Ironfist

The scene is the night former hockey star Frank Torrence plans to sell his bar and redeem the promise of a better life for his wife and him. Rogue cops, weak friends, and an unreliable accountant get in his way! As Frank, Richard Norton delivers a knock-out performance in "Under the Gun", an unorthodox action picture that limits the plot to the course of one unpredictable night. The twists and the humor never slow down, as Frank has to make the sale and avoid the kind of downfall that took him out of hockey. He's being framed (again) for drugs and only one friend on the force is willing to help him out of the jam. "Under the Gun" is stylish, smart action that does not eliminate plot or character in favor of the fights. In fact, the fights are incorporated into the film to supplement and develop the characters, primarily Frank. Clearly Richard Norton invested his considerable talents into making an action movie with a difference, and the audience wins!

In comparison to many other stars of low-budget martial arts movies - say, Steven Seagal, Don "The Dragon" Wilson or Dolph Lundgren - Richard Norton has at least one quality that puts him ahead: his sense of humor. And this quality comes through clearly in "Under The Gun": there are a few humorous bits that made me laugh out loud. Besides, the whole movie at times begins to resemble a surreal black comedy. Norton's character simply wants to get through a few hours peacefully before he can escape to a better life, but almost everything that can go wrong, does go wrong, and he becomes the target of corrupt cops, impatient mobsters, big goons, suspicious accountants, humiliated pimps, etc. Even the airplane ticket lady on the phone is rude to him! The entire movie takes place during these few hours, which is a quite unusual concept for this kind of movie. The fight scenes (choreographed by Norton himself) are above-average, both violent and technical. Norton is supported by Kathy Long, the kind of woman who will melt your heart with her cute smile one moment, then on the next she'll take on three guys in a fight and come (convincingly) on top. In other words, she's great. But her role is briefer than it should have been, and that was my only serious disappointment with this film. **1/2 out of 4.

I must admit, though I saw a small number of Norton's films, but I heard that most of them are the same, but this one... well It's something different. First of all, Norton is a great martial artist, but here he does some good acting as well. The story is very interesting. Norton is a former football player that holds a nightclub (and, of course he happens to know martial arts), the key story of the plot that Norton's character Frank Torrence must endure through one night against the mobsters, the police, a few hit mans, street thugs and the most dangerous thing on the end - his wife. The fights and the action is quite solid, acting is funny, though OK, and everything is shown through a fine comedy and fun. It's a mixture of action and comedy. Watch it.

'Under the Gun' is one of those movies which can be hit or miss. It's not really martial arts movie, It's actually much more than that. Norton's character is running the night club which he wants to sell and get away with his wife but obviously one last night in the club turns out to be the worst night of his life. I have to say that I was impressed with Richard Norton's performance. This is the first time I have seen him doing real and I mean REAL acting. Usually his movies are packed with top notch martial arts but not acting. Aside from Norton, we have Kathy Long who's top billed but appears on screen for a few minutes only but she does have a two very nice fights. All other actors are pretty much unknown and rather weak(especially one eyed policeman) but it doesn't affect the movie. There are not many fights but those we have look very good, especially Kathy Long ones( 'cause they are very dynamic). Besides the fact It's much more of a thriller than an action film, It's very fast paced. Definitely worth to see, just to realize that Richard Norton is pretty good actor.

THIS FILM IS ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. Richard Norton must the greatest actor ever to come out of Australia. His acting, fighting and screen presence are all fantastic and he holds the film together with his abundantly magnetic charisma and martial arts skills. It is a mystery why the great Richard Norton has not had more lead roles in his career because he easily has the charisma and acting skills, not to mention his incredible level of fighting skills, to match the Van Dammes and Seagals of this world. It's also worth mentioning the amount of times he bottles people in this film, he is truly prolific. in my humble opinion he should be crowned KING OF THE WORLD.