A hugely disappointing and dull action film from Chuck Norris. While it's certainly better-made than most of his and with a higher budget, this is still a highly clichéd film in which you can predict just what's going to happen, right down to the climatic fight between Norris and Carradine. It's also not nearly violent enough, actually receiving a PG rating in America! Why? I thought we could depend on Norris for plenty of high-kicking martial arts mayhem, broken bones and the like, but this just seems like a family-orientated sell-out for him.
The film kicks off with a western theme, with Norris taking on a gang of cattle-rustlers in slow motion. Incidentally, this film's music score, by a noted Italian composer, Francesco de Mosi (whose roots go back to those Italian peplum adventures of the early '60s), is the biggest selling point, really old fashioned and highly reminiscent of Ennio Morricone's work. Soon we're treated to a string of scenes, involving Norris bonding with his ex-wife and daughter and falling in love with a woman on the other side. He also beats up a few hicks and gets a new partner. Blah, blah, it all predictably ends with lots of explosions and non-violent gun battles.
Norris is as wooden as ever here, his bland face not displaying any emotion for one second. David Carradine is barely seen as the bad guy, but doesn't make much impression, aside from showing us his impressive KUNG FU tricks. Carrera is a boring love interest, and it's only up to the likes of L.Q. Jones, William Sanderson, and R.G. Armstrong to inject some life into their small roles. Oh yeah, and there's an evil dwarf in there too, for some reason or other.
There are a handful of cool scenes in this movie which make it kind of fun at times; we get to see Norris buried underground inside his car, dowse himself with a beer and reverse straight out of the ground! He also gets shot in the stomach but the wound has healed enough in a couple of days that he can take the bandage off and have a fight with no ill effect. Or alternatively sit back and watch Norris try some target practice back at his ranch. The climatic fight between Norris and Carradine is well staged, as are the periodic martial arts that Norris uses, but there's not nearly enough. As this is a family-film, Norris also only beats Carradine up, and then lets him die in an explosion - disappointing or what? I would say this is an amusing film for Norris fans, but a real disappointment for somebody expecting some serious violence or action. There just isn't enough, just long scenes of sentimentalising and dialogue in an overlong film.
The film kicks off with a western theme, with Norris taking on a gang of cattle-rustlers in slow motion. Incidentally, this film's music score, by a noted Italian composer, Francesco de Mosi (whose roots go back to those Italian peplum adventures of the early '60s), is the biggest selling point, really old fashioned and highly reminiscent of Ennio Morricone's work. Soon we're treated to a string of scenes, involving Norris bonding with his ex-wife and daughter and falling in love with a woman on the other side. He also beats up a few hicks and gets a new partner. Blah, blah, it all predictably ends with lots of explosions and non-violent gun battles.
Norris is as wooden as ever here, his bland face not displaying any emotion for one second. David Carradine is barely seen as the bad guy, but doesn't make much impression, aside from showing us his impressive KUNG FU tricks. Carrera is a boring love interest, and it's only up to the likes of L.Q. Jones, William Sanderson, and R.G. Armstrong to inject some life into their small roles. Oh yeah, and there's an evil dwarf in there too, for some reason or other.
There are a handful of cool scenes in this movie which make it kind of fun at times; we get to see Norris buried underground inside his car, dowse himself with a beer and reverse straight out of the ground! He also gets shot in the stomach but the wound has healed enough in a couple of days that he can take the bandage off and have a fight with no ill effect. Or alternatively sit back and watch Norris try some target practice back at his ranch. The climatic fight between Norris and Carradine is well staged, as are the periodic martial arts that Norris uses, but there's not nearly enough. As this is a family-film, Norris also only beats Carradine up, and then lets him die in an explosion - disappointing or what? I would say this is an amusing film for Norris fans, but a real disappointment for somebody expecting some serious violence or action. There just isn't enough, just long scenes of sentimentalising and dialogue in an overlong film.