Martial Law

Director - Steve Cohen (Devil in the Flesh, Bar Hopping)

Starring - Chad McQueen (The Karate Kid, Firepower), Cynthia Rothrock (Rapid Fire, Jungle Heat), and David Carradine (Death Race 2000, Kung Fu)

Release Date - 1990

Genre - Action/Crime

Tagline - "Brothers... Cops.  One enforces the law, the other breaks it"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) 

Rating (out of 5):

     My favorite day is Vinegar Syndrome mail day.  From the time I get the shipping notification to the day it's delivered I find myself excited and anxious waiting on my box to arrive.  Even if I don't like the movies I still love adding new Vin Syn releases to my collection.  Their horror releases are what caught my eye but it's their non-genre releases that made me fall in love with them.  It's usually their sexploitation releases that catches my eye but in November it was their action films that really got me excited.  One release that stood out to me was their double feature of Martial Law and Martial Law II: Undercover which is part of their VSA line.  I had never seen these films before but Cynthia Rothrock caught my eye.  As soon as I finished Don't Panic I had to toss in the first Martial Law flick.

     The film follows martial arts expert Sean Thompson (McQueen) who is often put undercover to deescculate situations with his special talents.  When his brother is murdered by a crime boss he is once again sent undercover with another martial arts master to find the killer and bring them to justice.  

     I love a cheesy action flick with over the top characters and horribly choreographed fights.  I had never seen the two Martial Law films so I was excited to check those out.  The first film did not disappoint.  The characters were not likable, the fights were energetic, and the story was predictable but that's what makes direct to video action movies so much fun.  Just mindless violence.  The acting in this one is not the bad and cheesy acting I was expecting.  Don't get me wrong, it's not the best I've seen but the over the top and cheesy acting is not as prevalent in this one.  The cast actually delivers a few scenes of solid acting and the fight scenes are pretty fun.  With that being said, David Carradine really hams this one up.  Even his fight scenes are funny.  He puts so little effort into his fights.  Weird saying this but Carradine is the low point of the film.  The story for this one is one we've seen several times before even among the martial arts centered action films.  We follow someone, a cop in this film, who lost a family member to a crime boss and sets out to get revenge.  Nothing really ground breaking here.  We get lots of fighting, action, and even some sex.  Nothing we haven't seen before but it's still mindless fun.  Finally, the film has a few death scenes but nothing that would stand out to your normal horror fans.  The deaths fit the late 80s and early 90s action movie motife while paying in to the martial arts aspect.  Nothing that bloody or violent but still typical for the kind of film it is.  Overall, Martial Law is a fun one but don't expect to find your new favorite old action flick.  The acting is not that bad but the characters are unlikable while the story rehashes some of the cliches of the time mixed with martial arts.  It's fun but nothing you will want to revisit.  The release from Vin Syn looks absolutely brilliant and this release is a must have for collectors.  Check it out.