Fireback (1983)

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Being slightly drunk and a bit bored, I popped down Video City and purchased 'Fireback' in a moment of weakness. The box promised, a big weapon, a Rambo type mission, and displayed the tag line, 'They thought he was dead, They thought they were safe, They were wrong, DEAD wrong!'. so I parted with my £1.99 and shuffled home to check it out!Boy was I in for a shock! Everything about this film was BAD! I'm telling you, the script was obviously written by a retarded 5 year old. Name's such as 'Panther', 'Cat Burglar', 'Digger' and 'The man with the golden hand' add to the juvenile feel, and the plot is all over the place. The dubbing is atrocious, and the budget is non existent! The Vietnam stuff was over in 3 minutes and I never saw the big gun after that! The rest of the movie is supposed to be set in the USA, even though you can hear monkeys, parrots and other jungle noises in the background!It turns out that this film was directed by Teddy Page and released by Silver Star productions, both based in the Philippines. Teddy is an old hand at this type of no-budget action adventure, known as Filipino Z-Movies. He tends to use the same American ex-pats in all his films (Richard Harrison, Ann Milhench, Mike Monty, Jim Gaines and Bruce Baron), and fills in the blanks with Filipino extras (AKA Cannon fodder). His movies are infamous for ripping off successful Hollywood action films on a shoestring budget.The prologue introduces our hero, Jack Kaplan (Harrison), who is demonstrating the new 'One-Man Army Gun (codename Omega) to U.S.(?) troops at a jungle camp in Vietnam. The gun itself is what I was waiting to see in action!..I was on the edge of my seat as Kaplan demonstrated (to a rather bored audience of Asian looking U.S. grunts!) the gun features, Multi calibre, built-in radio, infra-red telescopic sites, grenade launcher, mini missile, rapid-fire, surface-to-air, blah blah!... you get the picture! Seconds later the camp is attacked by the Vietcong and Kaplan is taken prisoner (this is the last time the gun is featured!).After the titles roll, we get a schmaltzy poolside introduction to the film's chief bad guy, Duffy Collins, and his attempt to woo (and do!) Kaplan's wife, Diane (Ann Milhench). "I brought her flowers, but she wasn't interested" It's all heartfelt stuff, I mean her husband has been in Vietnam for years, and Duffy is sincere in his desire to make Diane happy, so what's the beef?? Anyhow he gets nowhere, so he kidnaps her when he can no longer contain his lust. Does he force her to do rumpy pumpy? ..Nope!... He just keeps her prisoner in his luxury villa until she is ready to drop her knickers!Back in Vietnam, a rescue team have been sent to snatch back Kaplan, and they have got to be the worst trained Navy Seals ever, they sneak towards the enemy camp shouting the plan to each other. But still somehow succeed in surprising the entire army, killing everyone, plus retrieving Kaplan.Back in the States (?), After a pointless and dreadfully acted hospital scene, the doctor agrees to release Kaplan, our hero makes his way home, only to discover Diane is not there! Without checking to see if she has gone shopping, he goes to the nearest bar and tells the first person he see's "I'm looking for my wife, Diane!". This amazingly produces results, when a police informer called Digger, puts Kaplan on the right trail (for a few dollar's of course!). His first call is at 'The man with the golden hand's' place (yep, he has a golden hand!). After a quick punch-up Kaplan gets TMWTGH to spill out the name, "Eve"! Jack goes to the sleazy club, where Eve works as a stripper, and visits her dressing room after the show. He immediately drills her for information, trying to throttle her in the process! She feeds him some data and he leaves. Eve gets on the phone to Duffy, who is startled that Jack is alive, and sends his top hit men to kill him before he can rescue Diane!Jack (dressed more like Dirk Bogarde from Death in Venice, than a man on a dangerous rescue mission) plays cat and mouse for the next 15 minutes, accidentally or deliberately killing any mug sent to stop him! One guy he has just bumped off, is belatedly ordered to "TALK", while a would-be assassin with a sharp walking stick comes off worse when Jack strangles him with the weapon.Meanwhile Digger is killed by the MWTGH, who thrusts his lethal hand into the unfortunate informer! This death gets the police involved, and police chief (Mike Monty) tells his boss "Digger helped me to put a lot of criminal's behind bars"! So now the cops go looking for Kaplan (because they think he will lead them to the real killer!)Jack see's his face plastered across the newspapers and tries to hide, but Eve picks him up and takes him round her place, She patches up the wound he received from walking stick man, and after unsuccessfully trying to seduce him, Kaplan again demands information about Diane. He has walked into a trap! TMWTGH is in the house and in the ensuing fight Eve is accidentally killed by the assassin!TMWTGH, Panther and Cat Burglar are all eventually destroyed by Jack, but Diane is also killed while attempting to escape from Duffy's place! The police launch a ridiculous manhunt to stop Kaplan ("He's escaped into the jungle"!), and after killing his pursuers in a First Blood rip off, dresses as a Ninja and kills Duffy in slow motion with a Samurai sword! The epilogue states 'Jack Kaplan was sent to prison and died of a heart attack'!

Jack Kaplan (Harrison) was a weapons specialist in Vietnam who invented the most awesome gun ever - a gigantic combination grenade launcher/bazooka/missile launcher that's loaded with other surprises and goodies. One day he's showing off his prize possession, and the next he is imprisoned in a P.O.W. camp. When he is released, he finds his beloved wife Diane (Milhench) has been kidnapped. For the remainder of the film's running time, Jack runs around from place to place beating people up, and avoiding grievous bodily harm by many baddies, while trying to find the whereabouts of his wife. Additionally, the police are after him, and Jack must avoid them as well. The Police Chief (Monty) - (that's his credited name in the film) is spearheading that operation. Will Jack find his wife, and while being shot at every day, will he...FIRE BACK? A Teddy Page movie shot in the Philippines, starring Richard Harrison and Mike Monty...if you rent or buy FIREBACK, you know what you're in for: exploding huts and guard towers, oceans of mindless shooting, hilariously hilarious dubbing, and a ton of absurdity. This time around, the exploding hut scenario is married to a revenge plot, so that was a cool twist. Ann Milhench, who plays Jack's wife, was in the horrendous Sloane, as well as Nine Deaths of the Ninja (1985). Who knew? As far as Jack's super-gun, displayed prominently on the box art, it's like one of those toys you might have had as a kid - that combination of guns that they would never make today. But at least it's actually in the movie, however brief. Also as part of Jack's revenge, he makes a souped-up car version of his old weapon (if that makes any sense). And watch out for the bad guy with the golden claw, as well as Harrison dressing up as a ninja for no explainable reason. I guess he can't get enough of doing that. But the relative immaturity of Fireback is one of its more endearing qualities.The many flashbacks and the "lost love" scenario, among other off-kilter elements, give Fireback a somewhat Italian feel, although no Italians were involved. The score is so booming and loud, it gets grating at times, and the dubbing, while entertaining in its own right, contains those voices you've heard many times before. Also, after the climax, there is a very stupid and unnecessary on-screen addendum telling us what happened to Jack Kaplan. Why they thought to add this, no one can say. Although Jack's post-Fireback adventures are still a mystery to us all, so it didn't even really help.If you can't get enough Philippino insanity, Fireback will fit the bill.For more action insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Fireback reigns supreme among the delirious no-budget trash cranked out by the Filipino Silver Star Film Company and is arguably the greatest moment in the "career" of company poster boy Teddy Page. There is nothing in this film that could have possibly been made any worse. From the atrocious dubbing, completely nonsensical plot, music that could normally only be heard inside the head of a paranoid schizophrenic...to the catatonic "acting", Fireback has it all and more. Richard Harrison walks through the film looking bored and disgusted and is supported by the usual Silver Star All Stars cast, such as the ever-present Mike Monty, James Gaines and Ronnie Patterson. Bruce Baron is on hand as the main baddie...the worst was still to come for him in the shape of the Godfrey Ho Ninja films.Browsing the IMDb, you'll come across the term "worst film EVER!!!!" used to describe basically anything from Fried Green Tomatoes to Clockwork Orange. This film is one of the very few genuinely deserving of such honor. Avoid at all costs or do anything you can to find a copy.

Pure cheese in a big chunky video box. MacGyver meets Rambo, badly dubbed and shot on a video camera. The dialogue is awful, the effects are rubbish, the camera work is brutal and the music makes you feel slightly ill. The storyline seems to be written by a couple of 10 year olds with a thirst for cheap dynamite and camouflage. I love it, and I actually have it on video. Possibly the funniest film I have ever seen, just because it takes itself so seriously. It's actually impossible to know where exactly the film is set. We know its not Vietnam, we think it's America, but it looks like Ecuador. And just wait until you see the US Presidents office. The words "Garden Shed" spring immediately to mind. Spark one up and watch it. You'll never laugh so hard..