Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Sexylocher Masterful Movie

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

jellopuke I have a sneaking suspicion that this movie was intended to star Chuck Norris and for whatever reason he said no. It's too bad because he would have been a better choice. Dudikoff tries, but he has zero charisma and his fighting skill is lacking. Despite that, this movie is pretty solid, but oh HEY, HARD TARGET is essentially the exact same plot and location! (Rich dudes hunting men in New Orleans) The sad thing is, Dudikoff is no Van Damme...

Leofwine_draca One of action star Dudikoff's "big" '80s opening movies, this is an averagely-plotted but fun offering which has the emphasis on action all the way through. The first thing you notice is the budget – particularly small here – but as the film offers the same excitement as many others with ten times the dollars, this makes you appreciate it more. Admittedly, things start off on the wrong foot, with some lame character building and a trawl through a Mardi Gras carnival in New Orleans which makes you feel like you're there, but offers particularly poor suspense and action. Once this has passed, however, and after all the government bull and the male bonding, things start to get good. We witness a nice shoot-out/fight at some kind of dockyards, complete with cheesy car chases and lots of deaths. This is nothing, however, compared to the ranch set-piece halfway through the movie, a nihilistic, powerful catalogue of death and atrocity and some great stunt work. Trapped in the burning building, Dudikoff watches just about everyone get blown up, shot or burned, which makes for some great surprising scenes.The latter parts of the movie see Dudikoff travelling through a Cajun community (in scenes recalling SOUTHERN COMFORT) before we get back onto the trail of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, seen briefly at the beginning, in which four psychotic members of a secret society hunt our hero through the woods. The action is brief but brutal, employing realism over showy martial arts tricks, and very violent in places. Things conclude with a nice epilogue, where Dudikoff travels to the mansion of the last surviving baddie and fights him with various weapons from the guy's armoury – love that garroting device thing, really nasty! Dudikoff credibly carries off his everyday action hero persona, noticeably picking up in the action sequences later on in the movie. Nothing remarkable from him, but he's no worse than the dozen others from the decade. The supporting cast is pretty decent too; the familiar James Booth turns up yet again as an officious superior, whilst permanently jinxed Steve James (THE EXECUTIONER) kicks major ass as Dudikoff's pal, marked for death from the start, like in most of his movies. Bill Wallace pops up as a baddie dressed as a ninja (others are a cowboy and a wrestler) whilst John P. Ryan is just a weirdo and overacts for all his worth throughout the entire movie – not bad! Typical action hijinks throughout, but you can do (and I often see) a lot worse.

Scott LeBrun Michael Dudikoff plays Matt Hunter, a retired Secret Service agent who supports the political campaign of his old friend Larry Richards (Steve James). Unfortunately, Larry is being threatened by a right wing terrorist organization named Pentangle. Their boss is the creepy Elliott Glastenbury (John P. Ryan), who regularly gives his goons training exercises in the Louisiana swamps. Hunters' old boss, Admiral Brown (James Booth, who also wrote the movie) tries to press him back into service but Hunter will have none of that. Fate, of course, will dictate otherwise.The Cannon Group were always good at cranking out potboiler genre productions throughout the 1980s, but "Avenging Force" is even better than usual. This is largely because of first rate action, an above average performance by The Dude, the eternally charismatic James (who could have easily headlined his own vehicle during his short lifetime), a genuinely thrilling finale (taking place in the swamps *and* in the rain), and a formidable bad guy. Ryan excels in this role; the movie really belongs to him and James. A decent supporting cast includes William Wallace, Karl Johnson, and Marc Alaimo as assorted baddies. However, child actress Allison Gereighty doesn't fare too well playing Matts' kid sister.One can hardly fail to notice that "Avenging Force" has a rather hard edge. There certainly are elements and plot developments with which some viewers could take issue. The overall entertainment value is substantial; this may be the most accomplished movie on the resume of action specialist Sam Firstenberg ("American Ninja", "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo"). Having been shot on location in Louisiana, it does have some solid production values. It dives into the action right away. The ultimate resolution isn't altogether satisfying, though.Seven out of 10.

Wizard-8 For Cannon films - and Michael Dudikoff - this is definitely above average. There's Steve James (who leaves the movie much too early, sadly. He didn't like being in this film, by the way, and you'll see why), good action scenes (brutal fights!), and scummy and hateful bad guys who get what's coming to them. What more could you ask for?