Immortal Combat (1994)

the audience applauded

Just what I expected

Absolutely Fantastic

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

John Keller (Piper) and his partner J.J. (Chiba) are cops. J.J. is also a ninja. Keller travels to the Caribbean island of Saint Marta and discovers that a company called HybriCo is manufacturing a race of super-warriors, presumably so they can be victorious in punchfighting matches around the globe. Quinn (Foster) is the lead baddie-ess who controls her nefarious employees, who look like off-duty Ghostbusters. HybriCo's main success story is Muller (McBee, AKA fan favorite Malibu), an unkillable super-oaf who wears a sleeveless tuxedo shirt with a red bow-tie and red matching cummerbund. While in Saint Marta, Keller makes friends with Yanagi (Lister), and develops a romantic interest with (yet another) journalist named Karen (Greene), but while initially J.J. stays home and trains, eventually he joins Keller on Saint Marta so they can put an end to all the madness...but will their combat be IMMORTAL? Find out today...Immortal Combat is classic 90's fun all the way. It kicks off with a bang-up opening sequence and pretty much maintains a peppy pace throughout, with plenty of action, fight scenes, and other shenanigans. The filmmakers were in tune with what fans want, which is a rarer phenomenon than you might think. While the movie overall is a winner, truth be told, it is overlong at 109 minutes. If they could have trimmed it down to 90 or less, we'd be talking about an all-time classic right now. As it stands, it's still a winner - it's what Overkill (1996) SHOULD have been. Just imagine a Raw Force (1982) for the 90's - but with more shirtless men punching each other.Roddy, as usual, is engaging and charming in the lead role, and he brings energy to his fight scenes. Chiba brings an old-school badassery that's a nice counterpoint to Roddy. Chiba's English isn't that great, which doesn't really help when he's getting emotional in the scenes with his pretty, white, blonde daughter (he's explaining why he has one, which we wish they didn't bother doing), but it doesn't matter when he's doling out ninja stars like playing cards. Besides, it gave off a Chinatown Connection (1990) vibe, which is never a bad thing. Plus, Roddy has found himself in a similar situation in Last To Surrender (1999).It was nice to see Roddy teamed up with his old They Live (1988) pal Meg Foster, and she does indeed make the most of her role here. We also enjoyed seeing a happy, upbeat Tiny Lister, instead of the usual evil version. Why he plays an Asian (?) man named Yanagi remains to be discovered. Of course, the real star of the show (in all of our hearts) is Malibu, who, naturally as a course of being immortal, grunts a lot and makes strange noises. More than usual. His hair is especially Lorenzo Lamas-esque this time around.There's punchfighting, slo-mo gun-shooting, a WYC (White Yelling Chief), and the whole concept of putting Roddy Piper in a situation with ninja action was inspired. Rounding out the 90's cred, it even goes into a Surviving the Game/Most Dangerous Game situation at one point. We wish the Karen character wasn't a clichéd reporter role, and had more involvement in the butt-kickery, but hey, it goes with the territory.Featuring plenty of songs by Liz Constantine, including "Resort To Kill" (also the alternate title of the film, which, presumably, was changed at the last minute to cleverly put a spin on SubZero, Johnny Cage, Sonya, Scorpion, Joe Lieberman, and the gang), and released by A-Pix entertainment on VHS, despite its length, Immortal Combat is a gem and well-worth seeking out.

(Contains vague but ultimately inconsequential spoilers.) Honestly, I can't tell you what this film is about. I can, however, make a checklist of things that are in this film that might peak your interest:1) Ninjas 2) Coke and sex parties 3) Uzis 4) Vaguely impossible, massive gangster (and likely coke/sex-fueled) brawls 5) Spotty martial arts 6) Multiple abominations of the laws of physics (including at least one man who can leap five clear feet out of water (mind you, completely submerged)) 7) Body builders who don't believe in shirtsAnd the back of the VHS box does confirm there are:8) 109 minutes of action! 10) Headlocks 11) Running tackles 12) Action/Adventure and 13) Sonny Chiba. Through complex mathematics, I've inferred that if you are interested in at least five (of thirteen) of those concepts, this feature-length presentation is right down your alley.As far as I can tell, this movie is actually something of a puzzler. I'll lay the plot as frankly as I can: men who are apparently immortal waste their time trying to kill each other. They will shoot and punch and heave and throw and remove articles of clothing, but it is simply no use. Not a one of them can die--a reason for which I thoroughly enjoyed this flick.

Immortal Combat (1994) was another direct-to-video film that starred former W.W.F. pro wrestling superstar Roddy Piper. He's the best of the wrestlers-turned-actors. Not a classic thespian mind you, but he's a charismatic guy who makes rubbish worth watching. The movie also marks the U.S. movie return of Sonny Chiba. He hasn't lost a step and the two action stars make a likable duo.The story isn't that great and the direction is flat out tedious. But the natural charm of the two stars somehow make this run-of-the-mill action film a fun watch. Saturday night, nothing to do? If this movie comes on the tube sit back and relax. Please, take it for what it's worth.Recommended.

Overall, this movie wasn't that bad if you judge it for what it was: an action movie with a lot of fight scenes. Both Piper and Chiba were great in the fight scenes, and had the script been a bit better, the overall movie would have been fairly good. The problem was, too many scenes that were unneeded or outright stupid. For instance, the scene where Ms. Keeler is caught trespassing and Piper comes to her rescue was annoyingly badly written and unnecessary overall. The one surprising thing was the supporting acting was fairly good, with the exception of Deron McBee who needs to go back to American Gladiators. The acting by Piper was quite good, with the best example being at the beginning of the movie in the inital fight scene which was well choreographed, and quite comical with the addition of Chiba. Overall, I can't say it's one of the best movies ever made, but, as an action movie it's fairly good.