Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

A routine action vehicle for Jim Kelly (ENTER THE DRAGON), directed without any flair whatsoever by Al Adamson, one of the kings of the "exploitation quickies" along with Andy Milligan and Larry Buchanan. This is deeply clichéd stuff which manages to get by through the interesting and funny characters, the upbeat groovy '70s music and the martial arts sequences, which make up for in quantity what they lack in finesse.Enter Jim Kelly, fresh from his success and short-lived career as a martial artist, as a "mean and moody" cop who likes to wear red shell suits on occasion. Kelly spends most of the film fighting and little time acting, as he repeatedly finds himself attacked by lots of bad guys. These fight scenes are hardly what you would term "well-photographed" but they are very entertainingly done, complete with over-emphasised sound effects.Now, you would think that a film containing plentiful action (plus a couple of topless women for exploitation purposes) would have to be pretty exciting, right? Wrong. Adamson's tacky and cheap direction is evident at all moments, sucking vitality from the movie; loads of scenes consist of people arguing whilst sitting around in darkened rooms, which is hardly what I would call fun.Kelly is pretty athletic in the lead role, but gets no chance to act or develop a character. George Lazenby (ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE) co-stars as Kelly's chief; Harold Sakata plays the chief villain, the Pig, and his line readings are a hoot; it's a shame that it's impossible to take him seriously! Also around for good measure are a hulking black bodyguard with a nasty scar across his face who likes to break people's arms and necks, a couple of prostitutes who take their clothes off a lot, an incredibly evil-looking tortoise (the scariest tortoise I've ever seen in a film, actually) and lots of dumb criminal henchmen who appear from nowhere.DEATH DIMENSIONis a bad film, to be sure, but quite an entertaining one, mainly for the interesting cast alone. I forgot to mention the Bruce Lee clone who actually ends up being called "Bruce Lee". Guess they had to throw in as many personalities as they could here. Lots of boredom is countered by lots of action, making a pretty fair movie in the end, which isn't that bad.

Poorly written and directed; you get the impression this flick was done on a budget that relied on a bounced check. Probably in its day, this film that was also released as DEATH FACTOR, was just perfect for the screens of discount priced theaters. Exploiting the rash of "black" movies and also those relying on martial arts to lure viewers. Karate expert Jim Kelly stars as Lt. Ash, who is involved with the investigation of a re-known scientist being murdered after creating a "freeze bomb". The top suspect is The Pig(Harold 'Odd Job' Sakata), a widely known whore-monger. The cast also features: George Lazenby, Aldo Ray, Terry Moore and Myron Bruce Lee.

Considering the film stars Jim Kelly (from ENTER THE DRAGON), Harold "Odd Job" Sakata and George Lazenby (the one-time James Bond), you'd think that this would be a much better film. Instead, it just slowly slogs its way to the ending--the very, very bad ending. In fact, I couldn't wait for this listless film to end.Well, folks, this should NOT really come as a surprise if you consider who is responsible for this film. It's from the "master" of schlock, Al Adamson--one of the most pathetically bad film makers of all time. In fact, for Adamson this IS a very good film--and that's what makes his career all the more sad. If you don't believe me that this is one of his better films, just try watching Dracula VS. FRANKENSTEIN, HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS, HELL'S BLOODY DEVILS and FIVE BLOODY GRAVES! Ugghh...to quote Colonel Kurtz, "the horror".This film begins with a lady scientist (is there any other type?) escaping from Odd Job, I mean Sakata, who is working on a freeze bomb. Considering that she has the formula on her, the baddies are all out to get her...fast. To combat them, instead of sending out the Marines, police or FBI, two lone guys are sent to combat this organization of evil (I guess the budget wouldn't allow more). Kelly and a nobody nicknamed "Myron" Bruce Lee go in search of evil and somehow blunder into it by the end of the film. But considering how dull all this is, you really could care less and just want the whole thing to end. And, when it does end, it ends in one of the silliest scenes. Kelly apparently is a HORRIBLE shot with a handgun--missing at least 20,308 times during the last 10 minutes of the film. Yet, once the boss baddie gets on a plane and flies away to freedom, Kelly hits the plane and it miraculously blows up--even though he's hundreds of yards away and it's only a snub-nosed .38 caliber gun! Naturally, I hated the film. Unfortunately, this isn't one of the more unintentionally funny Adamson films, nor is his other teaming with Kelly (BLACK SAMURAI). See it if you are an Adamson completist, but otherwise don't bother.Oh, and a final thought. In the scenes with the "lucious prostitutes", this may sound catty but they seem to be about the ugliest professionals in film history. Where did they get these women? Prison?!

Those who discovered the title ICY DEATH on the video shelves should understand that this is the same film I'm talking about here. Al Adamson fans will enjoy this cheaply well done actioner, but veteran fans of Jim Kelly (he also starred in another Adamson film, BLACK SAMURAI) will be disappointed that he doesn't have the impact in strength and stamina that made him worthy of attention in BLACK BELT JONES. The action-packed ending was the quickest I've ever seen, perhaps too fast! Hardcore action buffs, beware! DIE HARD and LETHAL WEAPON is not what you're expecting!