing was running a "6" until the end, when Andrew Dice Clay had to come in with his moronic farmer jokes, which didn't add anything to the show, actually detracted from it, and was not normal for Wilson's productions.
Let me just say that the only good thing about this film is the beautiful women in it. Other than that, the movie is just a waste of time. It's not often that I would say something like that about a film, most movies have some redeeming value, but this is one does not.
The story isn't too terribly bad, I mean it's relatively interesting, but the acting and the dialogue is just god-awful! Just about all the fight scenes were just terrible! I thought this guy Don "The Dragon" Wilson (I can't believe this guy actually gets credited on film as "The Dragon") was a terrible fighter. Apparently he is some kick-boxing champion, well...I wasn't really impressed. In his defense, it could have been the choreographer that made the fighting less than impressive, but I don't know for sure. Andrew Dice Clay had a few funny lines in the movie, but most of the time he was just useless. The rest of the cast was bad too, but I won't get into it.
Anyhow, I would never recommend watching this film unless you have NOTHING better to do with 2 hours of your life. If by some miracle you do happen to watch this film, I hope you enjoy it a lot more than I did. Thanks for reading,
-Chris
The story isn't too terribly bad, I mean it's relatively interesting, but the acting and the dialogue is just god-awful! Just about all the fight scenes were just terrible! I thought this guy Don "The Dragon" Wilson (I can't believe this guy actually gets credited on film as "The Dragon") was a terrible fighter. Apparently he is some kick-boxing champion, well...I wasn't really impressed. In his defense, it could have been the choreographer that made the fighting less than impressive, but I don't know for sure. Andrew Dice Clay had a few funny lines in the movie, but most of the time he was just useless. The rest of the cast was bad too, but I won't get into it.
Anyhow, I would never recommend watching this film unless you have NOTHING better to do with 2 hours of your life. If by some miracle you do happen to watch this film, I hope you enjoy it a lot more than I did. Thanks for reading,
-Chris
I agree with the reviewers that this movie is not good. I enjoy low budget movies if they have a certain charm that makes them interesting and unique. This is too "formula" to be low-budget and charming and not strong enough to be a main stream "formula" action film. However, I bought this because I'm a big Victoria Pratt fan and wanted all of her movies and TV shows. If you like her too, you may want to pick this up. She's in about 7 scenes, mostly wearing hot workout outfits at the gym and hot "night out" outfits in other scenes. She's even topless in another. She looks buff and wonderful as always! I suggest buying the DVD so that you can select her scenes without having to fast forward through a tape and being forced to watch the movie itself more than once. Used copies are a little cheaper too.
Did you know
- Trivia"The Dragon" and "The Diceman" make a quick reference to "Ford Fairlane" when they appropriate a drug pusher's aging automobile. Les aventures de Ford Fairlane (1990) was a film showcasing Andrew Dice Clay.
- GoofsNeedlessly reckless for undercover cops to argue over police ethics while standing only a few steps away from the bad guy's house they just left.
- ConnectionsReferences Les aventures de Ford Fairlane (1990)
- How long is Whatever It Takes?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Color
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