Previously to this film, the only other Chuck Norris movie that I'd viewed from this period had been AN EYE FOR AN EYE. This was a fast-paced action movie, with lots of martial arts and even the added bonus of having Christopher Lee as a villain. I automatically assumed this film was a typical early '80s Chuck Norris movie, and that others from the period would be the same. As I had enjoyed it a lot, I immediately bought this two-for-one tape containing THE OCTAGONand A FORCE OF ONE. I sat down, looking forward to a fun night's viewing...and the rest is outlined below. I can only hope that A FORCE OF ONE is more enjoyable.
THE OCTAGON is a very dumb, poorly-made action movie. Among the worst I've ever watched, at least up until the action climax. I consider myself as having a high tolerance for rubbish of this variety, but even I have to draw a line somewhere. Maybe it's just the transfer I have, but THE OCTAGON suffers from poor picture quality (so it's difficult to see what's going on) and terrible sound volume. You know, when you can't hear what they're saying but when you turn it up a loud action scene comes on blaring out and you have to turn it down again.
The confusing plot starts off with a murder occurring for no apparent reason, with Norris conveniently hanging around to fight off the assailants. The screen is 90% black here, so it's impossible to make out much of what's going on. We learn about a secret training centre in the woods, run by an old Chinese guy and another man who really, really wants to be Bruce Lee. One guy who tries to leave dies when a shuriken is thrown through his neck. This doesn't have much to do with the rest of the plot, though.
Unfortunately for us, Norris meets and falls in with a female.. reporter? I can't even remember who or what she is as she serves no purpose. Also hanging around is a barely-used Lee Van Cleef, complete with an earring, who runs a squad of vigilante killers. Van Cleef doesn't even appear in many of this film's action sequences, and his role is a completely extraneous one. Eventually, after what seems like an eternity, Norris goes undercover to infiltrate the ninjas. He then travels to their base and takes all of them on, causing a revolt at the same time.
Well what this movie has is cheap-looking sets, stupid music, and poor acting from the entire cast. Van Cleef looks to be slumming it, Carlson is clumsy and irritating as the female lead, and Norris is his usual wooden self (never thought I'd see an actor who makes Steven Seagal look animated). A character (Norris' partner) who has been hiding around in the background for the entire movie suddenly decides to take justice into his own hands at the end and gets slaughtered. The action throughout the film is fairly typical, nothing to get excited about. It's not even that violent. It's worth watching out for one hilarious scene which has a ninja killer abseiling down a brick wall getting shot and falling to the bottom. The way they filmed it makes it a priceless moment and had me in stitches.
Now, the only worthwhile part of this movie is the last twenty minutes, so if you have the misfortune to rent or buy this, fast-forward until here. The ending sees Norris infiltrating the enemy base and fighting a hundred or so ninjas. It's great, it really is. One guy gets kicked in a fire but still tries to fight Norris, burning all the while. They all use these fancy weapons but none of them are a match for Norris' deadly hands and feet. Eventually he has to fight the Bruce Lee-wannabe leader, who just happens to be his estranged brother too. You can guess what happens. In these last twenty minutes, the body count is quite high and there's a lot of action, death, and explosions to enjoy. Sadly these cannot make up for the monumental dullness that the rest of the film has to offer. Avoid it like the plague.
THE OCTAGON is a very dumb, poorly-made action movie. Among the worst I've ever watched, at least up until the action climax. I consider myself as having a high tolerance for rubbish of this variety, but even I have to draw a line somewhere. Maybe it's just the transfer I have, but THE OCTAGON suffers from poor picture quality (so it's difficult to see what's going on) and terrible sound volume. You know, when you can't hear what they're saying but when you turn it up a loud action scene comes on blaring out and you have to turn it down again.
The confusing plot starts off with a murder occurring for no apparent reason, with Norris conveniently hanging around to fight off the assailants. The screen is 90% black here, so it's impossible to make out much of what's going on. We learn about a secret training centre in the woods, run by an old Chinese guy and another man who really, really wants to be Bruce Lee. One guy who tries to leave dies when a shuriken is thrown through his neck. This doesn't have much to do with the rest of the plot, though.
Unfortunately for us, Norris meets and falls in with a female.. reporter? I can't even remember who or what she is as she serves no purpose. Also hanging around is a barely-used Lee Van Cleef, complete with an earring, who runs a squad of vigilante killers. Van Cleef doesn't even appear in many of this film's action sequences, and his role is a completely extraneous one. Eventually, after what seems like an eternity, Norris goes undercover to infiltrate the ninjas. He then travels to their base and takes all of them on, causing a revolt at the same time.
Well what this movie has is cheap-looking sets, stupid music, and poor acting from the entire cast. Van Cleef looks to be slumming it, Carlson is clumsy and irritating as the female lead, and Norris is his usual wooden self (never thought I'd see an actor who makes Steven Seagal look animated). A character (Norris' partner) who has been hiding around in the background for the entire movie suddenly decides to take justice into his own hands at the end and gets slaughtered. The action throughout the film is fairly typical, nothing to get excited about. It's not even that violent. It's worth watching out for one hilarious scene which has a ninja killer abseiling down a brick wall getting shot and falling to the bottom. The way they filmed it makes it a priceless moment and had me in stitches.
Now, the only worthwhile part of this movie is the last twenty minutes, so if you have the misfortune to rent or buy this, fast-forward until here. The ending sees Norris infiltrating the enemy base and fighting a hundred or so ninjas. It's great, it really is. One guy gets kicked in a fire but still tries to fight Norris, burning all the while. They all use these fancy weapons but none of them are a match for Norris' deadly hands and feet. Eventually he has to fight the Bruce Lee-wannabe leader, who just happens to be his estranged brother too. You can guess what happens. In these last twenty minutes, the body count is quite high and there's a lot of action, death, and explosions to enjoy. Sadly these cannot make up for the monumental dullness that the rest of the film has to offer. Avoid it like the plague.