This flick is so bad it's hilarious. I think it's safe to say that the majority of the humor was intentional. Ernie Reyes Jr. ("The Rundown", "Surf Ninjas") directs and stars as Jesse, a member of a group of martial artists who are at war with a group of drug dealers. Or something like that. The special features contain a trivia game about the film. Though I had little recollection of what I had just viewed, I got all dozen-or-so questions right!
Though the plot is essentially non-existent, I assume this was made as a showcase for the talented star, his father, and a couple of others. Ernie Reyes Sr. has a great (and unexplained) fight with Shishir Inocalla in the dining room during mealtime. Though most of the fights are ridiculous, they're still a lot better than many other B-films of the time. Though the crazy flying kicks do go a bit overboard. I'll also assume that Corin Nemec, who plays the flick's main bad guy, Hitler(?!?) owed someone a serious favor.
I have been a major fan of Ernie Reyes Jr. since I was a kid. This movie is probably what keeps him from getting better roles. He is not the greatest actor in the world but he's much better than a lot of the goons that pass for action stars these days and with much better moves as well. He is incredibly fast, agile, and crazy ripped. How many sit-ups does this cat do in a day? I would love to see what he could do with a real script, director, and choreographer. The trailer for his current film, "Red Canvas" looked pretty cool.
The DVD is full screened with decent picture quality. It only has a few special features, including the trivia and optional Spanish subtitles. I can't imagine that this would float a lot of people's boats, but not taken seriously it's silly and fun. If you do like this type of thing act fast, as it's out of print. 2.5 stars.
1998. aka: The Process