Avenging Force (1986) Cannon/Action RT: 103 minutes Rated R (language, strong violence, racism, some sexual content) Director: Sam Firstenberg Screenplay: James Booth Music: George S. Clinton Cinematography: Gideon Porath Release date: September 12, 1986 (US) Cast: Michael Dudikoff, Steve James, James Booth, Bill Wallace, John P. Ryan, Karl Johnson, Marc Alaimo, Allison Gereighty, Loren Farmer, Richard Boyle, Sylvia Joseph, Robert Taylor, Bruce Johnson, Robert Cronin, John Wilmot, James Borders, Nelson Camp. Box Office: $4.7M (US)
Rating: ***
If the name of the hero Matt Hunter in Avenging Force sounds familiar, it’s because Chuck Norris played a hero of the same name in Invasion USA the year before. Directed by Sam Firstenberg (American Ninja), Avenging Force was originally intended as a sequel to the Norris actioner, but the martial artist wasn’t interested in reprising the role. It was rewritten for American Ninja star Michael Dudikoff and the rest is Cannon history.
Former Secret Service agent Hunter, now a rancher taking care of his little sister Sarah (Gereighty) after their parents died, finds himself up against a right-wing extremist group called The Pentangle after they try to kill his best friend, Senatorial candidate Larry Richards (American Ninja co-star James), at a Mardi Gras parade. They miss Larry, but succeed in killing one of his young sons. Hunter manages to take down four of the five killers.
He goes to his former boss Admiral Brown (Booth, Pray for Death) for help identifying members of the Pentangle. The group consists of powerful men who hold unpopular far-right views about politics and foreigners in the US. They don’t want a black man in the Senate. The head is Professor Glastenbury (Ryan, Death Wish 4), an admirer of Hitler with a knack for making like-minded others buy his rhetoric. He’s one of the five points of the symbolic pentangle, the others being Wade Delaney (Wallace, The Delta Force), Jeb Wallace (Johnson, White Ghost) and Charlie Lavall (Alaimo, Tango & Cash). The fifth point is unknown, but it’s probably somebody with inside knowledge. Brown asks Hunter to rejoin the Service, but he declines. He has to think about what’s left of his family. It all culminates in a Most Dangerous Game scenario with the bad guys hunting Hunter in the Louisiana Bayou.
Typical of action movies, the two heroes easily defeat the men Glastenbury sends to kill them. In the 80s, Dudikoff and James were a formidable action duo. They were great together in the first two American Ninja movies. I wish they worked together more before James passed away in ’93. Dudikoff isn’t much of an actor, but he has awesome martial arts skills so he gets a pass. James, the better actor of the two, is always a joy to watch. He never takes himself too seriously. He even goofed on his own image in the blaxploitation spoof I’m Gonna Git You Sucka. Ryan, a master overactor, continues the trend as the main villain. His performance borders on comical. I’m not sure if I buy the final fight between him and Dudikoff given their 20-year age difference, but this kind of thing happens a lot in Cannon movies. Look at any of their Charles Bronson movies. He’s no spring chicken yet has no problem mowing down scores of street thugs and drug dealers in the Death Wish flicks.
As an action movie, Avenging Force is solid. It has a few well-orchestrated action scenes. My favorite is Dudikoff and James taking on about a dozen armed men at a construction site. The climactic sequence in the bayou is also cool. None of it is believable for a second but that’s thing about movies. You just have to accept that the heroes are basically indestructible. The fifth point of the Pentangle is never that big a mystery; it’s pretty easy to pick this person out actually. Ah, so what? Firstenberg keeps things moving at a fast pace. It’s packed with action, violence and some not very convincing drama. Most importantly, it’s exciting and fun. I’d even say that Avenging Force is one of Cannon’s best. It represents 80s B-movie filmmaking at its best. I know I’m not the only one who misses old school action flicks like this.
