I am all for low budget and so bad its good movies as long as they are entertaining. This has MST3K written all over it but Ive no idea if they have picked this one apart.
Its the usual white guy goes abroad, annoys the local thugs, gets beat up with martial arts and then undergoes a training montage with an elderly martial arts master and guess the outcome? No spoilers mind.
The only novel thing about this version is its an Italian made movie and the hero is actually really annoying so at certain parts you are quite happy to see him being bashed. He seems to have this belief he is morally superior being from the USA and the locals really should fall in line when he spouts how things should be. Even though he is basically a tourist.
The dubbing is not just bad from a synching point of view but the dialog at times sounds hilarious. The fight scenes are fairly poor with ridiculous whacking noises for blows even though hits miss by miles. Also karate is an odd choice when this seems to be set in the Philippines.
There is a ridiculous goof in the final act, when the hero is having his showdown with the bad guy in a boxing ring, the camera cuts to the crowd.....and the bad guy is seen sitting in the crowd....apparently watching himself fight. That is quite a martial arts skill.
There is some stuff about animals (a la kung fu) and magic (from God knows where) shoehorned into the story to add some mysticism. Again more odd choices as karate has nothing to do animals or magic.
Is it worth watching? Maybe if you have caught the start on TV and are curious about the final act but this genuinely isn't worth seeking out.
There are some odd reviews on here saying they enjoyed this as a kid, but some of the violence is too bloody for kids. I doubt I will see another movie from this director or see these actors in anything else again but that wont be a bad thing.
