Here's your typical B grade, run around action pic that does deliver, in action, only it has good actors in it, or wastes good actors. It is, I dare say an interesting pic with some real heartless and nasty baddies, male or female. Two brothers, and his father, Lee Van Cleef, of all people, the most wasted star here, are all combat veterans, who avenge the death of their other family member, the third brother who got into some shady dealings with these really bad people, led by Tanaka (Asian icon-Mako) The late brother was also double crossed by a partner (Hagen) who at the end, Carradine gives a double meaning to the term surface. We're off to a great start when one of Tanaka's guys apologizes for dishonouring him, by cutting off one of his fingers, which the that tall bald headed goof Michael Berryman picks up, smiling at it. There are some unintentionally moronic lines I just found funny, or as if in "You've heard this all or saw it all before in many other pics, it's mundane". Some funny moments occur in that torture scene, where the second brother openly defends his family honour, stating how all of them were proud to be vets. The torture scene too which includes a mysterious middle aged Asian woman, we don't know anything about (there's always a mysterious figure in these scenes you never see again, it's eerie, as never more here) assisting in a some poison needle torture, where soon the brother count is down to one. It's then up to man (Van Cleef) and son (Carradine) to avenge the dead. I really liked Carradine in this who as an actor, led a very private life and had closeted publicity. Here his character, Jim, has violent 'Nam' flashbacks that trigger momentary anger if provoked, as displayed in one early scene of family gathering, a nice touch as in the family bit, which you get to know too, a bit more later. Armed Response has pretty much what you expect, though I do say, I enjoyed it more I thought an I would, which as an action pic, does pack a punch, but again it falls into that so so mundane, or moronic type, ala Chuck Norris territory. No surprise too, Corman great, Dick Miller shows up in this.

Father and son Chinatown bar owners, Burt & Jim Roth(Lee Van Cleef and David Carradine)become inadvertently involved in a war with the Tanaka crime family over a jade statue, quite a pricey artifact desired by a powerful Yakuza family.Clay Roth(David Goss), Burt's son/Jim's brother, is partners with a no-good, dirty, rotten scoundrel, Cory Thorton(Ross Hage, perfectly vile and two-faced)who has taken a job to exchange money for a jade statue, commissioned by powerful mobster Akira Tanaka(Mako). It would be a 5 thousand dollar payday to orchestrate what seems like an easy task, but Cory's greed and avarice throws a cog in Akira's plans. Cory is to take all of Tanaka's money, kill the thieves(an unhinged Laurene Landon and Dick Miller offers another cameo), and set up Clay as the one responsible for the botched job. But, a wounded Clay delivers the jade statue to Jim and Burt before dying. With the money, Cory goes into hiding, with Tanaka targeting the Roth family desiring to get the statue he must provide to a major Yakuza boss arriving by plane in the coming days. Kidnapping Tommy Roth(Fred Olen Ray regular Brett Huff), and torturing him with acupuncture needles, Tanaka and his men will stop at nothing to secure the statue, but waging war with Burt and Jim may not be the smartest idea despite how powerful and dangerous a threat they are. When Tanaka captures Jim's wife and daughter, as well as show him his slain brother, Tommy(..whose courageous escape attempt ends in a shot gun blast to the chest), there'll be hell to pay. Another development is that one of the thieves, Deborah(Landon)didn't die after all(..she's one tough chick)and wants the money Cory took from her.I imagine it was a dream come true for director Fred Olen Ray to obtain the star power of Carradine and LVC in his movie. To have them in a war with Mako, Michael Berryman, and a litany of mobster vermin must've been a joy. FOR also has two major action set pieces, the double-cross when Cory betrays Clay, with hired guns(..paid by Cory)blasted in their cars before they could cause any damage. There's the Chinatown showdown where Carradine faces off with Mako and his goons(..my biggest disappointment was not seeing LVC getting to partake in the festivities very long). There's also a chase where a cop pursues a wounded Berrymen, with innocent bystanders(..in their vehicles)impacted, resulting in car crashes(..and FOR gets to demolish a telephone booth). Carradine's Jim has some plot development as FOR establishes some trauma that has left scars from a combat experience in Vietnam. Berryman seems to be having fun as one of Mako's assassins. Unfortunate for me, LVC doesn't have as substantial a role in the movie as I, a major fan, would prefer, but he was on up in age by this time. When Carradine tosses grenades at Mako's gunmen, explosions hurl lots of stuntmen in the air.I think fans of low budget action, not expecting strong acting or a challenging plot, might enjoy this rather straight-forward, undemanding, uncomplicated B-movie. Carradine's revenge over Mako("Rest in Pieces.")is certain to amuse. Brett Huff has a great scene where Mako and company seek information, using torturous methods which would make most squeal, not allowing them to benefit from his anguish. LVC, in his seventies, gets a chance to kick some ass, punishing a pack of loathsome customers looking to start some crap when they enter Jim and Burt's bar. Lois Hamilton, as Carradine's wife, gets to blow away a bad guy with a machine gun in a memorable final scene after a car is driven into Jim and Burt's bar! Another rather unfulfilling scenario for me was not seeing Cory get his comeuppance in gruesome style(..while he does pay, it's not nearly the fate he deserves for the trouble he has caused).

David Carradine and Lee Van Cleef star as father and son cops who join forces to avenge the murder of their sons/brothers at the hand of the triads who are after a priceless artifact that the hapless family has gotten their hands on. Brent Huff is the ill faded brother who keeps the family proud by being tortured and not caving in. Also is Lois Hamilton the wife of Carradine who also is kidnapped with her and Carradine's daughter in this plot heavy but generally enjoyable guilty pleasure. I haven't seen many movies from Fred Olen Ray but I figure this has to be one of his better features, this one is alone worth watching for the cast. Which include David Carradine, Lee Van Cleef, Mako(As the head mobster) and Michael"Hills Have Eyes" Berryman who are always fun to watch in anything. The movie is fairly predictable and Carradine is obviously a tad too old to jump in and kick ass but Armed Response gives of the unpretentious vibe that makes the response of of general acceptance from the audience.* * out of 4-(Fair)

I am a truly HUGE Brent Huff fan, and have been since seeing Perils of Gwendoline.Mr. Huff looks great in this movie and though his part is short, he is seen enduring a bone-scraping torture through his bare chest that looks like evil acupuncture.Brent was one of the most handsome and sexy actors in these actioners and he could act when given half a chance. I don't know why he did not have a larger career, but I am thankful for the one he had.In some ways, he was the Mark Damon of the Eighties (though Mark got more notice for a little while during his heyday.) Mr. Damon has gone on to do very well as a producer. I hope the best for Brent as well.The VHS version has nice picture quality. I have not seen the DVD version.An 9/10 for shirtless torture sequence.The rest of the movie is okay. The actor who plays Huff's interrogator is a good one who shows up in many similar roles.