Firecracker

I love this movie the first time I saw it back in 86, and I haven't changed my opinion of it, one iota. It's one of those selected movie pleasures, and lovers of kung fu flicks, whatever, will gets their entertainment's worth here. While snapping shots of an underground fight in Thailand, a young girl is snatched. Enter her older sister (Jillian Kessner) hot as hell, who can really kick arse, someone you don't underestimate, especially with personal issues as you'll see. She stumbles into this syndicate, wanting a bit of the fight action, while falling in love with badarse Hinton (yes the little boy from Daniel Boone) part of the syndicate, a supplier who runs the gambling, heroin, whatever rackets. Watching Kessner, nude, is almost a priveledge, a thankyou from God above, but watching her fight is something too, like when she takes on two rapists, or outwits a most deadly and venomous snake when cornered in a boxing ring, as some goons do an Q and A on her, from which they don't get much. The sex scene between Hinton and Kessner is erotic if involving a little rough play, where we're not really sure if Kessner has been leading him on the whole way, or really is in love with him. I'd go with the prior opinion, but leads him on she does well. Beautifully filmed, using some great sights around the Phillipines, some shots, stay memorably drawn in my mind, what we've got here is a chop suey, kick arse, extravaganza, different too from the prospect, the woman's doing it. I like that. Check the full on action kicking scene near the start of the movie, where she has a bit of help, those simulated SFX working to the cheap style of the film. A non stop action adventure treat.

Forgotten, lost, underappreciated. Whatever you want to call it. It's 5.5/10 rating on here makes no sense. I'd rather watch this film, than most of the modern films that most of you are rating 8 out of 10's on here. Then again, this film only has 712 rating votes so far. I find it hard to believe that this hasn't become more of a cult favorite. That is its destiny I would have to say. Eventually it will find enough of its suitable audience and become more well known and appreciated I believe. I've seen it happen to a number of films on here over the years, and I'm often one of the people helping to get these underseen strong films seen by more people. If you like low budget martial arts films that are somewhat funny and exploitive. Don't miss this. It is similar to many other cheesy films of its type, but it has its own unique vibe this film, it deserves more recognition. These types of films aren't for everyone obviously, in fact not nearly everyone. However there certainly is a big audience out there that would appreciate this film if they saw it.

7/10.

I remember seeing this film when I was young. It was being aired on cable, when it first came out. This was great because it was the un-cut version. I somehow was able to get a copy of this when it was aired on late night TV some years ago. I still have the copy with commercials (edited for television). I would like to get the full version. This film had some unforgettable scenes. I have to say that it turned me on to women in the martial arts.

Jillian Kesner is a standout in this fast-moving action film set in the Philippines. She's radiantly beautiful, with her fit figure unabashedly displayed several times. Also, she is the action star of the movie, frequently mixing it up with the bad guys and winning out.

We get a good amount of well-shot locations; the film, on the dvd-three pack, looks crisp and the colors are vibrant. It's definitely a B film, but so what? It's highly entertaining all the way through. A few times the violence gets quite gory, but it isn't a gore-fest by any means. Because of the setting, it works fine that the majority of the cast is from the Philippines; it fits with the story.

Watching this movie, I wish that Jillian Kesner had starred in a good many more films of this type. She's very likeable, and that comes through to the viewer; that quality she has, combined with her beauty, makes one more willing to overlook cheesy aspects of the movie. Recommended.

The plot is of secondary importance: something about a female karate champion who goes to the Phillipines to investigate her sister's disappearance and stumbles on a drug ring and a tournament of no-holds-barred fights to the death. The film is mainly a showcase for the beautiful, athletic, voluptuous woman and convincing, tough fighter Jillian Kesner - and I have no complaints there: she has about 10 fight scenes in this movie, the first one of which occurs after only 2 minutes! The production is very cheap, but the fight choreography is actually quite good - not exactly on the level of early Jackie Chan but certainly vastly preferable to the heavily wired, computer-enhanced crap that so often passes for martial arts today. The long scene in which Kesner ends up topless as she tries to fight off two attackers is not just exploitation, but almost a statement: here is this undressed, unarmed, completely feminine woman and these two men can't touch her, can't even go near her without getting hurt. I'm surprised this B-movie mini-classic is so little known today. (**1/2)