Forced Vengeance (1982)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Admirable film.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Forced Vengeance is about much raw strength and nice evil characters. Real characters, not the usual martial arts actors of the nineties. It's great! The plot has Norris as a bouncer in a Hong Kong casino where his father-and-son bosses are an adopted family for him. When the elder boss refuses to sell out his place to a proliferating casino chain, both he and his son are killed. The sole heir to their fortune is the partying daughter that Norris must now protect from the greedy syndicate.The story isn't particularly good, but it's quite adequate in linking lots of fight scenes together without sacrificing too much logic. The pacing is what really makes this movie work. Director James Fargo keeps the story moving with claustrophobic camera-work of back-alleys, boats, rooms at the brothel, and other places where bad guys could (and often do) attack. Not to mention some beautiful shots of Hong Kong itself. The fights aren't great, but they're some of the better ones I've seen from Norris, and there's lots of 'em. Some are even choreographed. There's also a delightful non-fighting cameo from Richard Norton ("Shanghai Express"). The action is good, though nothing spectacular. Luckily, there is plenty of action and I have never seen Norris look this cool. Highly recommended for fans of Chuck Norris.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Josh Randall (Norris) is a soft-spoken tough guy who's used to being an enforcer. But he really gets in over his head when he travels to Hong Kong. Working for the boss of a popular casino, Randall notices something dangerous is afoot when heavies want to buy the casino but the management refuses. People start dying all around him, so he and his old 'Nam buddy LeRoy Nicely (Minor) try to fight off the baddies while protecting the casino owner's daughter. Evil gangster boss Stan Raimondi (Cavanaugh) is greedy and wants not just the casino money, but Randall's blood. Meanwhile, Inspector Keck (Shaw) is trying to use his side of the law to figure out what's going on. Will Josh and LeRoy get answers? Will they get justice? Find out today! Forced Vengeance is classic 80's Chuck. It was still when he had blonde hair and a blonde mustache. It seems Chuck movies can be broken up into two eras: blonde Chuck and red-head Chuck. At some point in time his hair turned a rusty, russet color, thus dividing his career into two halves. Not that one is better than the other, necessarily, but it makes his movies easily identifiable. This particular outing takes a while with its setup, and the pacing isn't necessarily break-neck, but is solid and reliable. It's like an old tank that just keeps rollin' along at its own pace. You get your rewards, but it's not instant gratification like the kids are used to today with their MTV and their e-lectronic gizmos.Even though Golan and Globus had nothing to do with it, this whole film has a look and feel that is very Cannon-esque. From the opening slow-motion, silhouetted fight in front of the neon (much like the opening of one of Sho's classic Cannons) to the way the rest of the film is shot, it will certainly put you in that Cannon frame of mind. The movie uses its Hong Kong locations to very nice effect, and the music by William Goldstein is so sweeping and dramatic, it helps the film rise to heights it might not necessarily have reached otherwise. The main theme is especially cool. Another soundtrack observation: there is an excellent disco/muzak theme of "Super Freak" which is a lot of fun as well.Chuck, who gets some suave line readings and wears tuxedos in this one, gets to channel his inner James Bond. Can you imagine him as an official Bond? We can only dream. Fan favorite Richard Norton is here too, but in a "Where's Waldo"-esque cameo that defies you to spot him. Here's a hint: with his blonde bowl haircut and matching mustache, he looks like he just stepped off the set doing stunt work for Chuck. (Indeed he did do stunt work on the film, along with John Barrett and Aaron Norris, among others). And he appears almost naked, wearing only a pair of tiny red shorts. Still and all, this movie could have used more Norton. The massive red flower Raimondi wears on his lapel is almost the same size as Norton's shorts. Coincidence? Or a visual motif? In other wardrobe news, Chuck's wide array of cowboy hats not only is impressive, but they almost become secondary characters in the movie, as at one point Chuck woefully decries "Why do they always pick on my hat?" Truly the eternal question.When Forced Vengeance was originally released on VHS, it came in one of those awesome MGM silver big-boxes. The kind with the cover on a hinge and the cassette in a plastic tray. We love those. Now the film is on DVD of course, but for the coolness factor, you have to love the original packaging. So for some classic kicking and punching Chuck style, Forced Vengeance is a prime example of why everyone finds him so endearing.

I saw this movie on TV a LOOONG time ago, and the other day I just kept thinking of this Chuck Norris flick where there was a fight scene where it was nothing but silhouettes in a neon light background on a staircase. After flipping through my uncle's VHS collection, I find this! You gotta love the old Chuck Norris flicks; he was what Steven Segal and Van Damme were in the 90s in the 70s and 80s. We see a 'Godfather-type' theme here, it gives for a decent plot for a bare bones martial arts action movie...and Chuck Norris delivers. It's a shame what he's become, because he was just RAW! An all around enjoyable old school action film. Anyone looking for anything else that what's being presented here is just misguided. *** out of **** stars.

Bigger budgeted than his previous films, Chuck Norris stars in this Far East action film set in Hong Kong. He's a casino security chief investigating the hits on his employer. The plot is OK for a Norris film and the on location shooting in Hong Kong helps a lot. The film attempts to mimic the Bond films with its soundtrack and title sequence. The script falls far short of a Bond film however. There is very little humor, a lot of tedious chase sequences, and a formulaic execution of the plot. The villains are not even that formidable, except for the huge strong arm guy near the end. The fight sequences are usually very short and abrupt and some are in slow motion for some inexplicable reason. There's even a bit of female nudity thrown in for good measure. For some reason, Norris is always watchable, even though the scripts usually fall far short of being good. The biggest failing in here is that Norris does it all on his own; the supporting cast seems to be around only to fill screen time between fights. Therefore Norris' weaknesses are maximized. The part where he dons his military uniform to kick some more ass is downright absurd, and what's with the pointless voice over narration? It's all sort of entertaining in a hokey sort of way. ** of 4 stars.