Death Match

When his friend (Nick Hill) goes missing, former combat fighter John Larson (Ian Jacklin) heads into - get this - an underworld where promoter Landis (Martin Kove) and his top fighter Mark (Matthias Hues) hold "to the death" fights to amuse the bloodthirsty rich. This by-the- numbers martial arts flick came at the end of the "underground death match" cycle. The stale script should have "Do not produce after 1990" stamped on it and features some baffling choices (would a guy hosting death matches really do up contracts for them?). Jacklin, who looks like Craig Sheffer with more Cro-Magnon features, is a former professional kickboxer and supported Don "The Dragon" Wilson in several features (RING OF FIRE 1 & 2, BLACK BELT). He is actually decent in his first leading role and, naturally, his fights are well done. Female lead Renee Ammann is really lousy as the tough female reporter looking for her big break. The real surprises are Kove and Hues as the baddies, with Kove's character having an eccentric love of crystals. Richard Lynch and Jorge Rivero each have one scene as rival bosses who get killed. Lynch's bit - where he tells the story of his Italian mob grandfather "Pretty Boy" O'Brien - is actually really well done and could be in a Tarantino flick.