Dull. Monotonous. Routine. Boring. Tedious. Dreary. Mind-numbing. I could go on but you get the picture – this cheap, early Chuck Norris outing is lacking in all of the areas that made the later films he made for Cannon so popular. There is no choreography in the fight sequences, no budget, no semi-decent acting, no proper photography, and hardly any stunts or action to speak of. The quality of the video transfer I watched was appallingly grainy, detracting from any enjoyability factor I would have got from the film otherwise, but any way you look this film is a dud. A mess and a boring mess at that. The plot actually reminded me of those old Santo movies. Norris is basically playing himself as a worldwide karate champion who takes time off from his matches in the ring to help out the local police force, searching for the karate killer who butchered their companions.The clichés are dragged out so slowly that you'll feel like you're trapped in a time warp with this movie. There are the stock characters, from the badly-dressed female love interest to the overacting police lieutenant – although actually Clu Gulager's hilariously mannered performance is one of the funniest things in the whole movie. Aside from Gulager the performances are strictly routine, with Norris himself particularly bad as the wooden lead, not having developed any of the charisma or acting style he possessed in later years.The action is dreadful, both inside the ring and out. It's one of those films where most things happen at night so you can't really make out what's going on. It helps to disguise various shortcomings as well. The best action is saved for the finale in an extended fight/chase, but even this is a bit of a let down as the guys basically slug it out in a pitch black field until one of them makes a mistake and pays for it with his life. No guesses for who ends up surviving in this movie then. Despite some level of realism and an "on the street" aspect in regards to the atmosphere, A FORCE OF ONE is just so boring that I have no option but to regard it as the worst of the karate man's many films.

As if Chick Norris with the blonde Mustache isn't dangerous enough, but at least he saved some of the hair off his back. Then again, he could have killed appointments just by having them look at it.This is a good crime drama. it's about a new drug cartel whose deadly enforcer is a masked karate expert who has no problem killing anyone including cops to protect his boss' investment. The police force decides to bring in their own karate expert, Matt Logan played by the blonde mustache to train them. The only problem with the movie is Chuck Norris is not kicking enough ass in it. Made during the time when Norris is known best as a Marshal arts master on level with the legendary Bruce Lee, Chuck barely throws a kick in this film. Who wants to see that? Chuck Norris can't act and he knows he can't act so why would you down play the reason you hired him in the first place?Like I said a good crime drama, but not worth anything if Chuck an'it ripping a man's heart out of his body with a kick, and you know he can do it, too!

i liked this early Chuck Norris flick,although interestingly,Jennifer O'Neill got top billing,not Chuck.it not a masterpiece or anything,but it's entertaining,and the acting is decent enough.the story is not completely original,but i liked what they did with it.they made it interesting enough.it's well paced and not boring.on a side note,Pat E. Johnson(martial arts choreographer on all four Karate Kid films,and Ninth Degree black belt under Chuck Norris)co wrote the story and has a cameo as a karate match referee.anyway,in my opinion,you could do a lot worse with eighty five minutes or so of your time.for me,A Force of One is a 6/10

And, that force is Chuck Norris, a master in the martial arts, preparing for the big fight in a tournament, called upon by a California narcotics division to train the detectives in how to fight a mysterious adversary who killed two cops with his bare hands during a secret raid(they did not call in for back up). A kid on a skateboard is the one who helps transport the drugs from one place to the other while a crooked cop is in cahoots with a drug-dealer using a sporting goods store as a front to distribute smack, coke, and other powder junk.Jennifer O'Neill glams down(sort of)as a detective, Mandy Rust(getting top honors in the cast over Norris) who becomes close friends with Norris' Matt Logan, her hair cut, dressed in casual "cop" attire(..although she's still a knockout in a cocktail dress), who suspects a fellow partner in her squad(..the film establishes who this person is as he is doing business with the mastermind of the drug operation). Clu Gulager is the chief of the narcotics division, Dunne and Ron O'Neal is a fellow detective Rollins. Bill Wallace is Sparks, the man Logan is to fight in the big main event.Mandy is the one who helps lure Logan into assisting them in martial arts training. It was kind of neat seeing Norris(and his brother Aaron who helped choreograph the fight sequences)training the detectives in one particular sequence, on offensive and defensive maneuvers.Important sub-plot added by director Paul Aaron(..initially called in just to help in rewrites of the script, celebrated by the add campaign as being co-written by Ernest Tidyman, due to his heat on helping pen The French Connection)provides Logan with an adopted son, Charlie(Eric Laneuville)for whom he has raised and trained, both hoping for much future success. This success will never come to fruition due to a hunch Charlie gets regarding his uncovering key figures responsible for the drug operation, including the identity of the martial artist killing cops. This killer with superior skills and power than Charlie, doesn't allow him to leave, because of what he has learned.This sub-plot, of course, gives Norris an excuse to get seriously miffed(to put it mildly), exercising his right to deliver a major ass-kicking to the one responsible for Charlie's death. Many of Norris' movies feature a tragedy, the murder of a loved one or buddy, which motivates his characters to get even with the scum who commit the deed that resulted in the loss.Mix of detective drama and martial arts showcase for Norris with a tidy conclusion as the guilty parties will be brought to justice and Logan is allowed to get his revenge. Interesting decision to shoot combat between Norris and his opposition in slow motion(opening an opportunity for scrutiny such as Wallace's elbow clearly missing Norris' face, yet he reacts jarringly anyway as if he did), inside and outside the ring. Known as a follow-up to Good Guys Wear Black, neither film resemble each other in any way either in content or characters(this is mainly because American Cinema Pictures distributed both films, opening a door for Norris' stardom, although ultimately it would be the third collaboration, The Octagon, that would hit pay-dirt). The killer, who sneak-assaults detectives who uncover locations containing the hidden drugs, wears a black ski-mask and jeans, explosively subduing them before they have a chance to defend themselves, hence the training of the other cops. While A Force of One gave viewers a chance to see Norris in action, expressing his abilities, The Octagon really was the movie that let him break out as a force to be reckoned with.