The One Armed Executioner

Im sure it wasnt the 1st of its kind, but I was really surprised of how much I saw reflected in later big budget hollywood movies throughout the 80's and 90's. The cinematography, fight sequences and script are not all too bad for the most part neither. I can see aspects of Blood sport, Karate Kid, Coimmando, Rambo and various Jonn Woo movies (particularly the score) in this production. As it was made in 1981 and nobody seems to have heard of it I thought Id give it a review to show my support.

The head cop warns the hero who's in the hospital after losing an arm to the bad guys that if he's thinking about revenge, "hands off" and no one bats an eye. That's some serious cheese in the writing.

Charmingly unpurified nonpareil evincing the titular "one armed executioner" character who is, surprisingly, the protagonist of the story. Between swallows of beer...hopefully lots of them...you'll be sounding off in ebullient support of his virulent vigilante mission...to destroy the evil mobsters responsible for stabbing his pretty wife to death and leaving him...well...erm...disarmed.

Are you hungry for a film which guiltlessly sacrifices the fine points of quality, integrity, and tact in order to bring you multifarious stripes of misconduct and a lion's share of karate-chopping action? If you answered "YES", then put on a bib and dig in. If you answered "NO", then here's a piece of gum, now get the Hell out of my kitchen.

Franco Guerrero stars as Ramon Ortega, hotshot Interpol agent. He's getting too close to nefarious drug kingpin Edwards (Nigel Hogge), so the master criminal sends out his goons, led by the physically imposing Mike Jason (Pete Cooper). The bad guys subsequently murder Ramon's lovely blonde wife Ann (Jody Kay) and lop off Ramon's left arm. Ramon sinks into a pit of despair, self pity, and alcoholism, before being rescued by his associate Wo Chen, who trains him in the martial arts and to be able to operate without the use of a limb.

Admittedly, "The One Armed Executioner" is not a high quality production, but it's a great deal of fun. Co-writer / director Bobby A. Suarez ("American Commandos") is not the slickest of filmmakers when it comes to this genre, but he does alright, giving this amiable actioner decent pace and acceptable set pieces. As could be expected, the performances and dubbing aren't so hot, but that doesn't mean that they don't entertain. Guerrero is a passable hero, the briefly seen Kay is appealing as the loving wife, and Hogge and Cooper are decent bad guys. Cooper in particular is fun, given the way that he chortles nastily while doing his dirty deeds.

Location work is adequate, and the music is enjoyable. It's also nice to see that this was shot in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. People who favour the cheap and the cheesy are likely to have a reasonably good time watching this one.

Seven out of 10.

Yeah, We all have seen some of those real good modern martial arts movies and they are all well and good (Like things with Chow Yun-Fat or Jackie Chan) but we must not forget these types of movies--low budget laugh marathons...OK so not many people have seen this neat little Drive in second feature (as in the type of movie that would of played at the local drive in as a second feature for like 10 years...but would of never shown at a big movie theater chain)maybe it's because the acting is bad (it's really not Hepburn-Tracy if you get my drift) and the script is so first grade it makes you smile at times...or maybe because the music sounds like something lifted right off "Debbie Dose Dallas" (a.k.a--Porn music)..but this little revenge ditty had something more--A better feel...the effects are so late 70's--early 80's it's unreal...but it really works to the films advantage...like if you get a big movie with big stars you expect something more...with a low budget it's not expected...but this one delivers for some reason. Maybe it's all the low key, cheap acting and what seems to be a child written script that makes it one of the funniest (not intentionally...but enjoyable)movies that you can spend a night laughing at (especially "Jason")while still cheering for the "One-Armed Executioner" himself. The movie was released by Paragon and their the company who always had the same 2 or 3 trailers before each of their features which alone makes it worth the rental price (as in you can really get a good laugh at some of the movies someone bought the rights to and actually promoted)...I got mine for 2 dollars and it was worth every penny because when ever I need some real neat-o low budget fun I pop it in sit back and smile while at the same time cheer for Ortega...You've walked past it in the action section a million times...next time try picking it up...You may be surprised!!Happy Watching