Kung fu black belt TV reporter Joyce Pride (Donna Jason) and her equally tough FBI agent sister Tracy (Cynthia Rothrock) attempt to bring corrupt businessman Jason Slade (John Miller) to justice with help from his former bodyguard Jake Armstrong (Chuck Jeffreys), Hong Kong cop Dragon Lee (Robin Shou) and martial arts student Mickey (Yip Yim Hing).Honour and Glory features an awesome line-up of bona fide martial arts stars (Rothrock, Shou, Miller, Jeffreys) but very little in the way of genuine acting talent; normally, this doesn't bother me too much, just so long as the action comes thick and fast, but with less than impressive fight scenes (largely thanks to the typically lousy direction from king of crap ninja flicks Godfrey Ho) and a plot that is all over the place (another Ho trademark), the film proves very disappointing indeed.Admittedly, a certain degree of fun can be gleaned from the sheer naffness of the whole affair—OTT villain Slade and his henchman Hideo (Richard Yuen) are hard to take seriously, and further giggles can be had from Jake Armstrong's hideous fashion sense—but for the most part this is forgettable nonsense and an unforgivable waste of its stars' formidable fighting skills.
... View MoreWhen a Bulgarian General steals a nuclear trigger and it goes on the black market, everyone's after it, from the U.S. Government to the lowliest street criminal. But the guy who wants it the most is the unbelievably evil banking financier Jason Slade (Miller, in truly a star turn). Hot on his trail is the Pride family: FBI agent Tracey (Rothrock), her sister, a TV news reporter, Joyce (Jason), and their father, a CIA agent (Rocca). Also helping them out is Dragon Lee (Shou), Tracy's old associate from Hong Kong. But Slade's got more bad news coming his way: his former bodyguard Jake Armstrong (Jeffreys) has defected to the good guys, and they're all coming for him and his evil empire! This movie is pure genius. It really is. Godfrey Ho (here working as Godfrey Hall) manages another winner for his hit-or-miss repertoire. Featuring a lot of the cast and spirit as Undefeatable (1993), if you liked that, you'll love this. It seems his shot-in-America stuff (in this case Maryland) that isn't cobbled together from a myriad of sources is his best material. From the first minute, when we see it is produced by Action Star pictures, and we see a boardroom of politicians who are the weirdest-looking gaggle of dudes maybe ever, you know you're in for something great.A lot of what makes Honor and Glory shine are the line readings from the actors. It's kind of hard to explain, but the way the actors talk, and their deliveries, are simultaneously hilarious and mesmerizing. Add to all this the winning presence of Cynthia Rothrock, well-supported by Robin Shou, and Chuck Jeffreys, and you have a fun time had by all. As far as the relationship between the two Martial Arts-trained sisters is concerned, Tracey says to Joyce, "I chase honor, you chase glory". But their last name is Pride, so it's surprising this movie wasn't called "Pride and Glory". The thing about Chuck Jeffreys is, not only is he like Eddie Murphy, he's BETTER than Eddie Murphy! Jeffreys deserves all the fame and fortune Murphy has. It's just not fair. But top "honor" s go to John Miller as Jason Slade. The man is truly a national treasure if there ever was one. You thought you'd seen a movie villain before. You were wrong.Aside from being the best movie baddie we've seen in quite some time, it would be awesome if Jason Blade fought Jason Slade. Alas, only in our dreams. But Honor and Glory is great as it is, so we have no complaints. Even the fast motion, and other things that happen plot-wise that we're normally against, don't seem to matter in this insane world. From the opening boardroom scene to the inevitable abandoned warehouse-set climax, Honor and Glory delivers the goods, with plenty of rewindable moments to boot.We have the VHS released by Best Film & Video Corp/Imperial, and even though it's in EP speed, the tape is surprisingly high-quality. And to quote the back of the box, "The action is non-stop and the challenge is ultimate". Need we say more? For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com
... View MoreSharing many of the same cast from Ho's later crap classic, Undefeatable (although sadly, Don Niam is nowhere to be seen here), this carefree kick-about is similarly stupid and entertaining stuff from glorious start to finish.The plot concerns two sisters, one a feisty FBI agent (played by perennial high kicking sweetheart Cynthia Rothrock) and her intrepid news reporter sister (played by Donna Jason) who by a bit of an unlikely coincidence involving their father, a CIA operative(!), both end up trying to bring down a particularly nasty business tycoon by the name of Jason Slade (played hilariously OTT by John Miller) who is attempting to procure a nuclear trigger of some description.Also along for the ride are Robin Shou, playing a Hong Kong detective and Chuck Jeffreys who looks and sounds uncannily like Eddie Murphy(!!!) and who similarly ends up embroiled in the sinister affair.What transpires is typically riotous fun, including a plethora of fights, over acting aplenty by all involved and some thankfully brief, but hilariously cringe inducing attempts at melodrama including the obligatory reconciliation between one sister and her father.Other highlights on offer include one side splitting scene in which Rothrock's sis, high kicks a coke can into an irate woman's head(!), the main testosterone oozing villain taking time to flex up his muscles after wiping out an opponent(!!) and a cool, multiple fight finale which subsequently ends up with all four of our hero's required to tackle the movies nemesis.Well worth a watch!
... View MoreLook at the cast we have here! Cynthia Rothrock, Chuck Jeffreys, Robin Shou, John Miller: all of them real-life martial artists. And then there is Donna Jason, who has probably had some martial arts training, and even though she's not at the level of the others, she gets extra points for hotness (great smile!). In theory, "Honor and Glory" should have been a non-stop fighting fest, but it didn't quite work out that way. The film devotes too much time to its plot, which is scattered all over the place and never seems to really get started, and the actual fight scenes are only average in quality - not bad, but definitely not top-grade either. The film does have its moments (including Cynthia's scorpion kick and Donna's workout routine), but with this cast, we should be excused for expecting more. (**)
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