Finish Him

In the 90s, famous Hong Kong studio Seasonal Film (Drunken Master) tried to go Hollywood by filming several martial arts movies set in North American with caucasian actors. None did very well though some were notable trivia (e.g., Jean Claude Van Damme's first movie). Wednesday night, I went to the Royal to see Superfights as presented by local club Laserblast. Their mandate is to show old classics (and not so much) in the original VHS but projected on the big screen.

An effusive introduction about the film was interrupted by Hologram Man (named after a previous showing) and a Superfighter. They proceeded to fight each other wrestling-style up and down the aisles. Some wrestlers from a local circuit had dressed up to promote their upcoming event. After a few risible trailers, Superfights got underway.

The premise was a tad ridiculous. Jack Cody was a fan of a proto-MMA/WWF network called Superfights with headliners like Dark Cloud and Budokai. He trained himself by watching how-to videos and fighting mannequins at his warehouse job. After he rescued Sally Wong from local thugs, his minor celebrity-dom got him an offer from Vince McMahon-look-a-like Robert Sawyer to become a Superfighter. Under the tutelage of Angel, he became an "American hero" icon. Little did Cody know that beneath the veneer laid a world of blackmail, fixed fights, steroids, and racketeering. Only Sally's grandfather and his "internal martial arts" can give Cody the chi needed to gain the upperhand.

Despite the groan-worthy plot and some hammy scenes, the actors were quite competent. The fighting sequences, mostly martial arts but also included some wrestling action, were unsurprisingly top-notched. The film moved at a good pace and hit all the landmarks: training montages, wise master, smart-assed but pure-hearted hero, one on one, group melees, and of course final showdowns. It was actually quite a fun movie and didn't need the embellishment added by Laserblast in the form of karaoke lyrics whenever the theme song came on. It was distracting and even offensive. Despite their tongue-in-cheek "LBI" (Laserblast Bureau of Investigation) advisory about engaging in cheers and even boos but no hurtful or snide remarks, they printed some juvenile asides regarding the "questionable" nature of the muscular Angel. Lamers gonna lame. But otherwise, it was a great night and more enjoyable than most recent Hollywood flicks.