X-Treme Fighter (2004)

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Despite the (wooden) family drama and the (half-baked) sci-fi elements, this is essentially a fighting movie, in the style of, say, "Mortal Kombat". The fights are acceptable, but nothing special. The film makes a noble attempt to include a variety of styles (grappling, streetfighting, weapons fighting, "monkey kung fu", etc.), but although all the participants are legitimate martial artists, the director and the choreographers don't get maximum performances out of them. Second and third-billed Cynthia Rothrock and Lorenzo Lamas have one fight each, and Lamas' part is pretty much a cameo; the real second lead after Don "The Dragon" Wilson is Dan Mayid who plays his son, and who is obviously a gifted athlete (and breakdancer!). A lot of cheesy digital effects and some picturesque locations complete the picture....oh, and Rebecca Chaney (The Scorpion) is HOT. Get this girl in more action movies as soon as possible. (**)

Having knowing some of these people IRL and having taken karate, I really have to fault the director for this one being bad. All of these people are capable of putting better than blue-belt level fights and acting better. It was a nice treat seeing Danny Mayid do his form at the end, it's just a shame he couldn't come out of his shell anymore in his intro film. It looked like a safe, conservative karate movie where the insurance didn't cover the level of fights that people expect. I've seen better in karate class and on demo teams.Sorry if I offended any of the actors with this, because this was clearly not their fault.-James

Widowed father Jack Tanaka (Don 'the Dragon' Wilson) feels that his son Brad is drifting from him. After catching his son drinking one sip of beer at a party, he grounds him for a week. The grandfather makes a custom virtual reality game in hopes of bringing the father and son closer together again. But when Brad get stuck in the game Jack has to follow him in and save him. No, it's not a exceptionally good film, but what the hell were you thinking when you rented a film starring The Dragon? Hamlet? I didn't think so. If you like Don, you probably will like this one , all others steer clear.My Grade: D+ (would be higher if it didn't have the Monkeyman in it)

Imagine my surprise and my glory when I saw this puppy at my local blockbusters, having appeared out of nowhere. I was excited about this all last year because it was a collection of B-movies star to make you proud. Don Wilson, Cynthia (Jubblies! I like the Jubblies!) Rothrock and Lorenzo Lamas. Unfortunately it ended up being standard Don fare with a ludicrous plot about a virtual reality fighting game that goes haywire and in essence is an excuse for loads of fights. The fights are very routinely done and Don Wilson continues his annoying trend of pulling his punches and forcing out the choreogrpahy slowly and without timing. I have never seen him look lightening quick in a film. Granted I have not seen all his movies but for a legendary kick boxer her certainly looks like he can't fight when it comes to his movies. Dan Mayid, who plays his son in this film puts him to shame and looks like he could have a bright future as an action star, he is certainly a better actor than his mentor. Mayid was interestingly enough cast at a marital arts convention. He is a big fan of Don, he showed him a few moves and they cast him as his son. Great stuff.Problems in this film arise because there are loads of fights and most are from Don, while Mayid and the other leads have a lot less to do. Rothrock has one fight which is good and she still kicks but like the best of them, whilst showing her ample jubilee off in a cleavage boosting low cut dress. Lorenzo has a brief bit but he is essentially a cameo part, which is a shame because he is the best actor of the lot, by far. I'd have preferred him in the lead because he fights better than Don. The film is still reasonably fun though because it is so cheesy and they have some clichéd and hokey drama in it that is so badly done you can't help but laugh.The film also features a score from Vince DiCola responsible for two scores I loved in the 80's in Transformers and Rocky 4, however this is not 80's style and his score is mostly generic, aside from some moments that have the Vince pazzazz. Overall this film has great curiosity value but for those expecting something great, you'll be disappointed. It was a fairly ambitious idea for a Don film but is letdown by poor execution on most parts. Only Rothrocks boobies and the potential of Mayid (An amazing athlete, and young enough to develop into at least an acceptable actor)make this worthwhile but that's about it. **