Manhattan Chase (2000)

Wonderful character development!

Load of rubbish!!

Let's be realistic.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Manhattan Chase, not to be confused with Chase Manhattan Bank, is the tale of Jason Reed (Avedon), a man who just got out of prison after six years. He's intent on re-forming his bond with his young son Tommy (Robin Berry), a terminally depressed tot with serious back posture issues. While on the road to fixing up his life, he runs into a woman named Jennifer (Zanzarella) who is on the run from armed thugs and killers because they think she has a cache of missing drugs. So, naturally, the next step is for the three of them to move into an apartment with Jason's buddy Victor (Roberto Gutierrez). Meanwhile, Tommy's mom is still in the picture, and her sister Nancy (Rothrock) is a tough NYC cop. Will Jason reunite the family? Will the baddies stop their harassment of our heroes? Find out today? In the canon of Godfrey Ho's shot-in-America phase of his career, we have Honor and Glory and Undefeatable (both 1993), but, based on the presence of Loren Avedon here, perhaps this one should have been called "Unlikable". If we could single out one major flaw in Manhattan Chase, it's Avedon. His smug smarminess is smeared all over the screen from the first second we see him. And the constant, annoying smirk he keeps on his face would put him right at home in the late-night Comedy Central lineup. We should also add that this movie is highly interactive. Every time he speaks, the overwhelming urge to shout "SHUT UP!" is just too strong to suppress. The fact that he somewhat resembles Jeff Speakman, but also rocks the denim-shirt-and-denim-jeans look of Jay Leno, perhaps makes him the first Jay Speakman in history. Or maybe Jeff Leno. But as demonstrated in Collision Course (1989), Jay Leno is a better action star than Avedon.Or, to look at it another way, the movie needed more Rothrock. Her scenes, as usual, are gold. She's attractive, likable, charming, and a great Martial Artist. What more could you ask for in an actress? She should have been the main star. Even the kid who played Tommy, who never appeared in anything else, wipes the screen with Avedon. What's this guy's problem? Why does he have such a terrible attitude? You're working with Godfrey Ho, dude! You're living the dream! Stop acting like such a D-bag and, much like Tommy's spine, you should really straighten up. Tommy gets a bunch of quotable lines throughout the movie, and while Zanzarella did a fine job as Jennifer, Gina Carano would have been great for that role. Of course, because it's set in New York, the characters hang out near the Statue of Liberty, like all true New Yorkers do.But, lest we forget, this is a Godfrey Ho movie, after all. There's all the funny, sped-up motion, silly reactions, disjointed plot elements, and styles of acting you see nowhere else in cinema. And because it's Ho in NYC, the time-honored Final Field Fight takes place in Central Park. His take on the NYC locations is indeed unique, and because the movie was shot in 1998, we see movie marquees advertising Bulworth (1998) and Dr. Dolittle (1998). Strangely, and awesomely, as a sort of reconciliation present after his time in jail, Jason gives Tommy a Game Boy. An old-school one from the 80's. In 1998. While most kids his age at that time were playing their PlayStation 1's, Tommy had to make do. It's a tough life.Manhattan Chase never got a U.S. VHS release, as it was clear by that time the golden age of the action movie, the video store, and the whole DTV era was over. It was a very interesting, transitional time. Maybe it's all the fault of the unnamed theme song that plays throughout the movie, a tune with a hip-hop beat , and the only lyrics are "1, 2, 3, 4", "Yeah!" and "Break it Up" - all said, inexplicably, in a duck voice. A DUCK VOICE. The end well and truly was nigh for DTV.

Oh boy I've just watched this and to say I was sorely disappointed would be an understatement.Initially I was drawn to this film via Godfrey Ho, especially his films set in the USA. His double whammy of "Honor and Glory" (which featured the entire cast that would return in "Undefeatable" but playing different roles) and of course Undefeatable itself.The latter film to me is "The Godfather" of unintentional laughing fits that induced me to put Undefeatable up there as a genuine classic film, 5 star (or 10 star IMDb) for inventing a new genre of movie.Even you took all the unintentional funny bits from all the obscure, guilty pleasures, dusty Video Rental VHS you'd watched; put them into one film, it still wouldn't be a patch on Undefeatable.Honor and Glory was no picnic either coming a close second.I was asked by my room-mates to take my headphones out of my laptop whilst watching it at night- as the volume of my laughter was LOUDER than the film itself!So naturally I was looking forward to "Manhatten Chase".The first sign of this being a traditional Godfrey Ho film is the picture quality. Despite the film being made in 1999 it appears to have been shot in the early 1980s with the usual grainy, dark transfer. If it weren't for a scene featuring a guy walking past a cinema advertising Deep Impact or Doctor Dolittle you'd choose the latter decade.I'm not sure what cameras or film Godfrey Ho's Production Team use but they should have tried Home Video Camcorders! However the similarity ends there.As soon as the film started this is when I dosed off. It was just plain boring and if I'm not mistaken I think after a career spanning 30 years of ridicule Godfrey hired a different scriptwriter to make a "proper" movie (or at least one that wouldn't make you laugh unintentionally). Something to do with a girl whose entire family are brutally massacred in front of her because of stolen, pushed drugs, I dunno; I was too busy checking e-mails, forum posts, Facebook to notice.Loren "I'm still waiting for THAT phonecall" Avedon who hadn't made, his much touted, big break after 1991's King of the Kickboxers and the previous No Retreat No Surrender sequels (all produced by the other perennial grainy film makers Seasonal Films) stars in this.His role is a (miscast) Mafia Hit-man and all round family man who after being busted by Cynthia Rothrock (who as usual is not the main star, nor a major character despite the DVD cover) decides to play a bigger part in his sons development after being released from prison.If anything Loren Avedon's ability as a Martial Artist, his much noted charisma, likability and knowing how to look cool whilst firing a gun adds an additional question mark over why Avedon never got better roles. The fact this was made 8 years after King of the Kickboxers doesn't hamper Avedon's enthusiasm for Manhatten Chases' shoe string production and inevitable limited release.So do you want to know if Manhatten Chase is a laugh-a-minute, bona fide "classic" like previous works Undefeatable and Honor and Glory? After all that is Godfrey Ho's specialty, whether he is aware of it or not. The answer sadly is no. I didn't "laugh out loud" once during this film.There are some "daft" moments such as Loren Avedon wearing a Baraclava and holding a high powered sniper rifle during broad daylight in a park. However knowing that this film has no budget its obvious a night-time shoot permit with security would've been too expensive.Yes I too thought Cynthia Rothrock on a Power Scooter that goes slower than jogging pace to chase bad guys on roller blades was a daft option considering her character trips over a peddle bike she could've used instead.But thats it. The only other scene is where Loren Avedon's character hands his son a reconciliation present; a 1990 Black and White Nintendo Gameboy! Even in 1999 it was considered a defunct portable console, succeeded by Playstations, N64s etc.Godfrey Ho retired from film after making this his last. It doesn't bare any trademarks to any of his previous films and I guess if Undefeatable was "The Godfather", Honor and Glory was "The Godfather part 2" then Manhattan Chase is "Robocop 3".PS: I couldn't find this movie anywhere neither on VHS, DVD on Ebay, Amazon or anywhere they didn't even have a listing for it. My guess was it was withdrawn from mainstream video release. I wouldn't bother hunting it down.

Following his two previous forays filming action films in the big ol'USA, bad movie god, Godfrey Ho made this, which as it happens, was very sadly his final venture before retiring to teach film-making to students (try not to laugh please). Loren Avedon appears here as Jason, a hit man for the mob who is apprehended (and administered an ass whooping!) at the beginning of the film by a feisty female cop played by perennial high kicking babe, Cynthia Rothrock. Six years later and having served his time in the old slammer our man has subsequently seen the error of his ways (upstanding and sure proof of the efficaciousness of the penal reform system there.....) not least of all due to him missing out on his precious time with his young son; a kid who delivers all of his lines as though he is struggling to practise ventriloquism in fact......but I digress.....Reunited at last, Jason is determined to make a go of it as a dad and vows never to return to his old criminal ways - a refusal which displeases his old boss somewhat. This is where matters take a more convoluted turn; Said crime lord is presently searching for some stolen drugs and has a whole family taken out in his quest - except for the daughter who escapes.....and literally runs into Jason's car. Yes, as you can probably guess, our hero as a result becomes embroiled in the affair, now working against his old employers in the protection of the girl who yes, you've guessed it, he becomes romantically involved with. Ostensibly our Godfrey loves coincidences as much as he loves to elicit bad acting displays from his cast for in another bizarre twist of events, Jason's ex wife turns up out of the blue, also eager to reacquaint herself with her son (said child was previously being raised by an auntie). And wouldn't you know it, but said ex is only none other than Cynthia Rothrock's sis!!!! Wow, what a small world eh?Anyway, to cut a long story short, matters come to a head in central park with a violent shoot out......and a surprisingly downbeat outcome which I won't spoil here.Well, what can I say about all this? The good news is that with our man Godfrey at the helm, the film is predictably, delightfully dreadful on the acting, editing and general logic front - great news for bad movie aficionados. For instance, as is in keeping with the world according to Ho, everyone and their uncle in this appears to be expert at martial arts(!) Yes, even bag snatchers are shown to be highly trained and disciplined fighters, ready to unleash their deadly skills at a moments notice. Unfortunately, and shockingly however, there isn't nearly as much fighting in this as you would expect, indeed, bizarrely, the film actually plays out more like a dreadfully forced sentimental melodrama with some fight scenes sporadically thrown in just to keep you awake.Still, for fellow Ho completists, it's probably worthy of at least a peek although be warned, those hoping for something as glorious as his cut & paste ninja output or else the classic, Undefeatable will likely be left sorely disappointed.

This movie was incredibly funny and great.Quintessentially in the tradition of films like "Deadly Prey", it encapsulated every thing great about a bent story line.Loren Avedon at the beginning is arrested for trying to assassinate someone with a sniper rifle. Where from you may ask? - The lawn of a public park wearing a black bandanna mask in broad daylight. Hahahahaha. So terrific. He even stuffs up some of his lines but the directors don't even bother to re-shoot the scenes.You have to see this just for the effort of trying to continue on the tradition of excellent movies that are just so far out - you don't know if they're miss-intended satire or just a work of genius.Get this for sure if you want to see a unique and funny film, and at times, very odd like the ending. Hahahaha goodness, you're just going to think "Did that really need to happen?" Enjoy.