BY ERNIE MAGNOTTA
After his iconic battle against the
legendary Bruce Lee in 1972’s Way of the
Dragon (and with the encouragement of cinematic superstar and karate
student Steve McQueen), six-time, undefeated world karate champion Chuck Norris
felt it was time to move permanently into the world of cinema. In just a few
short years, he was already headlining low budget martial arts/action films
such as 1974’s Slaughter in San Francisco
(as a villain), 1977’s Breaker!
Breaker! and 1978’s Good Guys Wear
Black (his first box office hit). This success led to Chuck’s 1979 karate
classic, A Force of One. The cool and
entertaining film really started to get him noticed by action movie fans and
was quickly followed by The Octagon (1980),
an exciting and suspenseful ninja thriller. With Norris and karate/action movie
audiences now hungry for more, Chuck immediately started work on his next
feature, 1981’s highly enjoyable An Eye
for an Eye.
After his partner is murdered by powerful
international drug lord Morgan Canfield (played by the late, great Christopher
Lee), detective Sean Kane (Norris) is berated by his captain (Richard Shaft Roundtree) for using excessive force
in his quest for answers. Fed up with how the law works, Sean willingly
relinquishes his gun and his badge. However, Sean Kane doesn’t need a weapon.
Sean Kane is a weapon! Seething with rage and hell-bent on revenge,
Sean, along with a grief-stricken father (the sorely missed Mako from Conan the Barbarian and Chuck’s Sidekicks) of one of Canfield’s recent
victims, sets out on a quest to find the mysterious drug kingpin and bring him
to his knees.
Directed by Steve Carver (Big Bad Mama and Chuck’s Lone Wolf McQuade), An Eye for an Eye, which was the last film to be made by famed
independent film studio Avco Embassy Pictures (The Fog, Phantasm, The Exterminator, The Howling), was written by
William Gray (Prom Night, Humongous)
and James Bruner (Chuck’s Invasion U.S.A.
and The Delta Force), and shot
entirely on location in San Francisco, California.
The nicely paced, entertaining and well-structured
film is filled with solid direction as well as memorable and diverse
characters; not to mention wonderful performances. As is usually the case with
his engaging action films, Chuck Norris is cool, a bit humorous and totally
believable as a courageous, but dangerous hero. It’s also no surprise that the
legendary Christopher Lee brings a touch of diabolical class to his villainous role
while the great and always reliable Richard Roundtree delivers another solid
performance. The rest of the top-notch cast shines as well. Academy Award
nominee (for The Sand Pebbles) Mako
is extremely lively and witty, making his character the perfect sidekick for
the low-key and semi-serious Chuck; Matt Clark (The Outlaw Josey Wales and Chuck’s Walker, Texas Ranger) delivers a wonderfully balanced and subtle performance
as fellow cop McCoy; beautiful Maggie Cooper (TV actress turned news
commentator) does well with her role as Chuck’s love interest; three time WWWF
(now WWE) Tag Team Champion Professor Toru Tanaka (The Running Man and Chuck’s Missing
in Action 2: The Beginning) is completely convincing as a deadly and
intimidating Bond-like henchman; the lovely Rosalind Chao (TV’s Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) gives a
powerful, but, unfortunately, brief performance as a news reporter; Stuart
Pankin (Arachnophobia) is quite comical
as an effeminate pimp and, in their brief roles, Terry Kiser (Weekend at Bernie’s, Walker, Texas Ranger) is warm and
likeable as a cop while action movie regular Mel Novak (Chuck’s A Force of One) exudes slimy evil as a
street snitch. The simple, yet intriguing story moves along at a fast clip and
the skillfully directed action sequences (especially the very suspenseful chase
scene between Rosalind Chao and Professor Tanaka as well as an exciting
helicopter attack that could rival a Bond film) will no doubt keep you
watching. Add to all of this a kick-ass musical theme by talented composer
William Goldstein (Chuck’s Forced
Vengeance) and you have an early 80s action/adventure that is a real joy to
watch.
An Eye for an Eye has been released
on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber in a brand new, HD, anamorphic (1.85:1) widescreen
transfer and although the film shows some slight grain in the darker scenes,
the movie is otherwise crystal clear and the colors are vibrant. I love this film
and this is the absolute best I’ve ever seen it look. Needless to say, it’s a
tremendous improvement over the previous DVD release. The region 1 disc also
contains a very informative audio commentary with director Steve Carver who not
only discusses numerous aspects of the film’s production, but also talks about
many interesting things such as working for Avco Embassy and how the late
Professor Tanaka was really taking those hits and kicks Chuck was dishing out
in the big finale. Carver also has some wonderful and fascinating things to say
about Chuck Norris, Christopher Lee, Richard Roundtree, Mako, Toru Tanaka and
the rest of the talented cast. The disc features the original theatrical
trailer (“White Lightning is back!â€) along with a trailer for Chuck’s enjoyable
1988 action-thriller Hero and the Terror (also
on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber).
If,
like me, you’re a fan of Chuck Norris’s early 80s martial arts/action films, I
highly recommend this Blu-ray release of An
Eye for an Eye.
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