I saw this cheapjack American action film under the title MISSION TERMINATE. It's certainly a more relevant title than RETURN OF THE KICKFIGHTER. This US-financed production was shot in the Philippines by a Filipino director and with a Filipino supporting cast. That country stands in for Vietnam as it so often did in the 1980s. The plot is about some corrupt American soldiers who discover a stash of Vietcong gold and hide it away, only to find themselves being bumped off one by one in the present day by the gold's vengeful owners.
This is in essence a cheap RAMBO clone with bearded Aussie Richard Norton playing the hero. I've loved Norton ever since I saw him in his Hong Kong thrillers and although wooden he's good value here. It's a pity the film doesn't have more martial arts in it because when he fights it looks great, particularly the tough kicks he dishes out to his opponents. The supporting cast is mainly taken up by Filipinos, although we do get to see former Bruceploitation star Bruce Le as an ally and the truly great Hong Kong star Dick Wei as the villain of the piece. I love Wei so was really stoked seeing him acting in something other than a Hong Kong movie.
The first part of the movie is a little slow in setting up the story but it all works out well in the end with plenty of low rent action. There's a random ninja training camp built in the middle of nowhere which Norton and Le have to infiltrate and plenty of explosive action come the climax. The usual gamut of corrupt officials and violent death combine to make a vivid if derivative movie. The only real complaints are that the print is so dark it's hard to make out what's going on at times and more hand to hand combat was needed to liven things up a bit.
This is in essence a cheap RAMBO clone with bearded Aussie Richard Norton playing the hero. I've loved Norton ever since I saw him in his Hong Kong thrillers and although wooden he's good value here. It's a pity the film doesn't have more martial arts in it because when he fights it looks great, particularly the tough kicks he dishes out to his opponents. The supporting cast is mainly taken up by Filipinos, although we do get to see former Bruceploitation star Bruce Le as an ally and the truly great Hong Kong star Dick Wei as the villain of the piece. I love Wei so was really stoked seeing him acting in something other than a Hong Kong movie.
The first part of the movie is a little slow in setting up the story but it all works out well in the end with plenty of low rent action. There's a random ninja training camp built in the middle of nowhere which Norton and Le have to infiltrate and plenty of explosive action come the climax. The usual gamut of corrupt officials and violent death combine to make a vivid if derivative movie. The only real complaints are that the print is so dark it's hard to make out what's going on at times and more hand to hand combat was needed to liven things up a bit.