March 07, 2002
Kill and Kill Again
There's this terrible action movie I really like, called Kill and Kill Again. I haven't seen it for years, but I'll try to describe it. Recaps are better wen they're wildly inaccurate, right?
The main character is named Steve Chase, and he's allegedly a Karate Master. You can tell because in the very first scene, he receives a big gold trophy for being such a great Karate Master. He also gets set upon by ninjas very early on so we can be impressed with his fighting skills, and with how willing he is to protect the random pretty girl next to him.
It turns out that the girl's name is "Kandy Kane" (really!) and her father, a famous scientist, has been kidnapped by the evil Marduk, who's creating a race of karate-fighting robots or something. Somewhere. Anyway, Kandy convinces Steve to get her father, but he has to go recruit some old buddies to join him. It's kind of like a Baron Munchausen story, where Munchausen has to go find his old retainers, like the World's Strongest Man, and the Man With Extraordinary Hearing, before he can go on his adventure.
Kill and Kill Again is actually a sequel to Kill or be Killed, which I think I saw once. The wacky sidekicks aren't even in it, so I don't know why Steve feels the need to go get his marginally useful backup warriors.
The first one Steve needs to talk to is The Fly, who has great mystical control over his feet. I know, it doesn't sound like much, right? The first time we see him, it's a close-up on his bare feet gliding across a wooden floor. The impression we get is that The Fly can just stand still but move around through controlling the teeny muscles on the soles of his feet. Steve chases The Fly to a roof, but The Fly declines to help with his problem. He declines in fancy pseudo-mystical talk, and then walks away down the side of the building or something.
The second helper is Gorilla, who's just a big strong guy. He's in a junkyard, playing tug-of-war and holding off six or seven other guys. Steve grabs the rope, waves the six or seven guys off, and pulls so hard that Gorilla goes headlong into the mud. Naturally (because the Big Strong Guy is always pretty good-natured) Gorilla finds this terrifically amusing and goes off with Steve. I forget why Steve wanted Gorilla along, because we've just learned that Steve is apparently the stronger of the two. Maybe he just wanted to bring a big mud-covered guy.
Third is Gypsy Billy. I can't remember a single thing about him.
Fourth comes Hotdog, possibly the most useless member of an elite fighting force ever. When we meet him, he's got five or six guys in a darkened warehouse. Each of the guys gives Hotdog some money, and Hotdog takes a loaded pistol, cocks it, and throws it randomly. It fires, and nobody get hit. Then the people throw in extra money, and we repeat. Somebody gets hit, and he's out. Apparently, it's a really complicated game of chicken-slash-Russian-roulette. When Steve comes to talk to Hotdog, Hotdog steps out of the warehouse and the game continues. After a few lines of dialogue, a bullet shears off the top of Hotdog's beer bottle, and he yells "Hey! You're supposed to kill each other, not me!" Hotdog will be spending the whole movie wearing a T-shirt (that says "HOTDOG" in crude iron-on letters) pulled tight over his beer gut. His gimmick is that he's got a bag of alleged tricks and he says "Hotdog" a lot.
So Steve and his buddies (minus The Fly) set out, and are soon attacked by Marduk's ninjas. Out of nowhere, and for no apparent reason, The Fly shows up. The old gang is together again! And Kandy's with them, and I can't remember why!
They now spend a big section of the movie getting set upon by ninjas. At one point, they're saved by Hotdog's bag of tricks, which happens to have a bunch of caltrops in it. At another point, The Fly looks into the sky, where ninjas are parachuting down at them. Yes! Parachuting ninjas! This movie has it all! Anyway, The Fly could just point in the air and say "Look! Ninjas with parachutes!" but instead says "The birds are beautiful . . . but deadly." I think. He might actually say "Question. Why do birds have machine guns?" It's been awhile since I've seen the movie, but he definitely says something pretty goofy like that.
There's a scene where Steve (Steve Chase, the star of the movie. He's played by James Ryan, who went on to be "Mexican Police Chief" in From Dusk Till Dawn 2. The guy who played Gorilla was the President in The Gods Must Be Crazy, though, so that's kind of neat) is teaching Kandy some karate. He tells her that the most important rule is "no wasted motion". He's very clear on that. No Wasted Motion. And then ninjas attack, and he immediately demonstrates what he means by using backflips to go everywhere. When he kills a ninja and then has to go ten feet, he uses like four backflips to go there. No wasted motion, my eye.
So anyway, the crew finally gets to Marduk's island, where there are thousands of students training. They achieved this effect by bringing a camera to a dojo and changing the angle a lot. The same students are seen earlier when Steve's chasing after The Fly, but they've changed their outfits a little. Marduk's holding Kandy's father hostage until he makes a poison to put in the world's water supply, or something like that. Incidentally, Marduk appears to have been played by one of the people who played Little Ricky on I Love Lucy. He's older in this movie, though.
I pretty much forget what happens on the island. I think there might be a karate tournament, unless I'm thinking of Enter the Dragon. I mean, not that there's any danger of confusing the two movies, but I'm honestly not sure if Kill and Kill Again stole that plot element. They might have.
At the films dramatic climax, Marduk, Kandy, and the kidnapped doctor are in the laboratory at the top of the tower, while Steve climbs up the outside. Marduk shoots a gun at Kandy, and we go to slow motion. It's such slow motion that in intercut shots, Steve's able to climb at least twenty feet, get in the window, grab some metal object and jump past the bullet (in slow motion) to stop it. Did that make sense? You've got a bullet moving along toward Kandy, and it's deflected by a metal ashtray (or something) that's in the hand of Steve, who's leaping in the way. Right.
And then Steve pummels Marduk, who dies somehow that's not Steve's fault. The movie ends somehow.
James Ryan, who played Steve Chase, is claimed by IMDB to be a Professor of Playwriting at the Actors Studio School of Drama at the New School University. If that's true, I bet he's really embarassed about this 21-year-old movie. He also seems to have written and directed a movie starring McManus from "Oz". I find that weird.
Someone at IMDB made a mistake and got the James Ryan from Kill and Kill Again mixed up with another James Ryan. Strange I know, but I saw a link on IMDB and it was an interview with the other James Ryan, not the star of the film. James also appeared as the bad guy in The Redemption: Kickboxer 5 and takes on Mark Dacascos.
Posted by: Albert at July 9, 2003 12:19 PMHi,
I've just finished filming a commercial with James and Tai Krige (Director of photography?) in South Africa. That's how I heard about Kill and Kill again.
They're both absolutely amazing guys - really modest and genuine.
Any idea where I can get a copy from?
Regards,
Dominic
Yeah I actually own Kill and Kill again on DVD and I'm man enough to admit it. Actually Marduk dies when a helicopter blows up. The ridiculous scene at the end is when Marduk's main goon shoots at Dr. Kane. That's when Steve comes in and saves the day (but does that really matter). If any of you guys feel like blowing $10, it's on amazon.com EEEYAH!
Hotdog,
Vito
The entry you really want to see is April 29, 2002, when I'd found the movie and recapped it. With screencaps!
Posted by: Monty at August 1, 2003 02:24 PMJust a few corrections on the review as I am watching the film now and feel the need to say something.
The movie is cheesy as cheese gets, but after repeated viewing, there are some qualities in the acting that make it memorable and worth having to share with buddies of family. The DVD starts with no title screen automatically so you get right into the movie. Seems that Sun City hotels are hosting a ceremony for the highest decorated martial artist in recent memory-cut to A young, dangerous looking black maned warrior in a tuxedo. “KeeeeeYahhhh!!” I think that’s one of the most memorable things about this movie when Steve Chase does a Karate yell. the guy does it with the authority of someone who invented the Karate yell.
You’ll find most reviews about this movie have a yell or two in them. Apparently, protecting a girl who had come to hire him to rescue her chemist father from the clutches of the evil Marduke, who had kidnapped him to derive fuel from potatoes AND develop the side affect of a mind control drug that enables whomever administers it to bend people to his will. (Quote), Steve Chase demolishes the opposition and the soiree itself before accepting his trophy . The girl, backed by a conglomerate, informs Steve that her father is being held in a mountain village, that is under the mind control of the drug Marduke is having her father develop. Steve announces that he needs the help of 4 more warriors before he can embark and tells the girl that she cannot accompany them. The fun from the movie comes from the fact that, while some of the fighters are goofy (Gorilla) unlikely to be chosen in a fight (Hot Dog), and some, downright bad actors (everybody else)
Its not taking itself too seriously while all the while having very good Martial arts scenes. Fighters strike quickly and move with a certain fluid motion that makes some of them cool to watch for enthusiasts. The first recruit is Gorilla, played by the likeable Ken Gampu. Big and hulking he flashes an easy smile and is great comic relief when the movie slows down. The next is Gypsy Billy, a 6 foot 5 brawler, who’s very good at controlled martial arts. Hes attacked in a trailer park and quickly dispatches a larger force of men, all of this with Steve Chase sitting in a chair watching. “Thanks for the help“. Steve gets up from the chair and after several beats that make you think he’s gonna say something else, replies.”Did you really WANT help?”
“Nope” The next guy was aptly described by Montykins :Fourth comes Hotdog, possibly the most useless member of an elite fighting force ever. When we meet him, he's got five or six guys in a darkened warehouse. Each of the guys gives Hotdog some money, and Hotdog takes a loaded pistol, cocks it, and throws it randomly. It fires, and nobody gets hit. Then the people throw in extra money, and we repeat. Somebody gets hit, and he's out. Apparently, it's a really complicated game of chicken-slash-Russian-roulette. When Steve comes to talk to Hotdog, Hotdog steps out of the warehouse and the game continues. After a few lines of dialogue, a bullet shears off the top (Bottom) of Hotdog's beer bottle, and he yells "Hey! (Im sittin this one out) You're (only allowed to shoot each other)!" Hotdog will be spending the whole movie wearing a T-shirt (that says "HOTDOG" in crude iron-on letters) pulled tight over his beer gut. His gimmick is that he's got a bag of alleged tricks (Which he never uses) and he says "Hotdog" a lot. (usually after taking someone ELSES’ cigar, dipping it beer, taking a drag, then giving it back to the (stunned, no doubt) owner. Then there’s The Fly. The first time we see The Fly, it's a close-up on his bare feet gliding across a wooden floor. The impression we get is that The Fly can just stand still but move around through controlling the teeny muscles on the soles of his feet. Steve chases The Fly to a roof, but The Fly declines to help with his problem. Eventually he signs on and the guy can be quite an ally to have. I mean these guys are all silly, including Steve Chase, who seems to be 5’3” and a swaggering smooth talker (in between “KEEYAHHHS!!“), and The Fly, who constantly talks in riddles like some Hindu guy, “Question, Why does soft lady travel with warriors?” (When the girl tags along on the mission) “Question, why are eagles wearing umbrellas?” (he looked up and saw parachuting attackers) kind of silly. I love the way these guys handle themselves though. they take on scores of combatants without working up a sweat and it looks like they really can do karate. Except for comic relief Hot Dog, who punches guys American style. One enjoyable scene (of many, really) involved them on their way to the village when Steve is attacked by a Marduke spy posing as a traveler. The guy is soon flanked by two more of his buddies, at which point the shot is of the heroes emerging out of their truck, at least 5 strong, they join Steve and square off against the 4 attackers, outnumbering them. Gorilla says, with that great African accent; “piece of cake” Then of course 20 more guys come from behind rocks and things and its on. The music is very good, sets the mood.
This is obviously a rip off of Enter The Dragon, Karate warriors in a field training, a meglomaniacle ruler of men that is cruel and deadly, even the obligatory scene where the men are briefed in a room using a slide projector. The difference is, Bruce Lee was electrifying, and this particular bad guy Marduke, seems to have his beard glued on minutes before filming each scene!
Marduke does have his own comic foil in Minerva, a right hand villainess that likes to wind up Marduke by calling him “Honeykins”, and “SweetyPuss” in front of the henchmen. This bothers Marduke in a funny way. He and Minerva make a good team. The movie changes speed somewhat when our heroes infiltrate the village under Marduke control. The village is run like a concentration camp/army base where citizens under control are used for workforces, and chastised often. (In Mardukes own droll voice over the loudspeaker when Chase’s party arrives;. “Production has fallen off of late so I have no choice but to increase the amount of work hours, and decrease recreational time. This is not a punishment, but rather, a remedial measure. That is all” Pricless At some point they are discovered by lets call him #1 thug. Who smells a rat and gets them to the control medical center. They had beat this guy up a few minutes before which gives life to the line from Steve Chase; “We must be losing our touch, usually when we hit somebody, they STAY hit.“ Good one. They are slated to fight in the arena against Marduks best tournement fighters. Gee wonder where they got THAT idea? At the films dramatic climax, #1 thug , The girl, and the kidnapped doctor are in the laboratory at the top of the tower, while Steve climbs up the outside. The thug shoots a gun at the girl, and we go to slow motion. It's such slow motion that in intercut shots, Steve's able to climb at least twenty feet, get in the window, grab some metal object and jump past the bullet (in slow motion) to stop it. All the while yelling, you guessed it, KEEEYAHHHHH!. Right.
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