Excellent but underrated film

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Here's your typical B grade, run around action pic that does deliver, in action, only it has good actors in it, or wastes good actors. It is, I dare say an interesting pic with some real heartless and nasty baddies, male or female. Two brothers, and his father, Lee Van Cleef, of all people, the most wasted star here, are all combat veterans, who avenge the death of their other family member, the third brother who got into some shady dealings with these really bad people, led by Tanaka (Asian icon-Mako) The late brother was also double crossed by a partner (Hagen) who at the end, Carradine gives a double meaning to the term surface. We're off to a great start when one of Tanaka's guys apologizes for dishonouring him, by cutting off one of his fingers, which the that tall bald headed goof Michael Berryman picks up, smiling at it. There are some unintentionally moronic lines I just found funny, or as if in "You've heard this all or saw it all before in many other pics, it's mundane". Some funny moments occur in that torture scene, where the second brother openly defends his family honour, stating how all of them were proud to be vets. The torture scene too which includes a mysterious middle aged Asian woman, we don't know anything about (there's always a mysterious figure in these scenes you never see again, it's eerie, as never more here) assisting in a some poison needle torture, where soon the brother count is down to one. It's then up to man (Van Cleef) and son (Carradine) to avenge the dead. I really liked Carradine in this who as an actor, led a very private life and had closeted publicity. Here his character, Jim, has violent 'Nam' flashbacks that trigger momentary anger if provoked, as displayed in one early scene of family gathering, a nice touch as in the family bit, which you get to know too, a bit more later. Armed Response has pretty much what you expect, though I do say, I enjoyed it more I thought an I would, which as an action pic, does pack a punch, but again it falls into that so so mundane, or moronic type, ala Chuck Norris territory. No surprise too, Corman great, Dick Miller shows up in this.

Jim Roth (Carradine) is a Vietnam veteran, family man, and owner of a bar. His father Burt (Van Cleef) hangs out there, as do other brothers Tommy (Huff) and Clay (Goss). It's a close family, as Jim's wife Sara (Hamilton) and young daughter Lauren (Chodan) also stop by on occasion. But the Roth family is about to encounter some trouble in the form of Yakuza boss Akira Tanaka (Mako), who desperately wants a valuable statue and will stop at nothing to get it, mainly because he will use it as a bargaining chip to prevent a Chinatown mob war with the Tongs. When Clay stupidly gets involved with Tanaka (and his evil bodyguard F.C. (Berryman), it sets off a chain of events where various members of the Roth family get in trouble - and Jim, who suffers from Vietnam flashbacks and nightmares, must team up with his, and I quote, "pappy", Burt, to go back into an American-Asian war by gearing up to blow away the Yakuza. Add into this mix the slimy Cory Thorton (Hagen), as well as other various and sundry unsavory characters, and there's going to have to be an ARMED RESPONSE!The prolific Fred Olen Ray followed this movie up with Cyclone (1987), and you can identify this period of his long career, as the two films share many traits. They're both fast-paced actioners loaded with B-movie stars about underworld characters trying to get a certain item, with one torture scene. They also both have that 80's vibe and plenty of memorable music on the soundtrack.It's truly a case of "spot the stars" as almost every character in the movie is a B-film name. It would be impossible to go into detail about each and every one, but Lee Van Cleef is memorable as the dad we all want. He gets all the best lines in the movie. Why he's supposed to be David Carradine's - as well as Brent Huff's - FATHER is kind of weird, but it adds to the fun. Carradine puts more energy into his performance than he did in Future Force (1989), but that's not saying much. And the daughter, Dah-Ve Chodan, can proudly stand in the pantheon of cute and precocious daughters alongside Lauren Levy, Sarah Dampf and Lisa Boynton. Mako brings his memorable voice and evil walking stick along and is menacing as the baddie. And it's nice to see Michael Berryman in an action movie. From the funny opening, to the prerequisite barfight, to the fact that the Vietnam flashbacks provide added action bits, as well as some depth of characterization, to the stuntwork (featuring all the car chases and shootouts you would expect), and the fairly short running time, Armed Response certainly doesn't overstay its welcome.The "older" action stars Carradine and Van Cleef show that you don't have to be a young punk to beat the baddies, and there's a nice message of family togetherness and even some Reagan-era patriotism, which we always like seeing.Armed Response is a nice little flick that's certainly worth checking out.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

This movie is so bad it's enjoyable. Lots of explosions and terrible dialog. Van Cleef seems out of place and Carradine turns in one of the most careless and bad performances I've ever seen. Mako is great as the villain but the real treat is watching Michael Berryman doing karate as a henchman who gives out unfortunate fortune cookies! You do get to see the sexy Michelle Bauer dancing topless in a strip club and there are some very bizarre Nam flashbacks. Overall it's an interesting film...just not very exciting. Don't expect too much and you'll get off on it. The end shoot out is one of the oddest endings i have ever scene on film.

Okay, as another reviewer, WebsterGrayson already stated right off in the beginning of his excellent review, 'The movie delivers exactly what is expected' Now, come on! You already bloody KNOW that this is not going to be high art. You've got David 'well, tie my genitals down!' Carradine and ol' Lee 'Angel Eyes' Van Cleef for Goodness sake! And, you even have Mako and the ULTRA-cool Asian guy who was the b*tch'n Alien with the awesome looking eyes in the 6 total episodes of 'Space Rangers' (which I have, BTW - and, I'm sorry, but this guy even out-COOLS David Carradine) ANNNNND, if that is not enough, you even have the ICONIC Dick Miller! ANNNNNND the cooler than cool Michael Berryman!!! (even snapping his misshapen fingers in a David Lynch syncopated way and giving a Lambada glare to the camera when the radio suddenly turns on after a guy he just shot get's thrown into it! (you notice I didn't say WHO got shot, so no 'Spoiler Warning' needed)I mean, what the HELL more do you want for this kind of film...? I'm not normally a fan of outright CheeeeeZ as a rule, but this is good, solid, MASTER CheeeeeZ. And it is a total blast!So, yeah, I'm gonna give it an '8' because '4.8' just simply ain't right...