Phonearl
Good start, but then it gets ruined
Comwayon
A Disappointing Continuation
Allison Davies
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
mnunez786
Okay, so here's the REAL review of this stupid film. And by the way, it's probably one of the worst action movies ever done.Seriously.This movie follows the exploits of Matt Hunter, a ridiculous character that first made his appearance in the film "Invasion USA" done with the much older and completely different looking Chuck Norris. So this film is supposed to occur AFTER that movie.Matt Hunter's good friend, Larry Richards, asks for his help because he's being targeted by a team of white power rich guys who want him killed because he's a black man running for office in the Senate. Matt Hunter, retired special agent, takes the job. Ah! Great! The Great White Hope is here to save the black folks!Only it's a bit worse than that.During a Mardi Gras parade, the evil racist white guys target not just Larry Richards, but his family as well. Larry's youngest son is slaughtered.Wow. Devastating, huh? Sure...unless you love movies where black people are hunted down; including women and children.So Matt Hunter, professional that he is, "saves" Larry, the wife (Daisy) and the other son. He moves them to a safe house.Oh, thank GOD...right?WRONG.The white power guys come back. They burn down the safehouse. They slaughter Larry's wife.BAM.They slaughter Larry.BAM.As Larry's about to die, he asks Matt Hunter to please protect his son. That's his mission. Save my son. Matt PROMISES.So Matt Hunter saves his son, RIGHT?WRONG.The little kid is slaughtered seconds later.BAM.The entire black family is slaughtered. NOT ONE MEMBER IS SAVED BY MATT HUNTER.Some movie, huh? What a great way to fulfill his mission, right?So THEN what happens?Oh, well, THEN they take Matt's sister. Oh see...NOW he's mad. Because it's not nice to kill off his black friends but...well...you know...it's not like he's going to try that hard to save them (OBVIOUSLY...since they all got slaughtered...). Once they take Matt's sister, his REAL mission begins.You see, the black family didn't matter. The father, his wife, and both sons are slaughtered like flies. Matt's skills do NOTHING for them.By the time that his sister is taken, I just had all this bile rising in my throat. And it just seems really twisted to me that the main character practically does nothing until the entire family is wiped out and his sister is taken.So...if you LOVE movies where black people are slaughtered like flies by white power fanatics and the former special agent character does NOTHING to save them...then this is your film.I'm not a big fan.
Evansflare
I grew up in the 70's and 80's and back then Michael Dudikoff was the man it started off with American Ninja and American Ninja 2 then he stoked it with Avenging Force. Avenging Force was cool it had a nice simple plot and allowed for a different terrain for Michael to show off his skills, plus it had his man in it like his other past movies, the late great Steve James.The made a formidable pair on celluloid. Anyone who rents this won't be disappointed its a classic for its time.Avenging Force was way ahead of its time for effects martial arts display and a driven plot.I wish he had made more films during that time period;He had the looks the great sidekicks and the martial art skills to boot i'm sure that directors would have been overeager to place him in something well written and action-packed;but what I do know is that for the few movies that he did make when I went to go see them on Friday or Saturday night in Times Square the theatres were always packed sometimes the theatre literally being standing room only.
MichaelM24
Remember the 80s, when movies had cool titles like this?I (and many fans) consider to this to be Michael Dudikoff's best movie, and my personal favorite of all the ones he's made. AVENGING FORCE features the Dudemeister as former secret agent Matt Hunter, who's best friend (Steve James) is a running for Senate. A white supremacist group called Pentangle doesn't like this and sets out to keep James from winning, ambushing a Mardi Gras parade he's in and killing one of his little boys. Infuriating Dudikoff and James is something you don't want to do, as the bad guys will soon find out. What follows is a pretty standard plot of revenge, but it's handled nicely by director Sam Firstenberg and offers solid action and some unexpected moments along the way. The exciting final reel of the film features Dudikoff and his little sister being hunted in the Louisiana swamps by the Pentangle baddies, a la THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. Headed by the always-fun to watch John P. Ryan, the group is comprised of some very nasty individuals who delight in hunting the innocent, a sport the group partakes in quite often just for the thrill.Being that Dudikoff and James were close friends in real life, their screen rapport is very good, and you get the feeling these are two guys who really care about each other and have been through a lot together. Dudikoff is also very good here, playing a character who isn't seemingly indestructible like in AMERICAN NINJA and some of his other films. (Not that I have a problem with him playing those type of parts, but it is nice to seem him do something different occasionally). The beatings he takes from the bad guys in the swamp, particularly the big buffed guy, reminds us that things are serious. The actress who plays Dudikoff's little sister isn't that good of an actress, but she's not too distracting. The parade attack and truck chase/shipyard fight are exciting, as is the final confrontation between Dudikoff and Ryan in the latter's house, another element taken from THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. I really wish this movie would get a DVD release in at least widescreen and surround sound, because it really deserves it. It's not just a good Dudikoff movie, but a good movie in general.
ChoiBaby
Ex-Secret Service agent Matt Hunter (Michael Dudikoff) is forced out of retirement after his best friend, a prominent Politician, Larry Richards (Steve James) has been ambushed and nearly assassinated by a group of racist, intelligent militiamen called "The Pentagle." The Pentagle is a highly organized enterprise, with connections to various businesses and implications to affluent persons. They control even many of the highest levels and parts of the government. The Pentagle believes in militarism, anarchy, persecution, and total white supremacy. Many are martial arts experts, who challenge others to games of death in the swamplands area...In the wildernesses, mangled bodies lay strewn everywhere. The ideal theory of "survival of the fittest" comes into play. Matt Hunter, hoping to avenge the tragedy of his once (and only) trusted friend, decides to embark on his own mission of justice. Hunter though, still is weakened through, plagued by psychological problems resulting from a childhood trauma. He is afraid of confronting his past for he felt that he was responsible for his own parents' deaths by a bomb. However, Hunter must stay fit, putting the past aside and letting life go on...currently, he must amend the deeds of the true evil ones... Seeking help from an old friend, Admiral Brown (James Booth) along with the "Agency," Hunter must beat these adversaries in their own twisted game of predator and prey...AVENGING FORCE may be a silly movie at times, granted. The cartoonish, right-wing militia-type villains are appallingly stereotyped. The acting is also a little mediocre. That, having been said, AVENGING FORCE stays as a good movie with lots of panache. Fun, energetic, and well made. Avenging certainly contains well cheoreographed stunts and sequences. The shoot-out during the Mardi Gras Parade is a thrilling spectacle! The confrontation between the scrupulous and the unscrupulous in the wetlands of the jungle are amazing as well. This violent action movie includes lots of swordfights, strange costumes, philosophies about the imminent collapse of capitalism in society, and kendo fighting.AVENGING FORCE also briefly touches upon themes of narrow-mindedness, racism, and corruption in the highest powers of authority. Movies like these were made to appeal to action fans. Everything an action fan desires for is here to surfeit their thrist for high power escapist type movies! AVENGING FORCE is a fine motion picture worth watching for non-discriminating genre fans especially. A great amount of suspense is injected along with a solid story line and a well-to-do cast. If you can't take the heat...RATING: **1/2 out of ****.
