Overkill (1996)

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Absolutely amazing

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

OVERKILL is a quite wonderful mid-'90s B-movie starring Aaron Norris, the brother of Chuck who nobody's head of. It's a complete travesty of a film, of course, and completely trashy in the best 1990s sense, and yet it's oddly enjoyable for fans of the genre. A predominance of the kind of hard-hitting fight scenes that '90s films are known for helps with the entertainment factor.The plot is an uninspired retread of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, or perhaps HARD TARGET; Norris's loner hero is the prey of a rich huntsman and his team of mercenaries in some Central American country. He's saddled with irritating comedy relief and a typically beautiful love interest, but what follows will surprise nobody: this follows a tired plot line without any variance of deviation; the kind of thing we've seen dozens of times before.Still, the action is just about acceptable and that's what makes this film just about watchable - if you're in a forgiving mood. Norris is an entirely wooden screen presence - not that he has anything in the way of actual PRESENCE - but physiccally he's not bad as a slower version of his brother. His end bout with villain David Rowe makes for goofy fun. Michael Nouri slums it as the chief bad guy of the piece, and there's even some mumbo jumbo nonsense involving jungle spirits thrown into the mix. The most outstanding thing? Norris's beautifully-tended hair...

Jack Hazard (Norris) is a cop on the edge who is sent down to San Carlos (actually Puerto Vallarta, Mexico), presumably because his name is too awesome for the LAPD. All Hazard wants to do is just relax and be shirtless for a while, but he runs into the nerdy Steiner (Moskow) who has, as seems to be very common in this time period, a computer disc. What's on the disc you ask? All the dirt on an unscrupulous, evil land developer named Lloyd Wheeler (Nouri), of course. Naturally, Wheeler sends Hazard and Steiner into the "Jungle of the Shadow People" so he can hunt them down and kill them. But Hazard has a few tricks up his sleeve for Wheeler and his gang of baddies.Aaron Norris...yes...AARON Norris here makes his bid along with relatives Chuck and Mike to be another action hero. And just in time too, as I was starting to worry that the world was running short on Norrises. He's an odd-looking man, a sort of cross between David Heavener and Don Swayze. He's the perfect star for those who find the work of Lorenzo Lamas too intellectually challenging. His line readings are beyond wooden, they're petrified, much like the trees of the jungle the movie takes place in. He's yet another goofy meathead, perfect for this movie however, which is yet another "Most Dangerous Game" retread. By 1996 they really should have known better.Perhaps that was the prevailing feeling on the set of Overkill, (which doesn't really live up to its name by the way, nor does the promise of the name "Jack Hazard" get fulfilled), as Michael Nouri was probably only involved so he could go to a warm, sunny location, sleepwalk through a one-dimensional role and get a nice check. You can't really blame him, but Aaron has even less energy than Chuck Norris, he doesn't talk much, and when he does, his performance can best be described as shirtless and mulleted. So he's not bringing the energy level up too high.Of course, there are the classic clichés and silly lines as well. This was director Ferrandini's only directorial effort to date, and he's much more well known as a stuntman, having a long and rich career in that field. He's done stuntwork for Comeuppance classics such as Breakin' (1984), Zero Tolerance (1994), Hologram Man (1995), and Invasion USA (1985), among other Chuck vehicles. With time, his directorial abilities may have improved, but I guess we'll never know. Much of the movie is too dark to see, and needed more light. The plot is something we've all seen before and the audience must try way too hard to get invested, and at a certain point it's just a lost cause. The movie needed some pep. Interestingly, the plot is similar to another Norris vehicle, Mike's Death Ring (1992).By 1996, the music for these movies was just not as good as it used to be, and the movie has no memorable song. There is a song, "Paradise", by the perplexingly-named "Food for Feet", but come on. The days of Steve Butler and "Always on my Mind" were clearly long gone by now.Overkill is stupid and has an unbelievably lame ending. Our standards for movies like this are very low, but Overkill still did not meet those already rock-bottom standards. Overkill is "Hazard"ous to your health.for more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

This movie has a special place in my heart. I suppose if you're looking for a good action flick or a story with any substance, this ain't the one for you. However, if you have a forgiving sense of humor, appreciate trite cinema clichés, bad over-acting, bad under-acting, shallow, vapid writing, ridiculous stunt work and slapstick-like choreography, you've come to the right place.You can play a great drinking game with this movie. Every time a character uses a redundant line or explains what is happening for the viewer's sake, take a drink. You'll be smashed.I think my favorite scene in the movie comes up early. There is a struggle in the hotel lobby. Lt. Jack Hazard starts to wreck shop, but the guy he is destined to reluctantly protect is being strangled under a water fountain in the plaza! He manages to survive for the minute or two it takes Jack to get everything under control, but by the pained look on his face you can clearly tell that he is having trouble breathing, the water is splashing all over his face! He makes very loud choking sounds so you can tell he's really suffocating!This one should go down in history.

This is the kind of movie that's so bad it's funny, and that almost makes it worth watching. Every move and every line is such an unrealistic clichè it will haunt you for days...And the acting...Don't get me started.