Under the Gun

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!

I rented this movie mostly for Richard Norton, and several other of the better-known Australian martial artists with whom I am familiar appear alongside him in the movie.

It's shockingly acted - let's face it, Richard Norton may be a good martial artist, but a great actor he is not. The plot was secondary to the fight scenes, as it really should be in a movie that's really just a vehicle for some spectacular action sequences.

Kathy Long redeems what would otherwise just be another film packed with guys beating the crap out of each other for 90 minutes.

The fight scene with Norton vs Sam Greco is worth a look, but this film will probably only appeal to die hard MA fans and even then, will really only appeal to Australians for novelty value.

Richard Norton is entertaining in anything, and in this he's funny as well. The scene where he bites a telephone in frustration (ad-libbed!) had my husband and me nearly rolling on the floor. Of course, it's a very serious movie, with some very tense and some tragic moments in addition to the many funny ones, but it has a happy ending.

'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.

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.