Just so...so bad

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

SWORN TO JUSTICE is something of a mixed-bag martial arts thriller starring the one and only Cynthia Rothrock, perhaps America's best-known female martial artist. As a huge fan of Rothrock's Hong Kong movies made in the 1980s, I can report that this film is far below quality, although it's still enjoyable for fans of 1990s-era B-movie fare.Rothrock plays a psychologist (somewhat unbelievably) whose sister is brutally murdered in the opening sequence. She goes gunning for revenge against the goons who committed the crime, handily using her new-found psychic abilities unlocked thanks to a blow on the head. So you get an EYES OF LAURA MARS-type sub-plot in addition to the usual action thriller format.Rothrock has never been the world's best actress but she is likable and that's what counts. Here she's in her prime, confident enough to go near-nude in a couple of lengthy sex scenes which seem inspired by the Shannon Tweed-style erotic thrillers that were all the rage in the 1990s. She doesn't get to fight as much as I'd hoped, and unforgivably the main baddie fight at the climax is given to another actor, but she's in remarkable condition and looks great on screen.The film features three cameos from famous faces: Brad Dourif has a one-scene turn as a creepy killer, Walter Koenig is a friendly superior, and Mako a blind old-timer dispensing justice (check out his luxurious head of hair). The film randomly jumps from tragedy and emoting to lame comedy, with some of the early fights accompanied by cartoon sound effects (a guy hit on the head hears birds tweeting). These are really embarrassing. The main problem with the action, though, is that most if not all of the fights are staged at night so you can't see the performers doing what they do best. The director needs lessons in martial arts choreography and staging.

Cynthia, dear Cynthia of Godfrey Ho's masterpieces Undefeatable and Honour and Glory, returns here as a criminal psychologist who has gone all Dead Zone on us as whatever object she touches gives here glimpses into the future and past of said object! Which is handy as someone has just murdered her sister and her nephew.This murderer ain't kept no secret (in fact, there's about six of them), but then, they are being controlled by a higher force who we are kept secret from knowing the secret secret from. Is the higher force Brad Dourif? Or that arsehole who heats up nail clippers and sticks them under folks nails? Or Tony De Bliano of God Told Me TO fame? Or the Too Perfect Tai Chi boyfriend? Who can tell in this fast moving society.One thing's for sure - Cynthia seems to have had a boob job but still is a great kickboxer with a nice booty who resembles Brix Smith of the Fall. Yep.

I've seen several of Cynthia Rothrock's films - both her Hong Kong and her American ones - and one thing they have in common is that her femininity is usually largely ignored: she is there mainly as a fighter, not as a woman (though sometimes the tight outfits she puts on leave little doubt about her physical attributes). But in "Sworn To Justice" she makes probably her boldest appearances ever: 2 lingerie scenes, 2 sex scenes. And truth be told, she is very sexy. She could work as a living ad for practicing martial arts - "you do it too, and you'll have a body like that when you're 40". This focus on Cynthia's body is not the only aspect that separates "Sworn To Justice" from most of her other vehicles: there is also a slapstick comedy fight sequence, psychic powers, a lesbian love confession at a tragic moment, and a bad guy discussing with his brother's burnt corpse! The fighting highlight of the film comes when Cynthia goes up against an acrobatic Asian guy - you can see her Hong Kong days living again in that scene. Disappointingly, the climactic fight scene goes to her male co-star, Kurt McKinney. The other problem is the plot, which has a few too many scattered sub-plots. But as I already said, if you want to see Cynthia Rothrock going sexy, this is your best chance. (**1/2)

I can see the script committee meeting before this film was made. "Let's have a thriller. We'll have a female protagonist.let's make her a cop; no, a lawyer; no, a psychologist. Let's give this one psychic powers and make her an expert in wu shu. And we'll make her a blonde with long legs." The result of that little meeting is this film. You know what's coming next. You've already figured out who Mr Big is, as soon as the words "Mr Big" are first uttered.On the plus side, the fight scenes are pretty good, and Cynthia Rothrock is an efficient actress. The film is watchable if you have nothing else to do.