China O'Brien (1990)

the audience applauded

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

China O'Brien (Rothrock) is a tough cop in the big city, who also happens to be a karate instructor. After a shooting incident goes wrong, she is forced to move back to the rural Utah town where she grew up, Beaver Creek. Her father is the sheriff, and he does his best, but there is something sinister brewing in this quiet burg. It appears corruption is rife and it, naturally, goes all the way to the top. The mastermind of all this is the sinister, but elderly Mr. Sommers (Kerby). Seeing Sheriff O'Brien (Blackwell) as a threat to their small-town criminal empire, as he cannot be bought off like the rest of the judges and law enforcement in town, including the bowtied judge Godar (Hazlett), the baddies use their preferred method of murder: they blow him up with a car bomb. Distraught, China runs for her father's old position. Along the way she reconnects with old flame Matt (Norton) and the mysterious but helpful Dakota (Cooke). Luckily, the three of them have plenty of martial arts skill and they take on an army of goons, because the only way for Beaver Creek to be untainted with corruption is to punch and kick everyone in sight.As has been noted elsewhere, one of the major flaws in China O'Brien is the lack of a powerful bad guy - at least one that can do martial arts. Because the "bad guy" here is the nebulous notion of "corruption", and the man who has his fingers in all the interests of the town looks more like he should be doing daytime TV commercials complaining about his "diabetis", the film's end could be described as an anti-climax. To add insult to injury, assuming you've seen it, the plot and antagonist will remind you of Radical Jack (2000).But all is not lost, as Rothrock, Norton and Cooke clearly came to play, and all three bring their physical A-game. The prerequisite bar brawl and the high school gym sequence are standouts, as is the confrontation at the political rally. Norton is his usual likable self, and Cooke has some seriously impressive moves. You'll remember him as Prang from King of the Kickboxers. But the star of the show is obviously Rothrock, and she does a great job as the crusading O'Brien. Fighting corruption is a theme everyone can get behind, so you cheer for her all the way.By action movie standards, C O'B has a relatively slow pace, presumably to match the slower pace of the boondocks in which the movie is set. In that sense it's appropriate, but fans may be puzzled by it.The best way to describe this movie is "Americana with punching" - wouldn't you love to see a Norman Rockwell painting of Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton pummeling the baddies into submission? Break out the "good China" and see it tonight.for more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

This a good action story built on a very good premise. This could be a very good TV series for Rothrock and her ensemble cast of Keith Cooks and Richard Norton. Walker Texas Ranger was some what of a spin from Norris's "Lone Wolf McQuade" film where he played the infamous Texas ranger JJ McQuade.In this feature film we see Rothrock succeeding her father (who was murdered by a local corrupt business tycoon) as the town sheriff. Rothrock displayed a lot of passion in her character's quest to avenge her father death. She did great justice to this role as well. Her supporting cast of Norton and Cooks were second to none in terms of their chemistry with Rothrock as well their excellent fighting abilities.Yes, budget constrains was a factor in regards to the overall quality of the film. Nonetheless, Clouse did the best with what he had. To do a sequel was pretty much a given. China O'Brien deserves to be a TV series like Walker.Chuck I hope your reading this...

I caught this movie on FX last night, and as I was sitting there watching it, it occurred to me that it could quite possibly be the worst movie ever. Bad acting, bad cinematography, bad sound, totally unbelievable fight sequences, stupid characters. All these made it up to be the most laughably bad movie I've ever seen. It was so bad, I was enthralled by it's sheer lack of anything semi-competent that I had to keep watching... and they made a sequel!

Saw this on TBS the other night, expecting the usual poor substitute for a good action movie. True, I did get a mediocre film overall, but as a form of reimbursement, I received a bunch of quality martial-arts sequences.Yes, the plot is amazingly uncomplicated - the most unexpected thing (and also the dumbest) is when not just one, but TWO car bombs explode within two days of each other. But besides the improbability of a Utah native growing up with an Australian accent (can we assume he picked that up in the "Special Forces"?), at least it's not too unrealistic.But this movie was basically created to showcase Rothrock's abilities, and they are readily apparent. Someone mentioned that this film was meant as a vehicle for Jackie Chan; this is also easy to see based on the beautifully choreographed fight scenes that make good use of the available props (the scene in the high school's weight room is particularly fun).Overall score: With regards to the filmmaking process, this one gets a low rating thanks to bad sound effects, cheap production and minimal writing talent. However, the great fights more than make up for it. Five (5) stars out of a possible 10.