My review was written in July 1992 after watching the film at the Planet Hollywood screening room in Midtown Manhattan.
One of the better entries in the "Malibu Express" series of action films, "Hard Hunted" is a quality mix of stunts and T&A. Opening in Arizona where it was partially filmed, pic should score in pay-cable and video. Filmmaking team of writer-director Andy Sidaris and producer Arlene Sidaris have created a brand name with seven features concerning a team of Hawaii-based female secret agents. First of these, "Malibu Express" with Sybil Danning, has been playing almost continuously for seven years on pay-cable.
"Hard Hunted" benefits from return appearances by most of the actors from earlier films in the series, including star Dona Speir in her sixth straight assignment. Partnered once again with Roberta Vasquez, she's thrust into this adventure while on vacation in Arizona.
The duo becomes unwitting pawns in villain R. J. Moore's quest to retrieve a jade Buddha containing a device that's used in atomic bombs, stolen from a Chinese lab.
The feds supporting the women are summoned to Hawaii to battle Moore, but the film ends in a stand-off with protagonists to settle the score in the next film in the series, "Fit to Kill".
Not withstanding some campy dialogue and Sidaris' trademark gratuitous nude scenes featuring lovely models, "Hard Hunted" develops a more serious tone than its predecessor films.
Particularly engrossing is the first reel or so in which newcomer Mika Quintard teams with stunning Carolyn Liu (introduced in the last film ("Do or Die") to steal the jade Buddha in action-packed suspenseful footage.
Other highlights include well-staged stunts involving a miniature attack helicopter manned by Moore's chief henchman, Al Leong, familiar as one of Brandon Lee's most imposing adversaries in the current release "Rapid Fire".
While initially used as alluring decoration, the women in Sidaris films are now quite convincing as action heroines, with both leads Speir and Vasquez solid in this department.
Roger Moore's son R. J. Moore makes a suave villain in his American feature debut, while Gregory Peck's son Tony is also in the cast as head good guy.
Filmin on numerous sites in Hawaii, Arizona and California belies the pic's modest budget.
