The Stabilizer (1986)

One of my all time favorites.

Just so...so bad

good back-story, and good acting

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

I saw this flick way back in the 80s on a rented VHS. Definitely for 80s, action fan. Its distributed by none other than the gr8 Troma Entertainment. Its an over the top cheesy action entertainment. In an era of Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Willis, JCVD, Seagal, there was the curly, greasy, poor mans Stallone, Peter O'Brian aka The Stabilizer. Check out the clothes n the hairstyle man. Cobra look-a-like picture is priceless man. N the villain spitting on it is even better. A guy on a motorcycle flying through a window, unique way of breaking into someones home. There are fists, feet and arrows flying by… God bless the 80s for such over the top action flicks. The Stabilizer fights tons of thugs with machine guns, dodges a boat with torpedoes, escapes a fiery inferno, and takes out the villains personal chopper. This movie is non- stop action. One of the villains henchman in the warehouse looks like poor mans Mr T. Breaking through a wall with a motorcycle. Priceless action scene man. The barrel bouncing off of the head. Wow. Did I forget 2 mention the spiked shoes. Atrocious dubbing n dialogues. Enuff frontal nudity. Over the top cheesy entertainment.

It's always a joy when we come across movies like this. A true gem, finds like this are what make this site worth doing.The Stabilizer is one Peter Goldson (O'Brian), a man who "stabilizes" the line between good and evil. He travels to Indonesia to bring to justice a truly sinister baddie: Greg Rainmaker (Gavin) is a gangster, rapist, murderer and drug dealer, and he and his second-in-command Victor (Sungkar) operate in the Golden Triangle. They kidnap a scientist, Professor Provost (Syah), because one of his inventions is a narcotics detector that would seriously impede the bad guys' plans for world domination. After Rainmaker assaults Goldson's wife, now things are personal. Goldson teams up with Johnny (Capri), Sylvia (Beanz), and Provost's daughter Christina (Christina), among other helpers, to take down Rainmaker's evil empire. Will this team of heroes be successful? Man is this movie great. The opening theme song, sung by "AJ", the Indonesian scenery and culture, the clothes, the dubbing, the wildly entertaining stunts, action and blow-ups, the music, the plot, the abandoned warehouse fights, EVERYTHING about The Stabilizer is just so fun, funny and enjoyable, you'll be smiling the whole time. This is truly what purely entertaining cinema is all about.Both Peter O'Brian (now a personal hero) and the Indonesian Mr. T guy can be seen in the Cynthia Rothrock vehicle Angel of Fury (1991). Now they, along with their great outfits, are back. Speaking of Rothrock, Gillie Beanz could have been the next one. Whatever happened to her? Gavin as Rainmaker has an evil beard, evil white suits, and evil spiked cleats that he uses to torture and kill people, when he's not pouring little bits of beer on soapy women that just got out of the bath. His minions even have golden triangle earrings to show they're with him. Never before has such an evil man met his match with such an utterly ridiculous hero. It truly is a great showdown.For all the talk of "DIY Filmmaking", the film-school snobs never mention the true, resourceful masters that that term implies, such as the great director Arizal. He deserves much more acclaim and recognition. His movies deliver the goods on many levels. Not afraid of seeming silly, he goes for broke with the action, stunts and exploitation elements. God bless him.While we don't normally support Troma, we have to give them props for releasing this, to date the only Arizal film on DVD in the U.S. We hope they release more of his work. This DVD will provide hours of enjoyment for you and your friends. We couldn't possibly list all the standout moments. You just have to see it for yourself.If you don't already own this, just go on Amazon and buy it right now. You'll be glad you did.for more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

The acting is poor, the plot is thin, but who cares? "The Stabilizer" delivers non-stop action! In my estimation, at least 75 out of this movie's 90 minutes feature some form of action - vehicle chases, fight scenes, gymnastics, shootouts, explosions, crashing through walls and floors, etc. The action is outrageous, bloody, funny, destructive, and overall very enjoyable to watch. Peter O'Brian (probably one of the worst actors ever, but that's beside the point) is notable for his unorthodox fighting style, which can best be described as bull-in-a-china-shop. One of the things I really liked about this film is that it gives the women, and there are several of them, a significant part of the action, and they are almost equally as deadly as the men, with or without a gun in hand. If you enjoy Jackie Chan's Hong Kong movies but wish they were more R-rated, you'll probably like "The Stabilizer" as well. It's as unpretentious as an action movie can get. **1/2 out of 4.

Abysmal Indonesian action film from legendary Arizal triumphantly sculpts a template for future Cinemax pap like 'China O'Brien' and 'Do or Die' with Erik Estrada while simultaneously burying poor rising action star Pat O'Brien with a hackneyed backyard script and three cans of hair-styling gel to perm his impressive 1984 mullet. This guy's physical prowess resembles a more femme Mark Gregory and his next credit would be second fiddle to Chris Mitchum as "Tom Selick." Powerful. At least the action is mindless and non-stop with some daring Asian stuntmen risking their lives for what is essentially a poorly constructed movie by teens and/or meth addicts with no concept of reality. One poor extra gets gorno-ly shredded by an electric hedge clipper and many more are killed by getting hit in the head by odd objects such as a motorcycle wheel or cardboard box. Classic rape scenes are tasteless and priceless and quotable dialog such as, "I would rather trust a rattlesnake!" are delivered with such exuberance and fervor from the third-rate polizioteschi voice actors. Random highlight: some crazy dude eating live lizards. Movie also holds the record for most cars driven through walls. 2/10