A lot of fun.
... View MoreWhile it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
... View MoreThe film may be flawed, but its message is not.
... View MoreThere are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
... View MoreThere's racial tension on the streets and what can build those bridges? Lengthy talks? Kickboxing? How about accidentally stabbing an innocent bystander? That seems to work, but it takes a long time to get there.Don "Draygo's guilt" Wilson is Johnny (Cash), an ex-kickboxer from the streets who is now a doctor patching up kickboxers at his local hospital. Seems like tension arising amongst the Chinese kickboxers and a bunch of white kickboxers who can't seem to tell the different between Japanese, Chinese or Vietnamese folk. One of the white guys is played by Gary Daniels, who does his patented 'doing the splits' thing, only this time he does it at a forty-five degree angle! The other two white guys of note are Chuck and Brad. Now Chuck is going out with Brad's sister but after a change meeting at a Chinese restaurant Brad's sister now has the hots for Johnny, and vice versa, and this is where the film spends a lot of time being a romance instead of a kick arse nineties martial arse movie. Do I need to point out that these guys are racialists and aren't happy that Brad's sister is hanging around with a Japanese Chinese Vietnamese guy? More tensions arise when Tommy, Johnny's cousin, is all set up to fight Brad and Johnny says the best way to get Brad to back off is to make the fight as dangerous as possible by using gloves with glass on them. How do you think that turned out for Tommy? Couldn't you have just called the police there Johnny? This all heads towards a showdown at the end but I signed up to see Don "The Don" Wilson knock folk out with his feet. Too much romance, not enough fighting – the sequel is much better by the way.Mad props however for this being the only film I've seen where a Chinese guy pees on Gary Daniel's head – I bet Jackie Chan wishes he thought of putting that in City Hunter!
... View MoreAlright kids, we got a movie with Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Gary Daniels, Vince Murdocco, Eric Lee and many other badass guys, also, we have Maria Ford, we can expect 100 minutes of badass violence and probably get to see some boobs.Yes, we get violence and boobs, but unfortunately we get too much romance, some of the fights are pretty cool, but the amount of "romance" pretty much ruins the movie (and sometimes, it gets boring), oh yeah, Don Wilson manages to kick some ass only in the last minutes.I was going to give this movie a 5 out of 10 because of the fights, but i decided to add one extra star because of Maria Ford.With a cast like this, i would make a proper action/martial arts film, but instead they decided to make a movie that would appeal the female audience.
... View More"Ring Of Fire" is an above-average beat-em-up but with a strong romantic component. Highly watchable, think "Romeo & Juliet" but with more kicking."The Dragon" stars as Johnny Woo, a good-natured doctor who is constantly treating victims of white and Chinese gangs who are always getting into brawls both in and out of the ring. His brother Terry (Steven Vincent Leigh) is a professional martial artist who fights in the ring. The two brothers practice by their pool. Despite Johnny's superior abilities he chooses to heal and not to fight. As he says: "You beat 'em up, I patch 'em up".) Sgt. Lopez (Michael Delano) is trying to break up the warring factions but is unsuccessful. Enter Julie (Ford) who listens to a fortune cookie and begins to fall in love with Johnny. The problem is she's engaged to jerk Chuck (Murdocco) who coincidentally is a martial artist and hates Chinese people with a passion and is friends with Julie's brother Brad. When Johnny and Terry's pal who is the comic relief of the film, gets beat up by the evil white gang, Johnny and Terry are out for revenge.The final battle involves a "Ring Of Fire" and attaching broken glass to your hands. Chuck is crazy enough to actually go through with it.One of the most interesting aspects of the movie is the racial conflict and it's not sugarcoated. Racial epithets are used incessantly. What is worthy about 'Fire is that you care about all the characters including their mothers and grandmothers which is unusual for an action movie. Sure, there is a shot of Aunt Mei which is so scary it will haunt your dreams, but usually she is kindly and dispenses wisdom. For example, when the comic relief guy gets beat up, you care because he stole the movie with one of the best lines: ("Have some of Bruce Lee's favorite drink – Wataaaaaaahhhh!") before he punches and kicks his opponent in the ring. Why aging, balding, overweight punks in their mid to late 40's (except for Gary Daniels who is inexplicably hangin' out with those dudes ) have nothing better to do than chase an innocent Asian man around Venice Beach (In some in the same exact places as the classic "Thrashin") and pull down his pants, the world may never know. Brad looks like Vanilla Ice and has funny outfits. Brad and Chuck are stupid, unlikable oafs. Brad seals his fate as the ultimate jerk when he interrupts Julie's aerobics class and slaps her in front of everybody. Contrast this with the tender romance with Johnny. They go to Chinese New Year festivities and they go the beach. We know Julie loves Johnny for his true self because at a masquerade ball, he is dressed as the phantom of the opera and the romance begins.Brad and Chuck on the other hand look really gay with leather straps and skirts. Clearly Johnny is the winner here. The romance between Johnny and Julie take a dive when Julie shows up to a funeral wearing a black dress (and in Asian culture that is inappropriate.) Will Johnny and Julie triumph over racist evil? Find out today! Wilson's martial arts skills are slick but we could've seen more. "Ring Of Fire" spawned two sequels: "Ring Of Fire II: Blood and Steel" and "Ring Of Fire 3: Lion Strike".Get into the "Ring" with this classic tonight! Comeuppance Review by: Ty & BrettFor more insanity, check out: comeuppancereviews.com
... View MoreDon "The Dragon" Wilson stars as Johnny Wu a doctor who is torn between a gang war among his family and Julie (Maria Ford) the girl he loves in this downright horrible chop socky actioner which fails to even get Wilson in an action until the final 10 minutes.
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