Cristi_Ciopron
This Saturday I have seen 'An Eye …', as I was missing this genre of cinema. What does distinguish action from adventure? The urban setting? The fights? The mere abundance of fights, chases, etc.? Certainly not the matter (which can be gangster stories, martial arts tales, revenge plots, etc.). Perhaps the puzzle over this is naive, these types being only attempts to label that which obeys not necessarily ideal rules, but the inspiration of a particular event (the making of a movie, by people who do not use a textbook, or do not have the will to embody a strict definition of what a movie should be), the genres themselves are not transcendent (action, adventure, thriller, suspense, chiller, shocker, etc.), they are not defining for any movie, though the use of the tropes can be, especially in the form of the rip-offs (as with Norris being a kind of 'Rambo' …). As a child, I was very eager and even fond of these action movies; 'An Eye for an Eye'' is quite intriguing and suspenseful, self-conscious exploitation with a Bronson zest (but even more of a kind of Giallo, if you take my meaning, although the plot becomes quickly about a Triad, heroin, a revenge against the Chinese gangsters), enjoyable score and cinematography to provide atmosphere (the cityscapes of the first scenes being better than the _faux Asian kitsch), the kind of violence that was prized once (here, violence shown with the fashionable dizziness of the era's slasher movies, a broad defenseless in the middle of a city), before blandness overrun the market, as with the dreary action movies from the last 20 yrs. The '50s, the '60s, the '70s had many action movies, with McQueen, Wayne, Bronson, Eastwood, etc., the war movies belonged sometimes to this genre.Lee has a cameo, a scene with Norris, then a few other scenes in the next hour, and he's meant to give the show a bit of stylishness, this actor has recently passed away, so here we remember him with cordiality, though with the occasion of a small role from 34 yrs ago; Norris' sidekick James (about whom the script seems undecided), and the overweight Professor looked quite Japanese, but this only gave the movie more of a B quirk. A young Norris, very commonplace, bland, plays a policeman who forwarded his _demission as a result of the mistrust he feels, then he takes up a fight against the Chinese mobsters, a Triad, and step by step he finds a tape, then, on the street, a name, then an informer, then the guy involved in the fiasco of the undercover operation the movie began with, all these achievements by acting carefully. This movie has a few exciting scenes, a reasonable pace (but with a mediocre script, and some schmaltz of the '80s kind, with '70s forebodings), there are a few moments of simply tasting the life; Norris, here lacking coolness, is a modest showman the same way some of the '30s western movies actors were so, and like them coming from a different kind of show (martial arts for him, rodeos, etc., for them).Given its genre, it is average, but likable, and perhaps better than Rourke (who declined action roles during the '80s, but consented when the genre became embarrassing …) jumping, making funny jumps in a 'Die Hard' rip-off.
disdressed12
i enjoyed this Chuck Norris revenge vehicle a lot.there's plenty of action,of course,but there also some funny one liners thanks to Mako,who teams up with Chuck to help take out the trash and provides some much needed comic relief along the way,which is good,because the overall tone of the movie is a fairly dark otherwise.the acting is good enough for the genre,although Christopher Lee is actually better than the material warrants,and elevates the proceedings.the movie is pretty fast paced,with no real slow or draggy spots,so there's no real risk of being bored.at least i wasn't.but that's just my opinion.for me An Eye for an Eye is a 7/10
