As the 1990s progresses, Chuck Norris found himself falling out of favour with cinema audiences – so he transferred his hard-man antics to the small screen, where he struck gold with his successful series, WALKER, Texas RANGER. At the same time he continued to appear in a series of television movies, including this one, which re-teams him with television director Michael Preece for a story of revenge, the plot of which appears to have come straight out of the 1970s.
First, the bad news for Norris fans: he's not the main star here! Instead, that honour goes to the fresh-faced Eddie Cibrian, playing a guy who witnesses the murder of his entire family (shades of LEON here) and, fifteen years later, decides to get revenge. He does so by infiltrating the mob and getting close to the guys responsible, before revealing his true identity, at which point all hell predictably breaks loose. So, there's nothing new here for action lovers. The film is marred by Preece's sappy, cheesy direction and the inclusion of a preposterous sub-plot which sees Cibrian possessing psychic abilities, able to predict when disaster is about to occur.
Saying that, for a TV movie, this is pretty impressive. It's got a ton of action to recommend it, some comedy – it works on occasion, like the two dumb gangsters, other times it doesn't – and quite a lot of drama. It's all very cheesy but hey, this is the US TV style. The acting is adequate – Cibrian's hero is a likable enough chap, the bad guys are suitably bad and Chuck Norris is as fun on screen as ever – but really, this is all about the action. And it isn't bad at all. The highlight is the huge shoot-out at the climax of the movie, which incorporates the cheesy kick-through-the-windscreen stunt that Norris pulled off in GOOD GUYS WEAR BLACK – except this time, a stuntman stands in for our hero. Still, it's good stuff, and Norris is still on top form in the various training sequences we see him take part in (and you've gotta love the photo they use from DELTA FORCE II). It's just a shame he wasn't the main actor. LOGAN'S WAR is no classic and it's quickly forgettable viewing. But it's kind of fun, and I have to say I enjoyed it.
First, the bad news for Norris fans: he's not the main star here! Instead, that honour goes to the fresh-faced Eddie Cibrian, playing a guy who witnesses the murder of his entire family (shades of LEON here) and, fifteen years later, decides to get revenge. He does so by infiltrating the mob and getting close to the guys responsible, before revealing his true identity, at which point all hell predictably breaks loose. So, there's nothing new here for action lovers. The film is marred by Preece's sappy, cheesy direction and the inclusion of a preposterous sub-plot which sees Cibrian possessing psychic abilities, able to predict when disaster is about to occur.
Saying that, for a TV movie, this is pretty impressive. It's got a ton of action to recommend it, some comedy – it works on occasion, like the two dumb gangsters, other times it doesn't – and quite a lot of drama. It's all very cheesy but hey, this is the US TV style. The acting is adequate – Cibrian's hero is a likable enough chap, the bad guys are suitably bad and Chuck Norris is as fun on screen as ever – but really, this is all about the action. And it isn't bad at all. The highlight is the huge shoot-out at the climax of the movie, which incorporates the cheesy kick-through-the-windscreen stunt that Norris pulled off in GOOD GUYS WEAR BLACK – except this time, a stuntman stands in for our hero. Still, it's good stuff, and Norris is still on top form in the various training sequences we see him take part in (and you've gotta love the photo they use from DELTA FORCE II). It's just a shame he wasn't the main actor. LOGAN'S WAR is no classic and it's quickly forgettable viewing. But it's kind of fun, and I have to say I enjoyed it.