A Force of One (1979) User Reviews

Early Norris thriller playing a tough trainer , being packed with noisy action, tension and violence

[ma-cortes · 5/10 · 26 December 2009]

Chuck Norris exciting vehicle with lots of action , thrills , suspense and spectacular kick-boxing fights . One time the Vietnam war is over , a Karate teacher named Matt Logan (Chuck Norris) keeps a new occupation as trainer , previous life as leader of a Vietnam commando named ¨The Black Tigers¨ (at his former film titled ¨Good guys wear black¨ by Ted Post) . A police lieutenant (Clu Gulager) attempts to resolve why his squad members (Jennifer O'Neill , Pepe Serna, Ron O'Neal, among others) are being mysteriously killed . Then Norris using his skills as fighter to help combat drug trafficking and discover as the undercover narcotic agents are being eliminated one-by-one .

This stirring picture is plenty of action-packed , excitement , tense and cheesy sub-plot to boot with wild stunts . The story displays a plethora of martial-arts struggles and especially Thailand fighting . The movie featured three members of the Norris family in acting roles , these were Aaron Norris , Mike Norris and Chuck Norris . Here Norris cleans up the nasty fighters by means of punches , kicks , bounds and leaps with fights certainly slick . Mediocre screenplay in spite of being written by Ernest Tidyman (French Connection , Shaft). It's violent , frenetic and hectic and not particularly literary but worthy entry in Kung-Fu genre , although runs out energy surprisingly early. Average Norris-thriller , exciting and tense at times with fine work from Clint Ritchie, James Withmore Jr and Clu Gulager as a brilliant chief named Dune . And , of course , Karate expert Chuck Norris who saves the day with lots of visceral violence , he's a nice wrestler who possesses incredible strength . The motion picture was regularly directed by Paul Aaron , in his second theatrical feature film and he replaced filmmaker Ted Post . The film belongs Norris's early period , as during the 70s when he made low-average budget as ¨Breaker,Breaker¨, ¨Slaughter in San Francisco ¨, after that , in the 80s and 90s he acted in better movies as ¨Code of silence¨, ¨Delta Force¨ , ¨Silent rage¨ ,¨Octagon¨ ,¨Forced vengeance¨, ¨Delta Force I,II¨ , ¨An eye for an eye¨ among others , with successful box office at cinemas and video-rentals . In the 90s and 2000s with exception of ¨Walker Texas Ranger¨, the Norris star had gone down . Action addicts will give this one a passing grade , all others need not apply . If you're a previous Norris fans , you'll like it but contains enough action and violence for enthusiasts of the Karate genre . This is a must see if you're a die-hard Chuck Norris fan .

A Force of One

[Scarecrow-88 · 6/10 · 16 December 2009]

And, that force is Chuck Norris, a master in the martial arts, preparing for the big fight in a tournament, called upon by a California narcotics division to train the detectives in how to fight a mysterious adversary who killed two cops with his bare hands during a secret raid(they did not call in for back up). A kid on a skateboard is the one who helps transport the drugs from one place to the other while a crooked cop is in cahoots with a drug-dealer using a sporting goods store as a front to distribute smack, coke, and other powder junk.

Jennifer O'Neill glams down(sort of)as a detective, Mandy Rust(getting top honors in the cast over Norris) who becomes close friends with Norris' Matt Logan, her hair cut, dressed in casual "cop" attire(..although she's still a knockout in a cocktail dress), who suspects a fellow partner in her squad(..the film establishes who this person is as he is doing business with the mastermind of the drug operation). Clu Gulager is the chief of the narcotics division, Dunne and Ron O'Neal is a fellow detective Rollins. Bill Wallace is Sparks, the man Logan is to fight in the big main event.

Mandy is the one who helps lure Logan into assisting them in martial arts training. It was kind of neat seeing Norris(and his brother Aaron who helped choreograph the fight sequences)training the detectives in one particular sequence, on offensive and defensive maneuvers.

Important sub-plot added by director Paul Aaron(..initially called in just to help in rewrites of the script, celebrated by the add campaign as being co-written by Ernest Tidyman, due to his heat on helping pen The French Connection)provides Logan with an adopted son, Charlie(Eric Laneuville)for whom he has raised and trained, both hoping for much future success. This success will never come to fruition due to a hunch Charlie gets regarding his uncovering key figures responsible for the drug operation, including the identity of the martial artist killing cops. This killer with superior skills and power than Charlie, doesn't allow him to leave, because of what he has learned.

This sub-plot, of course, gives Norris an excuse to get seriously miffed(to put it mildly), exercising his right to deliver a major ass-kicking to the one responsible for Charlie's death. Many of Norris' movies feature a tragedy, the murder of a loved one or buddy, which motivates his characters to get even with the scum who commit the deed that resulted in the loss.

Mix of detective drama and martial arts showcase for Norris with a tidy conclusion as the guilty parties will be brought to justice and Logan is allowed to get his revenge. Interesting decision to shoot combat between Norris and his opposition in slow motion(opening an opportunity for scrutiny such as Wallace's elbow clearly missing Norris' face, yet he reacts jarringly anyway as if he did), inside and outside the ring. Known as a follow-up to Good Guys Wear Black, neither film resemble each other in any way either in content or characters(this is mainly because American Cinema Pictures distributed both films, opening a door for Norris' stardom, although ultimately it would be the third collaboration, The Octagon, that would hit pay-dirt). The killer, who sneak-assaults detectives who uncover locations containing the hidden drugs, wears a black ski-mask and jeans, explosively subduing them before they have a chance to defend themselves, hence the training of the other cops. While A Force of One gave viewers a chance to see Norris in action, expressing his abilities, The Octagon really was the movie that let him break out as a force to be reckoned with.

"They think karate was used on them".

[lost-in-limbo · 6/10 · 22 April 2011]

I wouldn't mind one of those Matt Logan t-shirts you see his people wearing in the movie… well sadly you don't get one with the DVD. Oh well. After the box-office success of "Good Guys Wear Black", Chuck Norris would roll out another then another. "A Force of One" was one of those. These earlier films ("Good Guys Wear Black", "A Force of One" and "The Octagon") backed by American Cinema seemed to have the same style and formula; but while they did have thick, knotty plots (like something out of a crime/cop show), Chuck didn't entirely get much of a work out compared to some of his fun, over-the-top 80s work.

"A Force of One" is a decent, if not particularly igniting old-school Chuck Norris outing where he's confronting drugs with a karate chop/kick. A team of narcotics agents enlist the help of a martial arts expert Matt Logan, when some of their agents end up dead by a serial killer who uses karate. Hesitant to help at first, but soon Logan finds it personal --- revenge and honour.

There's some action; well staged too (like the climatic battle outside the ring), but a lot more time is spent in training (for his championship fight), lessons (for the narcotics agents), being a mentor figure and then trying to connect the dots on who might be the karate serial killer (with little surprise on the reveal). It's rather talky and consisting of the same patterns, but never was I bored. Norris is looking much more comfortable than say in his last role. He comes across genuine in his moods, having a sense of humour and of course delivers on what matters --- amazing martial arts and stunt work. Across from him is a headstrong Jennifer O'Neal. Also the cast features big players like Clu Gulager, Ron O'Neal, James Whitemore Jr. and Charles Cyphers. Paul Aaron's direction is competently tidy, drawing up some striking set-pieces accompanied by Dick Halligan's rhythmic music score of offbeat tempos.

Well made, but standard action/investigative fare.

"Whoever did this... they're as good as dead."

[bensonmum2 · 4/10 · 6 August 2005]

Back when A Force of One was originally released, I viewed Chuck Norris' movies as boring, brainless, and cheap. In the years since, I've changed that original assessment and can see them for what they really are. Now I look at these early Chuck Norris' movies as fun, brainless, and cheap.

The plot is incredibly simple and shows a total lack of creativity. When two cops are killed by someone using Martial Arts, they seek out the one man who might be able to help them - the local karate champion, Matt Logan (Norris). The cops quickly persuade Matt to help them, but when Matt's son turns up dead, he goes from helping to an active participant.

Instead of writing a regular review or pointing out strengths and weaknesses in the movie, I'll just list a few random thoughts I had while watching:

· It's not that the cops are skeptical about how karate can help them, a few act like they can't even pronounce the word. · The needle marks in that girl's arm makes it look like she been using a turkey-baster to shoot-up with. · You would think that after one set of cops is killed that the superior officer would do a better job of keeping track of where and what his men are working on. · Wow, a ninja in the stockroom! You just don't see enough of stuff like that in real life. · If you couldn't guess that Matt's son was going to get into serious trouble when he started his own investigating, you haven't seen enough bad action movies. · The identities of the bad guys are so obvious it's embarrassing. · Why is the police captain wearing a Matt Logan t-shirt under his bath robe?

It may be bad, but there are still several enjoyable moments. One of my favorites is the most obvious - watching Chuck Norris square off against Bill 'Superfoot" Wallace. Two legends of the Martial Arts in a fight to the death - good stuff. It almost makes the whole movie worthwhile.

Respectable entertainment.

[Blueghost · 11 September 2012]

Like my previous Chuck Norris film review, I also saw this one at a local drive in with a couple of neighbors. I can't remember too much of it, but do remember that it was entertaining in regards to a corrupt police investigation of some kind, something involving drugs, and, of course, martial arts.

It was one of Chucks better flicks, and he showed some chops in the acting department, but I can't say that the film stuck with me all that much. Regardless, it was somewhat impressive. Ironically enough the one thing I remember about going to see this film was the preview for "The Villain", a western spoof.

There's not much in the way of plot in this thing, but it has a decent enough emotional story. If you're into martial arts, and want to see Chuck Norris early in his career, give this film a try. Not a bad watch.

Enjoy.

Low budget

[mm-39 · 3/10 · 5 March 2002]

Low budget, wooden acting, and sappy make the basics for this film. Not awful as other Norris movies, but it is a stinker. The Karate fight at the end is ok, but the rest is boring. The Karate is not that much special now with all the other action films, and the part with his foster son is over the top sappy. Well not bad with what they had to work with.

A dull Chuck Norris movie

[CooperCom · 4/10 · 6 December 1999]

"A force of one" is more serious than the other Chuck Norris movies, but it's also very dull. The actors are above average, but the fighting sequences does not deliver much to applaud for. Seems more like a criminal than an action-movie. (4 out of 10)

Undercover cops are killed one by one, and the police want karate champion Chuck Norris to help them out

[HarryLags · 7/10 · 18 October 2016]

Matt Logan (Chuck) is a Martial Arts expert who runs a Dojo, teaching children by day and fighting in the ring by night. His life is consumed by Karate, which is exactly why the San Diego police department seek out his expert counsel. It seems that a ruthless assassin is out on the streets, ruthlessly killing cops who get too close to the center of a drug operation.Soon Logan becomes personally involved and is searching for the killer himself.

A Force of One is pretty typical early Chuck: the pace is on the slow side but it does provide plenty of Chuck fights and the movie as a whole isn't bad.Then there's Bill "super foot" Wallace. You kind of know what to expect from someone nicknamed "super foot." Wallace is good at kicking. At acting, not so much.The action is good. Norris designed the fights himself, giving them a more authentic feel.

In all, A Force of One is a decent, harmless, and enjoyable-enough Chuck Norris film.

Overall 7 out of 10

This amateurish effort is Chuck's worst film

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 19 July 2016]

Dull. Monotonous. Routine. Boring. Tedious. Dreary. Mind-numbing. I could go on but you get the picture – this cheap, early Chuck Norris outing is lacking in all of the areas that made the later films he made for Cannon so popular. There is no choreography in the fight sequences, no budget, no semi-decent acting, no proper photography, and hardly any stunts or action to speak of. The quality of the video transfer I watched was appallingly grainy, detracting from any enjoyability factor I would have got from the film otherwise, but any way you look this film is a dud. A mess and a boring mess at that. The plot actually reminded me of those old Santo movies. Norris is basically playing himself as a worldwide karate champion who takes time off from his matches in the ring to help out the local police force, searching for the karate killer who butchered their companions.

The clichés are dragged out so slowly that you'll feel like you're trapped in a time warp with this movie. There are the stock characters, from the badly-dressed female love interest to the overacting police lieutenant – although actually Clu Gulager's hilariously mannered performance is one of the funniest things in the whole movie. Aside from Gulager the performances are strictly routine, with Norris himself particularly bad as the wooden lead, not having developed any of the charisma or acting style he possessed in later years.

The action is dreadful, both inside the ring and out. It's one of those films where most things happen at night so you can't really make out what's going on. It helps to disguise various shortcomings as well. The best action is saved for the finale in an extended fight/chase, but even this is a bit of a let down as the guys basically slug it out in a pitch black field until one of them makes a mistake and pays for it with his life. No guesses for who ends up surviving in this movie then. Despite some level of realism and an "on the street" aspect in regards to the atmosphere, A FORCE OF ONE is just so boring that I have no option but to regard it as the worst of the karate man's many films.

S10 Reviews: A Force of One (1979)

[suspiria10 · 7/10 · 21 August 2005]

A pair of Los Angeles narcotics police runs afoul of a group of distributors protected by a masked Kung Fu enforcer who will stop at nothing to ensure the flow of drugs. Enter Matt Logan (Chuck Norris) a Vietnam vet now world famous kick boxer making a run at the title. The police consult Logan and are eventually able to get him to help train the other members of the narc squad in Kung Fu. Logan takes a look into the case and finds out that police corruption and ex-war buddies may some how be involved.

Chuck Norris movies (for the most part) are usually good fun. A good many of Norris' earlier films are good solid action flicks, not necessarily classics but fun nonetheless." A Force of One" is a fun film but is severely dated. However it moves at a good clip and the action scenes are pretty decent. Many of the usual clichés are on display and good olé' Chuck has his way with the bad guys.

A Classic, Not really

[protein_man · 4/10 · 12 June 2006]

Chuck Norris stars and looks his best in this financially limited production. He's as fast as a leopard, as strong as a tiger and as hairy as a lion, Chuck Norris takes no backward step in this edge of your seat D class movie! Great to see the police chief in the movie is a keen supporter of Matt Logan (Chuck's character). In the scene where the police chief is in his night gown, you can see the "Matt Logan" shirt he is wearing underneath! This movie screams CHEAP when you see Matt Logan's love interest, come on guys you could have got a better looking girl... I'm sure she has a lovely personality though. This movie is a great laugh and is very enjoyable after 10 or more drinks or a hit of amphetamines.

Chuckie kicks back as a one man lone wolf force

[videorama-759-859391 · 8/10 · 3 January 2014]

In all fairness, being a Chuck Norris vehicle, this isn't a bad film. It's quite a well made product, devoid of Chuck's sub standard acting, surpassed by the rest of the interestingly chosen cast, Neill exceptionally good as s female cop, and Gulager as a weary lieutenant, who unfortunately we don't see enough off in this. It has a cool start off as we dolly with a skateboarding teen (a drug courier) down the city streets of day, two cops trailing him, on their own accord as they want they collar. Instead they walk straight into death as a faceless karate assassin kills them in pretty painful ways. Bring on Chuckie who again, is not really acting, but can bring heart and reality into this role, like others.... unintentionally, I presume. As you can guess, woman cop Neill falls for him. The batch of Gulager's crew undergo karate training, to take on these powerful forces, but when the faceless villain, messes with Chuckie's teen friend, who's like a son, with great potential for the martial arts, it's now a fight to the death. Although it does lack action in long spaces of time, where it tends to sag here and there, as not living up to Chuckie's action quota, here we actually got a real Chuckie movie, and this is one of his I've always liked. The deadly showdown awaits too.

A Force of One is a decent, harmless, and enjoyable-enough Chuck jaunt.

[tarbosh22000 · 5/10 · 8 November 2013]

Matt Logan (Chuck) is a Martial Arts expert who runs a dojo, teaching children by day and fighting in the ring by night. His life is consumed by Karate, which is exactly why the San Diego police department seek out his expert counsel. It seems a drug epidemic is on the rise, and the narcotics officers who are trying to stem the tide, including Detectives Mandy Rust (O'Neill) and Rollins (O'Neal) (no relation, heh heh), are in great danger, because a ruthless assassin is out on the streets, ruthlessly killing cops who get too close to the center of the drug operation. Figuring that the mysterious killer only uses his bare hands, Matt Logan is called in to train the officers in the exotic use of Martial Arts. Soon Logan becomes personally involved and is searching for the killer himself. But what is the true motive of Sparks (Superfoot)? Find out today! Also Matt Logan has a Black son. (Charlie (Laneuville) was apparently adopted, but that explanation was not necessary. They should have left us wondering...) A Force of One is pretty typical early Chuck: the pace is on the slow side and the man himself is wonderfully emotionless in the lead role. While this PG-rated outing does feel like a TV movie at times, it does provide plenty of Chuck fights and the movie as a whole isn't bad. Chuck has some excellent backup in the cast department: Jennifer O'Neill is pleasant as the female cop/love interest, Ron O'Neal is always nice to see, as one of the narcotics cops, the great Bill "Superfoot" Wallace truly stands on his own two feet, and of course Aaron and Mike Norris serve various roles on the production, as is standard procedure for a Chuck venture. Director Paul Aaron later went on to make the Wings Hauser epic Deadly Force (1983), which, after having viewed both films, makes sense.

Matt Logan is introduced to his future students on the police force by the Captain saying "This is Matt Logan. He's a Karate man." This predating Out For Blood (1992) by many years. He certainly lives up to his standing as a Karate man, what with his impressive, large-scale black and white photos of himself glaring at you on the wall. He also has some stylish fight pants, as do all the fighters, including Superfoot. During the climactic night fight scene, it's pretty much all you can see. They must have gotten them at the evil sporting goods store in the movie. It's too bad we can't go there now. Their selection of jackets and other items look really cool. It's also nice to see the 1970's tech, such as rotary-dial pay phones, and Jennifer O'Neill's pager, which looks to be the exact size and dimension as a brick.

In all, A Force of One is a decent, harmless, and enjoyable-enough Chuck jaunt.

Bad Even For Its Kind

[RonellSowes · 31 March 2021]

Chuck Norris really isn't a bad actor but the movies he's chosen to be in are of a very low standard. But even considering the numerous B-grade films he's starred in this is a low point on his filmography. This production quality of this film is close to the bottom and I find it hard to imagine even the biggest Chuck fan to overlook all of A Force Of One's flaws.

Helping people through martial arts education and being a force.

[bobkuhl · 3/10 · 16 April 2022]

Let's get this straight right off the bat, a force of one Chuck Norris is equal to all the armies in the world put together times 11, you heard me right pal.

So Chuck Norris is the force of one, except there's a lot of other actors in the movie for some reason I don't know why, all you need is Chuck Norris but there are people that I recognize unlike his usual movies, so maybe the movie isn't that bad compared to other Chuck Norris movies. I don't know you'll have to go see it to find out if it's bad or not, all I'm telling you is that I recognize a lot of the other actors so maybe they actually put a little money into this movie. Hopefully they paid for acting lessons for Chuck cuz he really needs them even though it's acting, not martial arts, that are Chuck Norris's strength. That being said, this is a movie about one person who tries to help other people through education of martial arts and being a force.

So I just glanced at the TV and the female cop looks pretty heartfelt about some sad situation and Chucky's trying to look empathetic but it's hard cuz he's got like a big seventies hairdo and a big seventies mustache (bigger than hers), and he looks like a pornstar, but he's trying, goshdarnit, and that's what matters. Except where Chuck Norris is concerned cuz Chuck just does things, he doesn't try. (that's called the Chuck Norris paradox by the way, is it possible for Chuck Norris to just try when in fact he just does? I mean if he tries to try he's really doing, not trying. You figure it out).

I don't know how much you have to actually watch of the movie to be able to review it (I did see Chuck kick a guy a couple times when he was with the real cop and that looks like police brutality to me cuz he didn't even read the guy his rights or anything just up and kicked him even though the guy was nice enough to pull a knife out to help with (i think) cutting the poor girl's gangrenous arms off (you should just say no to drugs), but I did look at the screen a couple of times and read what the TV guide had to say about it, so I rate this movie more than a 10 I'd like to rate it a Chuckillion Norrisillion bazillion million and 2 stars. And then I guess the rest of the cast and crew deserve another 3 stars cuz they did go to the effort of showing up to work when everyone knows that Chuck Norris is the one and only star and the only person that people look at in the movie in fact you could block everyone else out and just have Chuck Norris walking around the screen talking to empty air and everybody would think it was the same great movie, ammiright?? Except that I just noticed Ron O'Neall is in it, he's a cool guy i would think. SUPERFLY! Or is it SUPERFUZZ!

Okay after some slow mo echoey fight stuff (at least he's not whispering to himself in his own mind like he did the last movie) Chuck is forced not to kill the guy by the chick with the gun who's a cop cuz the guys helpless but then the guy miraculously recovers & picks up the big box and throws it at Chuck, and Chuck destroys it with one hand. But then they're in the same situation as a sec ago and she lets him kill the guy this time cuz apparently he didn't fight fair, and then they embrace bittersweet, again in slow mo. What can i say? A Chuck Norris movie is a Chuck Norris movie. Also, I guess he gives his wife credit for choreography for part of the fight scenes. That's probably for tax reasons. Thats chuck for you, always thinking one step ahead.

Better than similar movies of same period, but...

[Miles-10 · 4/10 · 11 April 2013]

This movie could have been worse, but there is still a lot of silly business. The idea of teaching cops karate in one or two lessons to defend themselves against a cop killer who is an expert is obviously not going to work. Of course, it is also obvious that the actors, such as Jennifer o'Neill, do not really know how to handle a gun, but you can see that annoying flaw in contemporary movies and TV as well (although some series and movies have gotten better about that).

Clu Gulager gives a bizarre, scenery-munching performance that makes Chuck Norris look like a master of subtlety in contrast. Ms. O'Neill is so laid-back she seems mousy. Other members of the cast are a mixed bag. I almost didn't recognize a young Eric Laneauville as Norris's adopted son. (Don't ask.) He was pretty good in this thankless role. (He has continued to act occasionally, but in 1984 he also began directing television, and has been a prolific director ever since, from "St. Elsewhere" to "Lost" to "The Mentalist".)

I watched with closed captions (provided by Paramount) and some of them are funny: lines are sometimes left out or summarized rather than accurately presented; Mexican music is identified as Spanish music but they also correctly identify the language in which the musicians are singing as Spanish; the staff at the Inchon Restaurant which must surely be Korean are described as speaking Japanese.)

A nice touch throughout much of the movie are the reminders that Christmas in southern California is a warm weather holiday.

One is all you need when Chuck Norris is the One!!!!

[bbickley13-921-58664 · 5/10 · 17 May 2014]

As if Chick Norris with the blonde Mustache isn't dangerous enough, but at least he saved some of the hair off his back. Then again, he could have killed appointments just by having them look at it.

This is a good crime drama. it's about a new drug cartel whose deadly enforcer is a masked karate expert who has no problem killing anyone including cops to protect his boss' investment. The police force decides to bring in their own karate expert, Matt Logan played by the blonde mustache to train them.

The only problem with the movie is Chuck Norris is not kicking enough ass in it. Made during the time when Norris is known best as a Marshal arts master on level with the legendary Bruce Lee, Chuck barely throws a kick in this film.

Who wants to see that? Chuck Norris can't act and he knows he can't act so why would you down play the reason you hired him in the first place?

Like I said a good crime drama, but not worth anything if Chuck an'it ripping a man's heart out of his body with a kick, and you know he can do it, too!

A good early Chuck Norris film

[Jsimpson5 · 7/10 · 18 June 2007]

Most people know Chuck Norris for his TV show Walker, Texas Ranger, and some of his later films. A Force of One is an early Chuck Norris film.

Basically this film is about police officers who are killed by someone who uses martial arts to defeat the officers. The police decided that the officers need martial arts training, which is taught by Matt Logan (Chuck Norris) who is also a pro kickboxer.

What makes this more than just average is that Bill "Superfoot" Wallace is in this film. Wallace was the current Middleweight Kickboxing World Champion during the making of this film.

The lines are cheesy and some of the acting is a little wooden but the fight scenes are well made. While this is not the best film that has Chuck Norris in it, it is a good film to watch if you are a fan of his early work.

Producers capitalizing Chuck Norris's good name at the time who was in his prime to prevent him from showing his full potential.

[jordondave-28085 · 5/10 · 7 April 2023]

(1979) A Force of One ACTION THRILLER

Stars Chuck Norris as a kickboxing champion, Matt Logan attempted to be recruited to trail fellow officers after it was concluded that 2 of their own had been killed by a person who knows martial arts, after he infiltrating a possible drug bust.

Made during the time when martial arts was trying to find it's way into the market, except that this movie showed Chuck showing less of what he can do as opposed to what we saw him do from "Return of the Dragon" in which his brief fight with Bruce Lee was more action than what he had done in the entire movie. I don't hate the movie but the movie is not letting Chuck who was in his prime does what he does best.

Entertaining, but put your brain on hold

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 3 June 2017]

Early Chuck Norris action flick offers some enjoyment provided you go in with the right attitude.

When two narcotics detectives on the trail of a major drug ring are murdered using martial arts, the rest of their squad is ordered to investigate local karate schools for potential suspects, and to train themselves in case the killer strikes again. This leads them to Chuck Norris, as Matt Logan, champion kickboxer and karate school proprietor with a personal distaste for the drug trade. He agrees to train the cops and of course gets caught up in the rest of the action. One , or more, of the squad is dirty, naturally, and the bodies pile up as the heroes get closer to the truth.

Jennifer O'Neill , sporting an ultra short haircut, shares top billing as the detective with the closest contact with Chuck. Other members of the squad include Ron O'Neal, James Whitmore Jr, Pepe Serna, Clint Ritchie and the wonderfully monikered Chu Chu Malave. Also with Clu Gulager as the Lieutenant, Eric Laneuville, Charles Cyphers, G.W. Bailey and real-life karate champion Bill "Superfoot" Wallace.

This is the kind of cheap but entertaining movie that Norris excelled at throughout the early 80's, before his films turned more militaristic, the kind that Steven Seagal or Jean Claude Van Damme would make direct to video during the late 90's and early 00's. The kind they don't really make at all anymore. Whether or not that's a bad thing depends on the viewer. To me, it's a bad thing that nobody will take a chance anymore, that everybody goes for that middle of the bell curve.

My first Norris experience, but not the best.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 31 March 2015]

A Force Of One has a special place in my heart, being the first martial arts movie I ever saw (not counting The Cannonball Run or The Man With The Golden Gun): it played at my local flea-pit as second feature on a double-bill with James Brolin/Lindsay Wagner action flick High Risk (1981), and introduced me to the legend that is karate champ Chuck Norris. For that, I am grateful.

But to be honest, the film really isn't that great, being a rather predictable late '70s cop drama with a few not particularly impressive fight scenes amidst all of the routine investigative nonsense. Chuck puts in a surprisingly good performance as Matt Logan, the karate expert brought in to help train a narcotics squad after several of their cops wind up dead, but despite choreographing the fight action himself (with help from his brother Aaron), his martial arts skills are given very little opportunity to shine. The final showdown between Logan and evil karate fighter Sparks (Bill Wallace)—who unwisely offs Logan's adopted son Charlie (Eric Laneuville)—really isn't worth the wait, taking place in the middle of the night and in slow motion. The film also wastes the talent of character actor Clu Gulager, who is given little to do in the clichéd role of hard-nosed police Lieutenant Dunne, while Jennifer O'Neill, as policewoman Mandy Rust, is really only there as eye-candy.

5/10 for the sake of nostalgia.

A Force of Chuck

[hellraiser7 · 8/10 · 20 May 2020]

This is another entry in run of one of my favorite action/martial arts stars Chuck Norris. This is also another under the radar gem, it's not totally overlooked but it has been a little bit forgotten. I'll admit isn't one of my favorite films from him nor martial arts films, but I enjoyed seeing it all the same. And the film was to me the one and last film from the 70's era of Chuck that I like; however this film was an important film because it was the one that really help grease the wheels of Chuck's run.

Not a lot I can say, it's a straightforward basic detective thriller plotline which really isn't too important as it's the kind of plot you probably seen in dozens of episodes of detective shows like "Hawaii Five O" (revival version to be exact), "NCIS", you name it. Though I like how the film treats it with seriousness, which I like showing the characters are all living in the real world, there is even a bit of intrigue if not a great deal. Though by its nature it's all really just a clothesline for the action and bits of suspense.

The supporting cast does fine, Clu Glulager (Return of the Living Dead) he is solid as the police chief , I like that he's not a stereotypical police chief that is always an unsupportive jerk but one that actually supports and helps the team. Jennifer O Neill an underrated actress I like, is solid as the competent determined police detective. The late Ron O Neal best known as "Superfly" is also in this, he does alright with his role as one of the fellow detectives which isn't much, though he's also kind of a Chuck Norris film alumni as he was in the film "The Hero and the Terror" years later.

However, were all in this movie for Chuck Norris and he is great in this, pretty much being his usual self, a good natured tough guy whom wants to do the right thing. His character is likeable as he's got that quiet rugged charisma and has a lot of things going for him. There are good scenes, really like some of the training/semenar season with Jennifer O Neill and the fellow cops which was done in Chuck's actually Dojo which was really cool, it would have been awesome to of gone to that dojo and be trained by Chuck.

Even like some of his chemistry with Jennifer's character which was decent, it's not a great romance but hey I take it over any crappy romance movie from "Lifetime" or any thing else any time; but both characters worked well together and had a good back and forth together.

He also becomes sympathetic when tragedy occurs for him as the main villain crosses the line with Chuck, at that moment you all the more want Chuck to win but also know the main villain is a dead man walking because you know no force on Earth is going to stop Chuck.

There is a good/decent music track to the film, it's not really memorable but I don't mind listening to it as it's serviceable. The suspense is decent it's not exactly edge of your seat, but it's serviceable as there are the close shaves.

The action is good, it always is with Chuck around, from the kickboxing/martial arts tournaments we see at the beginning of the film, to the one near the end, which are cool, I always like seeing fighting tournaments in martial arts films.

Down to the fights with the main villain, like one fight in the street where the main villain is trying to kill Chuck with nunchakus, but of course Chuck isn't going to have that.

My only problem with the film is the pacing, there are some slow spots in the film were not a lot happens. That's not a big deal as those spots don't last long but there still there, it just felt they either could have trimmed the movie down a bit or had one exciting scuffle or another. If you want to you can always fast forward or select another scene just to get past those spots.

Overall, "A Force of One" is a solid film and a solid start for Chuck, If you're a fan of Chuck Norris this film is worth a look. Chuck is a force to be reckoned with.

Rating: 3 stars

Not bad at all. In fact VERY enjoyable!

[tenshin-3 · 7/10 · 6 March 2008]

I saw this when it opened back in '79. I actually saw Bill Wallace fight the week before and Chuck Norris was in his corner. I had just started studying karate about a year earlier so I was psyched about seeing it. I have to disagree with a few people's opinions about this movie. While no one would EVER confuse this with Academy Awards material; for what it is, it's not bad at all. In fact, it can be downright enjoyable! As for the fights, a lot of people have been putting them down, especially the ring fights. I thought that they were, for the most part, outstanding. You have to remember that back when this was filmed, the concept of "fighting the camera" to bring the audience into the fight was a relatively new concept and was very effective for its time. Granted, it's been WAY overused since then, but remember that this was 1979. So just keep in mind it's time and limitations and I think that you can really have a blast with this one. I do.

Classic Chuck That Entertains!!

[Movie-Misfit · 6/10 · 10 February 2020]

Written by stunt veteran and bit-part actor Pat Johnson (The Big Brawl) who also has a role here as a referee (repeating the same again in all 3 original Karate Kid movies), this 1979 martial arts thriller isn't too bad at all, and still holds up as an entertaining film over 40 years later!

Chuck Norris had had a few starring roles up to this point, but really started to kick things off with this action flick and its predecessor, Good Guys Wear Black. From here on in, big Chuck was on a role delivering a kick-ass action film annually and making a name for himself as America's action hero.

At times, its like watching an episode of Cagney and Lacey - but that's not a bad thing of course. As with all his films, Chuck's soft talking but genuine performance as the martial artist brought in to help the police find a killer, is refreshing to see compared to what we get with most Hollywood modern action heroes who are normally loud, angry and swearing all over the place.

There was something genuine with most actors - main roles or not - from this era. They could act! Even the worst ones still came across better than most extras and bit-players in today's blockbusters. Director Paul Aaron doesn't do too bad with his second feature film project. At the time of production, he was stepfather to a certain Keanu Reeves, who had reportedly encouraged him to take on the project as a fan of martial arts movies...

Well known character actor, Clu Gulager plays the chief of police, making the most out of every scene he gets - over-acting in style as we've seen him do many times before in Return Of The Living Dead, A Nightmare On Elm Street 2, and any amount of classic TV shows from the 70's and 80's. Superfly, Ron O'Neal, gets some great moments as one of the cops helping Norris and O'Neill who, incidentally, doesn't do too bad herself!

While its not the fastest paced film ever, it never lulls too much to bore. I was never a huge fan of the early Chuck Norris films in my teen years - hypnotised by the wonders of Hong Kong cinema respectively - but I have to say, I'm enjoying going back to see them after all these years. The fights aren't overly spectacular compared to what was coming out from the East at the same time, but they pass the time alright.

Bill 'Superfoot' Wallace gets his first starring role, getting to show his stuff in and out of the ring and obviously getting a big finale with Chuck. It's nothing compared to his fights in 1985's The Protector - and even more so, the re-shot fights Jackie did for the Hong Kong version - but its good to see him in action (and with hair).

A Force Of One is hardly one of the greatest action thrillers of all time, but it is a good watch and simple entertainment. For me, watching it on this VTC unrated VHS just adds to experience, but I wouldn't say no to a widescreen HD version. I'd say it was most definitely the inspiration behind the fun martial arts project, Bloodmoon, starring Gary Daniels and Chuck Jefferys from 1997...

Overall: As to be expected with Hollywood's late seventies cinema, A Force Of One still passes the time today and isn't all that bad!