A Force of One (1979) American Cinema/Action RT: 91 minutes Rated PG (language, martial-arts violence, drugs) Director: Paul Aaron Screenplay: Pat E. Johnson and Ernest Tidyman Music: Dick Halligan Cinematography: Roger Shearman Release date: March 1980 (Philadelphia, PA) Cast: Chuck Norris, Jennifer O’Neill, Clu Gulager, Ron O’Neal, Bill Wallace, Eric Laneuville, James Whitmore Jr., Clint Ritchie, Pepe Serna, Ray Vitte, Taylor Lacher, Lisa James, Chu Chu Malave, Kevin Geer, Eugene Butler, James Hall, Aaron Norris, Guy Messenger, Charles Cyphers, G.W. Bailey. Box Office: $20.1M (US)
Rating: ***
The first action movie my father took me to see was A Force of One, a fairly routine cop movie about a group of narcotics detectives going after a drug ring. It was also my introduction to Chuck Norris, the martial artist who turned to acting at the prompting of friends Bruce Lee and Steve McQueen. He would go on to be one of the biggest action stars of the 80s with hits like Missing in Action, Code of Silence, Invasion USA and The Delta Force. He’s not a particularly good actor, but he’s a superb martial artist. Who needs to act when you have mad fighting skills?
Norris plays Matt Logan, a karate champion recruited by the Santa Monica PD after two of their own are killed investigating a drug ring that operates out of a sporting goods store. They’re beaten to death by a big unidentifiable person. Although he’s busy training for an upcoming championship match against rival fighter Sparks (Wallace aka “Superfoot”), Logan agrees to train the squad in karate so they can defend themselves against the unknown killer. Along the way, Matt falls for female cop Mandy Rust (O’Neill, Scanners). Meanwhile, drugs continue to circulate around town. It looks like a cop is involved in the drug ring. You’ll have no problem picking out which cop. Then something happens that makes it personal for Logan. He becomes a one-man force (hence the title) looking for revenge.
Okay, A Force of One is pretty standard in terms of its plot and characters, but it contains a goodly amount of great fight scenes. It also finds time to show the loving relationship between Logan and his adopted son Charlie (Laneuville, Love At First Bite), a teen who wants to follow in his footsteps as a professional karate fighter. It boasts a cool supporting cast that includes Clu Gulager (The Return of the Living Dead), Ron O’Neal (Super Fly) and Ray Vitte (Thank God It’s Friday). Veteran actor Gulager is a good sport accepting a role in a silly B-movie aimed at the Saturday night action crowd. It’s always great seeing O’Neal. Laneuville does good work as Charlie. O’Neill makes a decent female lead even if she isn’t entirely believable as a tough cop. BTW, look for G.W. Bailey (aka Captain Harris of the Police Academy movies) in a brief role as a desk clerk at a seedy hotel.
Directed by Paul Aaron (Deadly Force), A Force of One succeeds more than you’d expect. It runs smoothly throughout its 91-minute running time. It’s entertaining without being at all original. The plot has been used on countless cop shows on TV. There are times when A Force of One feels like the pilot episode for a new cop series. It’s definitely a product of its time with the fashions, attitudes and attempts at an anti-drug message. However, you don’t watch a movie like this for fine performances, brilliant writing or even originality. You watch it for the action. A Force of One has plenty of it. The fight choreography by Chuck and little brother Aaron is top drawer. This is good since there’s a fight approximately even ten minutes. The climactic one is especially thrilling.
I guess there isn’t much else to say about A Force of One. For what it is, it’s damn good. And what is it exactly? It’s the kind of B-movie that used to play regularly at neighborhood theaters. It was made at a time when PG wasn’t tantamount to a G and filmmakers could get away with showing strong martial arts violence and drugs in movies that carried the rating. It’s a kung fu cop flick starring an actual martial artist. It’s mostly enjoyable; enough that you won’t mind it’s essentially a collection of cop movie clichés. I certainly don’t.
