Firewalker (1986)

Touches You

best movie i've ever seen.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

FIREWALKER is a disappointingly pedestrian action-adventure made in the Indiana Jones mould by Cannon. Like other Indiana Jones copies of the mid 1980s including KING SOLOMON'S MINES and ROMANCING THE STONE, I found it a cheesy disappointment, content to emulate rather than doing anything new or fresh. Chuck Norris and Louis Gossett Jr. play a couple of adventurers who come into possession of a treasure map and head south of the border in order to make themselves rich. Unfortunately they find their way hampered by the antics of a larger-than-life bad guy (Predator's Sonny Landham) as well as various low rent thugs who line up to get kicked in the face by Norris. Melody Anderson, of FLASH GORDON fame, is the token female role. This film boasts some fun fight scenes involving Norris's character but bad acting (also from Norris) and generally cheesy join-the-dots style scripting. Despite being a huge fan of the 1980s, I couldn't really get into it.

Anyone familiar with Romancing the Stone and King Solomon's Mines will feel right at home seeing Chuck Norris in this lightweight adventure. He cracks jokes, laughs, and romances a pretty blonde while being Lou Gossett's best buddy. It's as fun and innocent as action films get. J. Lee Thompson (who did a bunch of films with Charles Bronson like Death Wish 4 and St. Ives) directed this. John Rhys-Davies (from Raiders of the Lost Ark) shows up in a cameo. Gary Chang did the electronic score.These soldiers of misfortune are drawn into a quest for Aztec treasure by Melody Anderson, as a beautiful legal secretary with psychic powers. Pursued by Indians of all sorts, guerrillas of all sorts and just one alligator, the trio seeks gems in the jungles of Central America. Hijinks ensue. High kicks accrue.Norris is still fast on his feet, stomping a Cantina full of Banditos into bean dip. The fight scenes are fine, but only emphasize the plodding pace and the moldy plot.But for Firewalker, he went more for the comedic action-adventure style and I think he succeeded in doing that very well. Because that's the way it should be enjoyed, as the Sunday-Matinée, popcorn-munching, mini-roller-coaster-ride that it is! There are still some slivers of nostalgic fun to be had here, so if you must delve into the past, why not. Don't take it too seriously and you'll do just fine!

Max Donigan (Chuck) and Leo Porter (Gossett) are two adventurers/world travelers/fortune seekers who haven't been having much luck in the treasure hunting business of late. When Patricia Goodwin (Anderson) approaches them and invites them to find the ancient gold of the Mayans (or maybe Aztecs...or perhaps American Indians...we're not really sure), Max and Leo agree, and off the three of them go into deserts, jungles, caves and other exotic locations, and encountering plenty of perils and pitfalls along the way. Will they get the gold...or will constantly-oiled-up baddie Tall Eagle (Sampson) prevent them from achieving their goal? Firewalker is an old-fashioned, Saturday afternoon-style adventure film, not strictly an action movie. It's a PG-rated tale, and Cannon probably figured they should break into a younger demographic. This way they could create new Chuck fans at a younger age. Like a drug dealer hooking them in while they're young. Chuck certainly took the opportunity and ran with it, showing off his goofier side. He's a little less wooden here than he is elsewhere, as he chomps a cigar and generally has plenty of good-natured one-liners at the ready. His interplay with buddy Louis Gossett Jr. is a highlight of the movie, as they work well together, and Gossett's charisma helps paper over some of Chuck's deficiencies in that department. They're backed up by some solid supporting players such as Ian Abercrombie of Mr. Pitt fame from Seinfeld, the always-great Sonny Landham, and John Rhys-Davies, who puts in a robust performance as a small-time dictator whose accent changes from Spanish to British to Southern throughout his appearance here. Additionally, fan-favorite Branscombe Richmond did stuntwork on the film and has a very brief cameo as well. And, they spell his name wrong in the credits.As Leo and Max (aren't they The Producers? Maybe Firewalker could become a hit Broadway musical) get into and out of their many scrapes, there's a lot of tongue-in-cheek comedy, silly fight scenes, and supposed Indian mysticism. The enjoyable music by Gary Chang certainly helps this along. Many people have pointed out the similarities between this and the Indiana Jones movies, but another influence seems to be the big, sprawling work of Sergio Leone. But like Gold Raiders (1983) just making the movie lengthy doesn't mean you're automatically in Leone territory. Leone can justify longer films. Chuck Norris cannot. It's not fair, but it's an ironclad rule of filmmaking.And while the movie is fairly fun and upbeat, it's just too long and poorly paced. J. Lee Thompson is an old-school director whose career goes back to the 1950's. We think that accounts for that. He's known in action circles for his work with Charles Bronson, and he does have a grasp for classic Hollywood-style derring-do. On another behind-the-camera note, Aaron Norris was stunt coordinator here, and one of the stuntmen under his charge was Dean Ferrandini, who would later direct him in the unfortunate Overkill (1996).Released on the great Media label on VHS in the U.S., Firewalker is harmless, reasonably entertaining, if bloated, and ideal for younger people who display an interest in action.

In the '80s Golan Globus made many action oriented movies that were entertaining and easy to enjoy. This one is another one of their movies that features Chuck Norris.These guys sure had the formula down. They were the Asylum of those days, borrowing ideas from other A list movies and making a spoof. The quality of this one is one of the best out of all the movies they've made. There's plot, there's story, and there're the actors.If not high on seriousness, the movie is high on entertainment value. World really looked different in the '80s. Things were much more light hearted. I'm not sure if the world we live in today is better than it was back then.Nice effort on the part of the producers, and the actors did just fine. One of the better Chuck Norris film from the '80s.