Day of the Panther (1988)

the audience applauded

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Absolutely Fantastic

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Jason Blade (Stazak), William Anderson (Stanton) and his daughter Linda (Megier) are members of a secret warrior clan known as Panthers. Anderson is a member of the Hong Kong Special Branch of Australian law enforcement. While in HK, he, his daughter, and his protégé Blade found the time to go through the rigorous martial arts training of the secretive Panther clan. Back in Perth, Western Australia, it seems there is a new bad guy causing all sorts of trouble - the dastardly Damien Zukor (Carman). He's into racketeering, drugs and any number of nefarious activities, and the ultra-wealthy Zukor has cops and politicians in his back pocket, allowing him to continuously expand his criminal empire, with the help of an army of rubber pig-masked goons brandishing machetes. But he didn't count on one thing: JASON BLADE. After the murder of Linda by the super-evil number two man to Zukor, Baxter (Richards), Blade decides to go undercover as a thug and infiltrate Zukor's organization from the inside. Gaining access to Zukor's world proves complicated, especially when a team of law enforcement officials that disapprove of his rogue ways is constantly tailing him, and he manages a romantic relationship with Anderson's niece Gemma (Jefferson). Will Jason Blade be the new action hero of the 80's? Fan-favorite director, Brian Trenchard-Smith here delivers the fun and the silly martial arts/stunt filled goods. Edward John Stazak sadly falls into the camp with Jay Roberts, Jr. and Matt Hannon and never made any other movies (unless you count the made-at-the-same-time sequel, Fists Of Blood (1988). Obviously the filmmakers hope you like the name "Jason Blade" because you hear it many, many times throughout the course of the film. Sinister, Peter Cushing-like bad guy Zukor even gets off a witty, perhaps unintentional one-liner when, impressed with Blade's intelligence (?), he tells him, "You're sharp, Blade".Blade is a stylish man of the 80's, but in the slick department, it's hard to beat Baxter, a man who looks like a cross between David Hasselhoff and Ricky Gervais dipped in a rich, thick coating of eighties. And let's not forget that this movie came out around the time of the then-current exercise/aerobics boom. There are plenty of scenes in Blade's gym, including a show-stopping moment involving Gemma. Let's just say that woman was born to dance.80's fashions aside, what's also good about movies of this time were that you could actually see all the stunts and all the martial arts moves. It might not be the best kung-fu movie ever committed to celluloid but at least there's no CGI garbage or annoying, eye-irritating "quick cuts". Actual effort was put forth to make it all come together and the result is quite entertaining.Naturally, there's an extended, knock-down drag-out fight at the end between Blade and Baxter. Baxter's main strength as a fighter seems to be his ability to withstand seemingly-endless kicks and punches to the face (although what you see here pales in comparison to what he endures in the follow-up). Harking back to the good old days of cinema good and evil, Blade wears white pants and Baxter black as they gleefully punch away the running time.Featuring the memorable song "Take me Back" by Colin Setches, and released on Celebrity Video in the U.S. (as was its sequel), dare you enter the glorious world of Jason Blade? For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Very bland Australian action flick that really goes nowhere fast as Edward John Stazak's lifeless performance as high-kicking Jason Blade leaves little to distinguish it from other 80's kung-fu flicks. When Blade's partner is chased by thugs in goofy masks and eventually killed by a crimelord's second-hand man, Baxter, he flies back to Australia to seek revenge. Blade, his blonde female partner and her father were all trained Shaolin Monk style by the Panther sect of the Chinese Triad. Funny, I thought the Triads were bad guys too. Anyway Blade teams up with his departed partner's dad and his spandex wearing niece Gemma to take down Perth's underworld boss Damien Zukor whose biggest crime is his atrocious wardrobe. Two idiot detectives tail Blade and act as comic relief assuming you think stupid comments and terrible policework is amusing. Eventually Blade gains the trust of Zukor and goes undercover as one of his enforcers. From there it follows the same connect-the-dots formula that makes this a real snoozefest. There's little doubt that Mr. Stazak is a very capable martial artist which is clear during one of his many spins kicks however I'm not a twelve year old so it gets old real quick. The real mystery is the fact that this was immediately followed by the sequel "Strike of the Panther". Who exactly was demanding this? Another problem I had was the lack of boomerangs, marsupials, mates, or any other Australian stereotypes that we Yanks like so much. This panther doesn't pounce. It sleepwalks instead.

Comedy GOLD. I don't want to give any false notions by assigning a higher rating because this movie is truly bad. But it's bad in a good way! A few Dare-You-Not-To-Laugh moments: 1) When the guy in the pig mask shows up. 2) When the female lead does her little dance in front our hero while he works out. 3) The fight in the parking garage where the hero takes out a whole group of guys with what looks like a plastic broom handle.Rest assured there are plenty more moments of unintentional hilarity, but these you must discover for yourself. The only thing more hilarious is the fact that there is apparently a sequel. I'll have to track that one down. Bad movie fans rejoice!

I picked up this movie on DVD as it was 99p in 99p stores in Norwich. I watched it with my brother and it truly is crap. The acting is bad by everyone. The lead is played by an "actor" who looks like Stephen Hendry. (He's a Snooker World Champion for all the Americans). Any film that is cheap and Australian is bad. The woman looks like some cheap hooker they picked up off the street and the bad guy is definitely a pimp! I loved those men in masks! Damn I would not be scared if they were after me! Seriously though they do belong in a circus. The martial arts are OKish but you know "Jason Blade" (sorry that name makes me laugh) is going to win the fights. I keep this movie as it is a reminder that TV can be bad... sometimes. Watch this movie just to laugh. The clichéd baddies and the poorly delivered lines cheer me up every time I'm down. Bad.