jcdelorme71

The Return Of The Bionic Boy should be avoided unless you are insane, or a zealous Bionic movie completist, even if such a person exists I doubt whether he/she could glean any joy from this plotless obscurity. After a promising funk driven Bruce Lee/Shaw Bros/Sonny Chiba style title sequence, which included a magnificently cheapjack mardi gra fire breathing dragon float, the film became a seemingly endless round of dull, repetitive and badly executed martial (No) Art battles. Not only was said boy far from bionic, his left leg appeared to have some batteries in it, the bionic sound effect was darn poor, and, like his powers utilized way to frequently. On the scale of bad movies this was unfortunately right up there with Bruce Willis's 'Color Of Night', yep, that grotesque. If you happen to know someone who brings this round with a plentiful supply of booze, simply get drunk and hurl master Bionic Boy out the window. Dreadful nonsense.

The film is a winner. In this day an age of lukewarm, banal 70's retro chic it's nice to see the real thing. Al Pacino turns in a naturalistic speedball performance, and as a slice of New York grunge it's pretty damn fine. If you want plots though buy an allotment. But, you do get to follow various drugged out cats through the scuzzball minutia of their lives, and among the grimy spoons, and zesty needlework there is even time for a few low key gags. I think it is a minor 70's classic. Not for everyone's tastes, but if you like The King Of Marvin Gardens, and the strange dabblings of Paul Morrisey & co you will dig it. It is obvious that both Kids/Another Day In Paradise and Drugstore Cowboy are very much in its debt.