Fatal Deviation (1998)

What a waste of my time!!!

Truly Dreadful Film

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I don't know how the Irish martial arts cinematic scene is doing, these days, but I would not be surprised if the last 17 years have not been enough time to recover from this debacle. To be certain, FATAL DEVIATION – apparently the first Irish martial arts film – is a no-budget feature that deserves some slack given its obvious limitations, but I just couldn't find any fun in it to justify a higher rating. This is a simple movie made with the most basic means, but unless you like "bad" films for the sake of badness, I can't recommend it to you.The story: A young martial artist (James Bennett) returns to his hometown to avenge the death of his father at the hands of a murderous drug lord (Michael Regan).The only substantial thing the film has to its credit is its lead star. James looks great and has some cool moves, and I was genuinely surprised to realize that he's had nothing resembling a solo career since this picture...but then I remembered that the world already has a Jean-Claude Van Damme. Admittedly, no Caucasian karate star can avoid being compared to Van Damme, but both Bennett and the filmmakers go out of their way to make this as much of a JCVD homage/knockoff as possible. Bennett's character (1) must avenge a family member, (2) enters a tournament, (3) is trained by a master, (4) performs the splits, (5) performs helicopter kicks, and (6) must topple an unbeatable opponent.* Aside from such general resemblances, there are several blatant lifts from HARD TARGET, and man! – does it ever look silly to see these guys trying to ape John Woo's style without a penny to their name.However, the vast majority of the film is unambitious to a fault. On one hand, I commend the filmmakers for knowing their limitations and keeping the plot as basic as possible, but on the other, it's disappointing that they did not exploit the creative freedom intrinsic to indie filmmaking a little more. But perhaps I am asking for too much, because these guys really don't have much to work with: there isn't a skilled actor among the cast and the technical limitations of the filming equipment are apparent in every poorly-lit and color-blinking shot. The fight scenes are the only aspect captured with anything resembling flair, but despite their quantity, few fights are filmed well enough to stand out and few fighters other than Bennett have enough screen time to make an impression.Despite its short runtime, FATAL DEVIATION has a meandering pace that makes it a chore to watch, and the odd pop-polka soundtrack certainly did not help me pass the time faster. Simply stated, this movie is no triumph. While I would be delighted to see James Bennett headline another feature, I desperately hope for any kind of a budget for the poor guy.*Credit to the original "Van Damme Checklist" belongs to Jason of Amazon.com.

Much has been written about this movie and undeniably most statements are absolutely true. Yes, viewing "Fatal Deviation" can give back eyesight to the blind and has been known to cure lepers. Why James Bennett has not been hired to play a major role in "The Expendables 4" is beyond my understanding, I can only presume that Sly and Arnie are intimidated by Jimmy's sheer awesomeness.Let's just focus on the brilliant dialogs, which really prove that Shakespeare was merely an inarticulate, monosyllable clot. "You made me look bad, and that is not good"!, has since replaced "Hallo, how are you" in my vocabulary. "You have killed my son! Now I'll kill you like I killed your father", sneers the kingpin, who wishes to defend his drug-monopoly in the metropolis of Trim (Population: 8,000). Our hero replies faster and wittier than Eddie Murphy could have ever dreamed off: "You have killed my father! Now I will kill you like I killed your son". I could go on quoting those lyrical gems but am afraid that my keyboard will overheat.Watch out for a cameo by JCVD himself (he appears in a picture hanging from the reform-school dorms wall), which led many a person to the speculation that Bennett has indeed studied under the muscles-from-brussels (or, humble martial artist that he is, has changed his birth name Sean-Claude O'Damme to J.P). The rest of the cast is equally formidable; any puppet-theater in the world would crave to have such fine actors among their ensemble. Not to forget the leading lady: The tag line has promised us "a hot babe" – that's like saying a volcano is only lukewarm. The way she presents our hero with a pancake and than blows at a dandelion made me feel like I was cheating my wife by just watching. Surely, you couldn't find a fyner lass in all of Trim, county Meath.I loved this movie so much that I christened my firstborn daughter James Bennett! And please: Ignore all those reviews that deny the film its greatness and have surely been composed by the sock-puppets of a bitter Chuck Norris and jealous Jackie Chan. The leprechauns pot has finally been discovered and it contains not gold, but a copy "Fatal Deviation"! Only 10/10 and I can only petition IMDb to give us extra points just to bestow it upon this masterpiece.

I was once seen walking around with one shoe on, upon being asked if I lost a shoe, I responded "No, I found one." This transexisential thought-process was a result of watching this film.How James 'Jimmy' Bennett hasn't went onto further his career in Hollywood is more to do with his beliefs that he wishes to remain in Ireland and boost the Irish film economy.All the classic ingredients of an amazing action film are contained in this mementous masterpiece: amazing CGI effects that were partly done on a Commodore 64, insane stunts, a beautifully narrative and the jaw-droppingly stunning Paudie Greene as the leading lady who, for some factual movie trivia, actually came 12th in the Limmerick Rural Lovely Gurls competition in 1997. It even stars Mickey Graham. The seminal pop-singer and 'Nice One' from Boyzone. Mikey shows why he replaced Colin 'Feckin' Farrell in the line-up and shows he can compete with anyone in front of the camera.This film was touted for the foreign film award at the Oscars and rightly so.From now on I will no longer be wearing my Megadeth t-shirt, but will be wearing the Fatal Deviation t-shirt I got for signing up to the fan club.Thank you, Fatal Deviation....the lessons learned from this film can, if watched by more people, boost this country's economy single-handedly out of recession and allow me to continually drink Dark Destroyers while watching this film.

I watched this movie recently. When it was over I sat in silence, thinking. Although I come from the town where it was shot, I had never watched it before. Parts yes, but never in its entirety. I would recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in making movies and especially those who as yet, are not completely lost to the cold logical grip of cynicism; it may just bring you back from the edge. I continued sitting in silence, wondering what it was about the movie that had so taken the reigns of my thoughts. I replayed the gritty fight scenes in my head, and the beautifully naive love triangle. The awkward line delivery and the wonderfully spiritual woodland scenes and inventive use of locations. And then it hit me; I felt like I had been looking at the sun without realizing where the light was coming from. It was James Bennett.Fatal Deviation lends some insight into a personal journey, of a road chosen and taken that has a far greater resonance than the negative derision that has resounded rather unfairly in my opinion from some of the movies obvious constraints; a journey that has embryonic dreams fuelled by a powerful heart and an "iron will" that refuses to say no. James Bennett hunts his dreams with a rocket launcher. And to be honest, in my opinion, the man should be regarded as an inspiration.Remember your classics? Dickens wrote about people like him. And speaking of classics, "No retreat No Surrender" probably one of the most underrated martial arts movies of all time springs to mind. I doubt if James will ever settle for meagre rations. I think he will always ask for more... It's easy for some to stand in shadows, sum up an individual by their "so called" failures; it's harder for those same to bring those failures into the light; because bound only by fracturing testimony, we know most would crumble beneath even modest scrutiny. In the shadows, the finger never rotates inwards. I know because I lived there for a very long time. I give it an 8/10.Fatal Deviation was filmed in and around Trim Co, Meath.James Bennett has a slew of credited and uncredited work, and is appearing with Johnny Depp and Timothy Hutton in a new movie about "The Lone Ranger".You got dreams? Don't sit there and complain, or mock the decent people. Either get up or shut up. Or perhaps take a page from James... hunt them down with a rocket launcher.