A Force Of One has a special place in my heart, being the first martial arts movie I ever saw (not counting The Cannonball Run or The Man With The Golden Gun): it played at my local flea-pit as second feature on a double-bill with James Brolin/Lindsay Wagner action flick High Risk (1981), and introduced me to the legend that is karate champ Chuck Norris. For that, I am grateful.
But to be honest, the film really isn't that great, being a rather predictable late '70s cop drama with a few not particularly impressive fight scenes amidst all of the routine investigative nonsense. Chuck puts in a surprisingly good performance as Matt Logan, the karate expert brought in to help train a narcotics squad after several of their cops wind up dead, but despite choreographing the fight action himself (with help from his brother Aaron), his martial arts skills are given very little opportunity to shine. The final showdown between Logan and evil karate fighter Sparks (Bill Wallace)—who unwisely offs Logan's adopted son Charlie (Eric Laneuville)—really isn't worth the wait, taking place in the middle of the night and in slow motion. The film also wastes the talent of character actor Clu Gulager, who is given little to do in the clichéd role of hard-nosed police Lieutenant Dunne, while Jennifer O'Neill, as policewoman Mandy Rust, is really only there as eye-candy.
5/10 for the sake of nostalgia.
But to be honest, the film really isn't that great, being a rather predictable late '70s cop drama with a few not particularly impressive fight scenes amidst all of the routine investigative nonsense. Chuck puts in a surprisingly good performance as Matt Logan, the karate expert brought in to help train a narcotics squad after several of their cops wind up dead, but despite choreographing the fight action himself (with help from his brother Aaron), his martial arts skills are given very little opportunity to shine. The final showdown between Logan and evil karate fighter Sparks (Bill Wallace)—who unwisely offs Logan's adopted son Charlie (Eric Laneuville)—really isn't worth the wait, taking place in the middle of the night and in slow motion. The film also wastes the talent of character actor Clu Gulager, who is given little to do in the clichéd role of hard-nosed police Lieutenant Dunne, while Jennifer O'Neill, as policewoman Mandy Rust, is really only there as eye-candy.
5/10 for the sake of nostalgia.