Tai Seng video cover

Angel the Kickboxer

1992

Director: Godfrey Ho

Stars: Cynthia Rothrock, Chuck Jeffreys, Robin Shou, Richard Yuen, Waise Lee, Moon Lee, Yukari Oshima, Pauline Chan

Like most Godfrey Ho productions, Angel the Kickboxer is a mish-mash of old and new footage. The movie's slim plot has a group of cops looking into a series of murders and corrupt bankers, but the film is actually made of footage from at least three sources; a Cynthia Rothrock US B-movie Honor and Glory, an old Triad film with Waise Lee, and some new cut-and-paste fight scenes featuring Yukari Oshima. The result -- as you might guess -- is pretty horrible. It's almost impossible to follow what's going on, and when a fight does occur, it doesn't help matters much. Even though there are some talented martial artists in the mix, they're often paired against total slackers who make the generic white guys in US B-movies look like Jackie Chan by comparison. My personal "favorite" is the overweight Japanese hitman who's supposed to be the best fighter in the world, but looks like he gets winded going up a flight of stairs. You'll probably get more enjoyment out of this movie using it as a paperweight rather than watching it -- at least it'll serve some sort of purpose instead of being just another horrible cheap early 1990's action movie.

RATING: 2

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