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[tab title="Movie Review"]

Force Five (1981) - Blu-ray

Thank God for Black and Decker! 

Start laughing now because, with those words, one member of Force: Five, a "team" of martial arts experts (a term I use loosely here . . . even though this film is comprised of sports stars) assembled to rescue a senator’s daughter from a religious cult, solidifies the hilarity of this action flick. 

"With Force: Five, late night television finally found its purpose."


This movie, full of not so high-flying kicks and karate chops, is an empty vessel of cinematic fury.  It is cornball entertainment that fans of the genre might possibly enjoy . . . but that’s only because of a bull and what happens to the poor animal.

Saving the best for last, it is the inclusion of an angry bull lurking about in the halls of cult leader Reverend Rhee’s (Bong Soo Han) “palace”, where unguarded drugs and weapons are stored, that really makes this copycat of Enter the Dragon such a riot.  Talk about ROAST BEEF, son! {googleads}

Director Robert Clouses’ Force: Five, starring Joe Lewis as Jim Martin, doesn’t do much, but it does have a familiar roster of B-movie and kickboxing favorites as Clouse, thinking he would actually try to repeat the story of Enter the Dragon WITHOUT Bruce Lee, hopes lightning will strike twice.

It doesn’t.  Sure, the fighting star-power on display here is fun to watch but, outside of a helicopter having a “malfunction” (zooming this way and that way over the island and its brainwashed hooligans) and one scene of torture, nothing of any consequence happens other than the awful delivery of some pretty hilarious lines of dialogue.

Force Five (1981) - Blu-ray

When it comes to kickboxing, though, a roster of familiar faces is involved with the hijacked hilarity here as one team – Lockjaw (Sonny Barnes), Ezekiel (Richard Norton), Billy Ortega (Benny Urquidez), and Laurie (Pam Huntington) – finds themselves flown by Willard (Ron Hayden) via helicopter to a remote island with the sole purpose of shutting down Rhee and his brainwashed fanatics for good. 

But first they must get the help of a suck-ass assassin (Mel Novak) and a senator’s daughter (Amanda Wyss, Nightmare on Elm Street). Island-hopping Kung-fu thrill seekers MIGHT be head over heels for this “lost” classic, but – with little in the way of action scenes – everyone else is definitely going to give this rip-off a hard pass.

With Force: Five, late night television finally found its purpose.

2 beers

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[tab title="Details"]

Force Five (1981) - Blu-ray

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime:
96 mins
Director
: Robert Clouse
Writer:
Robert Clouse
Cast:
Joe Lewis, Bong Soo Han, Sonny Barnes
Genre
: Action
Tagline:
Five against a thousand... The odds are even.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Thank God for Black an' Decker!"
Theatrical Distributor:
American Cinema Releasing
Official Site:
Release Date:
July, 1981
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
May 6, 2016
Synopsis: A martial-arts expert leads a team of fellow martial artists to rescue a senator's daughter from an island ruled by the evil leader of a fanatical religious cult.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Force Five (1981) - Blu-ray

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Scorpion Releasing
Available on Blu-ray
- May 6, 2016
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: None
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Region-free playback

Scorpion Releasing’s handling of this limited-edition release is pretty sturdy-looking.  The 1080p transfer, in an engaging 1:85:1 aspect ratio, looks pretty decent.  Colors are bright enough and lines are clean.  The black levels are also consistent.  As we go from a city to an island locale, it should be noted that there is a lot of the natural word on display here.  Greens, browns, and blues are dominant.  A mono track for the dialogue and the cheesy music is also attached.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

There is a trailer attached and that is it.

  • Theatrical Trailer

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Force Five (1981) - Blu-ray

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