Firepower [DVD]

Firepower is one of those cheesy martial art movies that tries to take place in the future and the result is even more cheesiness that is just a 1980's looking future. I can't help but notice how this simply makes part of the film suffer, but not all is lost. There are plenty of fights in this film, and it stars familiar faces Chad Mcqueen (Karate Kid, Martial Law) and Gary Daniels (City Hunter, Rage, Bloodmoon).

The year is 2007, and well, here we are also in 2007. Fortunately our real-life 2007 isn't as trashy as this one and there are no "hell-zones" present, where most of the action in Firepower takes place. Chad Mcqueen and Gary Daniels star as a pair of cops who go into the underground world of "Death Ring" fighting to uncover some mysterious aids vaccinethat is supposedly present there. The story doesn't stop there, and eventually deals with personal issues and emotions for the 2 cops.

Overall, the story is ok. There is a huge surprise near the end I did not expect from a film like this. The fights are really the only decent thing about Firewpower. If you are into underground cage fighting with weapons and screaming spectators, this is that kind of movie. None of the fights are exceptional, but most are good and solid for a martial arts film. Gary Daniels is definetly more skilled in Firepower than Chad Mcqueen, which is ironic when the end of the film is near.

A basic martial arts film that is a typical B action movie. The setting in the future makes it suffer more than it should with all its cheesiness glory, but other than that expect an average film.

Ahh, Firepower, I've had this flick on an old VHS tape for years and I was Stoked to see it come out on DVD.

For a low budget action flick it's pretty entertaining, the "plot" is fairly simple, 2 cops go undercover as "Death Ring" fighters in order to uncover the wareabouts of a secret lab producing a fake AIDS vaccine, theres something about a wife who doesn't want the lead guy to be a cop anymore and a Death Ring hostess who wants out of the "Hellzone" but thats all just background noise. The real focus is the fighting, and theres lots of it! Theres some great one on one fighting to be seen in the Death Ring, as low lives battle it out for prize money while an entertaining ring announcer gives the play by play we get to see some pretty good work with the fists, feet and various weapons.

Also, one can't understate the positively glowing acting of Jim "Ultimate Warrior" Hellwig, when this man says "Get me out NOW!" boy you really feel it.
So if you're looking for some breezy fun for 90 minutes you can't go wrong with this flick.

"Firepower" is a martial arts action flick from the glory days of PM Entertainment, a company which for all its faults definitely gave a hoot about putting together decent action movies. It is also the last outing of Chad McQueen during his push as a karate star and arguably the first in the golden age of Gary Daniels as he came into his own as a bankable performer. Teaming the two together seems like a strange move in retrospect, but it nonetheless makes for a decent film. "Firepower" easily earns its three stars for action fans, just missing four, but it's definitely not a movie for everyone.

The story: in a harsh future, a deadly underground fighting champion (pro wrestler Jim Ultimate Warrior Hellwig) escapes police custody into Los Angeles' unpatrolled "Zone of Personal Freedom," leading officers Darren Braniff (McQueen, Martial Law) and Nick Sledge (Daniels, Fist of the North Star) to go undercover as competitors in pursuit.

While the production design pulls off a decent look for the futuristic setting, I don't like that the picture's set almost entirely at night, leading to a lot of shadowy sets. More importantly, I'm also not that big of a fan of the two protagonists: if Braniff isn't setting a new standard for unwarranted police brutality, Sledge is firing off nonstop cheesy sexual one-liners, leaving neither of them very endeared. (SPOILER) Things even get downright uncomfortable when Braniff gets the hots for an underworld prostitute while oblivious that his own wife is being assassinated by a vengeful criminal. I doubt that writer Michael January (To Be the Best) intended for the film to be read as a morality tale with black & white characters, but it comes off as kind of clumsy and rough regardless.

But luckily, all of that morality junk goes out the window anyway when it's time for the fight scenes, and the movie provides these amply. Chad and Gary are supplemented by a decent selection of regular PM fighters - Art Camacho, Gerald Okamura, Richard Rabago - and together they put on a neat show. The twelve substantial matches range from "decent" to "very good" in quality, with my personal favorite being a showdown between Daniels and Butch Togisala. Most of the fights take place in an electrified cage and almost all of them feature some weapon handling a'la Shootfighter. Despite looking noticeably less toned than his costars, McQueen is pretty serviceable. The only real drawback of the fight scene is the Ultimate Warrior, who manages a decent two-on-one brawl early in the picture but whose subsequent matches are fairly boring. Sure, Warrior's blonde, ripped, and looks mean, but why didn't the filmmakers just get Matthias Hues like they usually do?

On the dramatic front, veteran actor George Murdock (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) as the police chief saves this one from total oblivion, but the movie exists almost entirely on the strength of its fight scenes. Fans of the Hong Kong standard may not like this one, then, but if you're already a fan of PM or of Gary Daniels, this one will be worth watching.

this is a fun flick, but i hate that gary dies in it :(

Firepower is one of the best films in it's genre. This is a movie that has very little plot but is huge on action. It is one of the best "Deathring" movies of all time... The hellzone is certainly a highlight as well as the "futuristic cop car" aka the chevy lumina van...