G.I. Executioner

G.I. Executioner (1971)

1/2 (out of 4)

Awful "action" film has a journalist (Tom Keena) in Singapore getting asked to investigate a Chinese scientist and soon he runs into some dirty agents and mobsters.

This film was originally released as WIT'S END but I seriously doubt too many people saw it until Troma released it over a decade later under the current title. I'm not exactly sure why Troma bothered with it but I'm going to guess that they were trying to cash-in on director Joel M. Reed's name since he became quite infamous after BLOODSUCKING FREAKS. This movie here isn't nearly in the same league and this here can only be called a flat-out disaster from start to finish.

I'm not sure where to start but I guess we'll begin with the plot, which never makes any sense and you go from one scene to the next not really knowing what's going on. There were countless times within the first 30-minutes where I was confused so I just turned my brain off but things never got any better. The editing and performances are all rather bad as is the direction, which just lacks any flair. The worst thing is that there's really no action or fun sequences to keep you entertained. The highlight is one sequence where a nude woman shoots some bad guys and we get some hilarious slow-motion deaths.

Those wanting to check out what Reed was doing before BLOODSUCKING FREAKS might want to check this out but the rest will want to stay clear.

I only saw this movie because of the alternate title, "Wild Dragon Lady". Well, there is one character referred to at one point as Dragon Lady, but she's not nearly wild enough. Apparently the film was picked up and distributed by the (in)famous Troma company, but you have to wonder why: even the few attempts at camp (the gay villain) are dull. It's pointlessly talky, the "plot" makes no sense, and there is hardly any action or excitement to be found. The only "redeeming" features of the film are the location shooting in Singapore, and the brief but high-quality female nudity. In fact, the only reason "Wild Dragon Lady" will remain in my collection is because it contains a scene of a nude woman shooting a gun. 0.5 out of 4 stars.

Dave Dearborn (Tom Keena) Vietnam veteran, free-lance journalist, and mercenary, is operating a discotheque aboard a ramshackle junk plying Singapore's harbor, when he receives an offer to investigate a probable defection of a scientist from Communist China. An overly complicated storyline depicts Dave taking the assignment because Chinese "businessman" Mr. Lim may have his claws into the defector in order to vend his expertise to the highest bidder, assisted by Lim's mistress Mai Lee (Vicki Racimo) for whom Dave carries a torch from their former affair. In the course of searching for the missing researcher, Dave becomes entangled with and beds several avidly willing females, while other bodies of the deceased sort pile up following a string of shootings, and we are given a surfeit of material detailing Dearborn's past as a cocaine addict, murderer for hire, and undercover homosexual! Filming is in Singapore, completed in 1971, but the piece was not released until Troma, a company specializing in exploitation features, offered it in 1984; there is, therefore, some interest within the production for its footage along the city's Orchid Road, Sago Lane and, in particular, Bugis Street with its swarms of transvestites, all given the kindness of being cleaned by the regime of Lee Yuan Lew subsequent to the movie's completion. Aside from this historic significance, little remains of value as the picture suffers from pronounced flaws in continuity and logic, in addition to generally shabby production values under the direction of schlockmeister Joel Reed, with a cast of largely, and thankfully, unknowns. Racimo is an able actress but here is wasted, as during one rather fantastic scene when, after her character dispatches her current squire by shooting him to death, including a close range finishing shot to the head, she then gives in to the demands of lust with Keena's character, the pair thrashing about amid four recently slain evildoers; there is precious little by way of interpretation that can be provided in such an instance.

GI Executioner is a low budget, pretty boring and forgettable action movie shot on location in Singapore. The director is Joel Reed, who directed one of my favorite cult horror films( Bloodsucking Freaks). While still a pretty sleazy movie, this movie is mostly a snooze fest, low on action with a convoluted plot that's all over the place. GI Executioner later got picked up by Troma for the home video market and I am sure only because this is a Joel Reed film. The overall quality of the film is low, the leading actor is alright, but there is little in the way of excitement. I would not say that this is unwatchable, but I wish I chose a better movie to end my day.

Wit's end is a 1971 action movie and made by a notorious low budget director named Joel M. Reed. It is an action movie, but the action sequences are quite rare, with the rest of the movie being mostly just talking. The action in the movie is kind of fun, but The plot of the movie is pretty incoherent, hard to follow, and sometimes slow. The main character is a good protagonist, and the rest of the characters are mostly average. It clearly had a low budget, so if you like low grade b-actioners, then this might be your thing. Overall, it was low budget, incoherent, and boring at times, but it was also sometimes a bit fun. 4/10.