Force: Five

release year: 1981
genre: martial arts
viewing setting: home DVD 6/13/20

synopsis: A team of martial artists infiltrates a religious cult.

impressions: Another cheesy old martial arts movie - 2020 must be the year of those, for me. This one features a bunch of people you may have seen in other roles, and many of them were champions or competitors in the real world. The action was good, the plot...not so much. But for 1970s/1980s karate entertainment, you can't go wrong with this one.

acting: A young Joe Lewis, one of the greatest fighters in karate history, is the main guy. Richard Norton (who was the evil Zamir in Gymkata, is a cocky good guy here. A young Benny Urquidez (who was John Cusack's hallway fighting opponent in Grosse Point Blank) is a ladies' man here. Sonny Barnes (who was a gigantic brawler in The Big Brawl) is a gigantic karate guy here - and he gets to fight the guy who was Thorg in Gymkata, too! Amanda Wyss is a naive young devotee of the fake religion.

final word: Somewhat cheesy, but contains some of the greatest fighter/actors of all time, worth a look.

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