"Fist of Judo?" Former "Flash Gordon", Sam J. Jones, mixed-up mobster mayhem, and menacing, muscular "maidens" in the tepid tale of a vengeful vixen vying to vindicate her framed father. Radical anti-male feminists will revel in the scene wherein a beautiful bodybuilder babe beats up, bashes, and breaks the neck of a bawdy bad guy brazenly expecting amorous affection! Blend of Black Belt blandness and predictable police pap needs to pound its fist and demand more depth!
10 Reviews
Fun fight flick
Leofwine_draca24 June 2022
BALLISTIC is a typical B-movie action flick of the mid 1990s starring Marjean Holden as a tough cop on the trail of a drug kingpin played by ol' FLASH GORDON himself, Sam Jones. It starts out as a routine cop investigation movie before seguing into a fight flick halfway through. The cast is pretty decent here, with old-timers Richard Roundtree and Charles Napier popping up, and both a young Michael Jai White and Cory Everson (from DOUBLE IMPACT) impress in the fighting stakes. The action's fun at least and you could do worse.
Ballistic is definitely entertaining and watchable.
tarbosh220002 May 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Jesse Gavin (Holden) is a tough female cop who is highly effective and dedicated. She works for an elite squad known as UCT to take down all the slime on the seamy side of Hollywood. As if this wasn't enough, she has to deal with sexism on the force, not the least of which comes from associate Woo (Lew) and his buddies. Her Captain, Underwood (Napier) is sympathetic, especially because her father, Harold (Roundtree) was framed and put in prison for twenty years. It seems the source of most of her - as well as the city's - misery comes from one man, the arrogant, smarmy jerkface known as Nick Braden (Jones). Braden is a "businessman" who has his fingers in every illegal activity you can name. He even sends out his girlfriend, Claudia (Everson) to enforce for him (keep in mind she's more muscular than most men). Not only that, he stages illegal Punchfighting matches for the amusement of him and his buddies, using Quint (White) as one of his preferred fighters. When Jesse is blamed for some of Braden's bad deeds, she teams up with the people she trusts most to bring him down. Will she succeed? Ballistic is classic 90's video-store action through and through. It has a solid B-movie cast of familiar names, and even tries to put a "sexy" spin on things that would make it right at home on the Cinemax of the day. It has all the action and clichés ("It's an election year!", etc.) we know and love. Sure, it has some awkward dialogue and a few awkwardly-staged fight scenes, but so what? That's to be expected and we're not interested in perfection. Plus it was director Bass' first feature film.
James Lew gave a lot to the action movie of the 90's, and here he is again, this time sporting an impressive ponytail. Richard Roundtree is in prison again, just like in Bloodfist 3 (1992). His role as Jesse's father is one of the better ones in the movie. Charles Napier does a quasi-sit-down role as the Captain. Sam Jones puts in his second-most evil performance (next to In Gold We Trust, 1991 how could he ever top that?). Robert Miano is in pretty much everything and here he appears in a small role as one of Braden's buddies. Cory Everson almost steals the movie as Claudia, putting in a muscular and well-defined performance (yuk yuk). As for the star of the show, Marjean Holden, she could have been the Pam Grier of the 90's. Or the action movie Halle Berry. She carries the movie well and makes a good hero. It was great seeing her go rogue, and she should have done more work like this. But the real star of the show is the green, angry-looking punching bag with its arms out ready to attack you. "Punchy", as he is no doubt nicknamed, deserved a bigger and better career.
It was nice to see some surprise Punchfighting, we weren't expecting that. Braden is so evil, he doesn't even invite a "select clientele" to view the fighting, it's just himself and a few of his friends. Also he has a license plate that says "BRADEN". In case there was any doubt, that's how you KNOW he's evil. It was nice to see Michael Jai White in an early role. Sure, he couldn't hope to save Universal Soldier: The Return (1999), but here you can truly see his fighting prowess. In an interesting coincidence, both Holden and Napier starred together in the Punchfighting episode of the TV show Renegade. As for the gunplay, the sounds used and the muzzle flashes are pretty weak and laughable. It looks like toy cap guns. But again, it's more about the spirit than the technical issues.
As for the tape itself, it was released by Imperial Entertainment. We're taking an educated guess that it was a fairly limited release, because this tape is rare and not often seen in video stores. The tape we were able to view wasn't of the best quality, and maybe that's why. Perhaps Imperial got gun-shy and tamped down the number of copies they released to stores.
Thankfully, it's all done with a sense of humor, which makes Ballistic definitely entertaining and watchable.
For more action insanity, please visit: www.comeuppancereviews.com
James Lew gave a lot to the action movie of the 90's, and here he is again, this time sporting an impressive ponytail. Richard Roundtree is in prison again, just like in Bloodfist 3 (1992). His role as Jesse's father is one of the better ones in the movie. Charles Napier does a quasi-sit-down role as the Captain. Sam Jones puts in his second-most evil performance (next to In Gold We Trust, 1991 how could he ever top that?). Robert Miano is in pretty much everything and here he appears in a small role as one of Braden's buddies. Cory Everson almost steals the movie as Claudia, putting in a muscular and well-defined performance (yuk yuk). As for the star of the show, Marjean Holden, she could have been the Pam Grier of the 90's. Or the action movie Halle Berry. She carries the movie well and makes a good hero. It was great seeing her go rogue, and she should have done more work like this. But the real star of the show is the green, angry-looking punching bag with its arms out ready to attack you. "Punchy", as he is no doubt nicknamed, deserved a bigger and better career.
It was nice to see some surprise Punchfighting, we weren't expecting that. Braden is so evil, he doesn't even invite a "select clientele" to view the fighting, it's just himself and a few of his friends. Also he has a license plate that says "BRADEN". In case there was any doubt, that's how you KNOW he's evil. It was nice to see Michael Jai White in an early role. Sure, he couldn't hope to save Universal Soldier: The Return (1999), but here you can truly see his fighting prowess. In an interesting coincidence, both Holden and Napier starred together in the Punchfighting episode of the TV show Renegade. As for the gunplay, the sounds used and the muzzle flashes are pretty weak and laughable. It looks like toy cap guns. But again, it's more about the spirit than the technical issues.
As for the tape itself, it was released by Imperial Entertainment. We're taking an educated guess that it was a fairly limited release, because this tape is rare and not often seen in video stores. The tape we were able to view wasn't of the best quality, and maybe that's why. Perhaps Imperial got gun-shy and tamped down the number of copies they released to stores.
Thankfully, it's all done with a sense of humor, which makes Ballistic definitely entertaining and watchable.
For more action insanity, please visit: www.comeuppancereviews.com
Terrific Movie (not sarcasm)
Poita19 January 2005
This is a really great action film. Being in Australia, the movie down here was called "Fist of Justice", not Ballastic. It really did have some great action scenes, when the girls face off against each other in a death match, and the drop-dead gorgeous Marjean Holden wins, and when Sam the Fighting Man defeats the other guy in the test, and I think the Gun-Fight between Marjean's on-screen father and the Asian guy was also good. I can say that I recommend this movie to anyone, a typical ending, good prevails over evil, but the action is what scores this movie points. There are some adult scenes in this movie, that is all OK, some other great movies have had such scenes, such as Basic Instinct... the big bonus this movie contained was that it was a female/male action movie, not just based on single sex-based action movie, like Charlie's Angels (Ladies) or Die Hard (Males) - this movie is more broken down and a little like street fighter in the gender base. I give it 7/10
Slimline Marjean delivers the goods
heedarmy13 July 2001
Quite a decent low-budget action movie which focuses on female characters for a charge. Anybody with preconceived notions about "The Weaker Sex" may have to change their tune after watching statuesque cop Marjean Holden duking it out with ruthless muscle lady Cory Everson in a standout fight sequence that took all day to film.
And by the way SC50, I met Marjean in 1999 and, as well as being funny and charming, she was definitely NOT chunky!
And by the way SC50, I met Marjean in 1999 and, as well as being funny and charming, she was definitely NOT chunky!
"Touch that gun, I'll shove it up your (butt) and pull the trigger!"
The_Phantom_Projectionist1 March 2018
BALLISTIC is unfortunate in that the parts making it a good film aren't necessarily the ones that B-movie action fans typically find appealing. The amount of time it spends on its characters will make adrenaline junkies itch for action, and when those awaited fight scenes don't blow 'em away, it's easy to be disappointed. Nevertheless, the picture's got charm beyond its means, and its obscurity makes it a rare find for an appreciative fan like me. Despite its price tag, I'm sorry I waited so long to get my hands on it.
The story: When a straight-shooting police officer (Marjean Holden) is falsely implicated in a murder, she battles time to prove a conspiracy between the department and a sleazy arms dealer (Sam Jones).
What's simultaneously infuriating and refreshing about the film is that, even though this is Marjean Holden's sole leading credit, she doesn't hog the spotlight. It's clearly her vehicle, but the amount of prominence given to costars Joel Beeson and Richard Roundtree is surprising. While it's easy to write this off as Holden being unable to carry a vehicle by herself, the story highlights the interrelationships between characters and makes what would otherwise be a bunch of stock figures seem interesting and easy to invest in. This isn't a masterpiece of drama, but if more B-movie action yarns spent this much time making you care about the people in it, the genre might have a better reputation. Also, it's one of the few films of this sort wherein Richard Roundtree actually earns his highly-placed credit, and for that it deserves praise.
There's a good amount of action here, mainly in the way of fistfights, but the quality is inconsistent. Holden is a better onscreen fighter than, say, Mimi Lesseos but she doesn't approach Cynthia Rothrock's standard. The late Joel Beeson has at least as many fights as her and is a respectable kickboxer, though nothing out of the ordinary. The brawls range from basic karate-style encounters to pro wrestling-inspired bouts and even the odd weapons-themed showdown. Holden's final opponent is bodybuilder Corinna Everson, and while their match is interesting, it's not the showstopper you're hoping for. Supplying some much-needed pizzazz is Michael Jai White in a rare indie role wherein he actually fights. White has a few matches and his acrobatic moves vastly outclass those of anyone around him, to the point that you wish he'd get an opponent who can keep up with his skill.
Production values are above average for this kind of picture, comparable to a really good PM flick. Its rolling pace and engaging tone make it a good starting point for newcomers to low budget action flicks. Again, viewers who are all about the action might not go for this, but at this point it's their loss. Among the hills of schlock and mountains of trash this genre has accumulated, this one's a diamond.
The story: When a straight-shooting police officer (Marjean Holden) is falsely implicated in a murder, she battles time to prove a conspiracy between the department and a sleazy arms dealer (Sam Jones).
What's simultaneously infuriating and refreshing about the film is that, even though this is Marjean Holden's sole leading credit, she doesn't hog the spotlight. It's clearly her vehicle, but the amount of prominence given to costars Joel Beeson and Richard Roundtree is surprising. While it's easy to write this off as Holden being unable to carry a vehicle by herself, the story highlights the interrelationships between characters and makes what would otherwise be a bunch of stock figures seem interesting and easy to invest in. This isn't a masterpiece of drama, but if more B-movie action yarns spent this much time making you care about the people in it, the genre might have a better reputation. Also, it's one of the few films of this sort wherein Richard Roundtree actually earns his highly-placed credit, and for that it deserves praise.
There's a good amount of action here, mainly in the way of fistfights, but the quality is inconsistent. Holden is a better onscreen fighter than, say, Mimi Lesseos but she doesn't approach Cynthia Rothrock's standard. The late Joel Beeson has at least as many fights as her and is a respectable kickboxer, though nothing out of the ordinary. The brawls range from basic karate-style encounters to pro wrestling-inspired bouts and even the odd weapons-themed showdown. Holden's final opponent is bodybuilder Corinna Everson, and while their match is interesting, it's not the showstopper you're hoping for. Supplying some much-needed pizzazz is Michael Jai White in a rare indie role wherein he actually fights. White has a few matches and his acrobatic moves vastly outclass those of anyone around him, to the point that you wish he'd get an opponent who can keep up with his skill.
Production values are above average for this kind of picture, comparable to a really good PM flick. Its rolling pace and engaging tone make it a good starting point for newcomers to low budget action flicks. Again, viewers who are all about the action might not go for this, but at this point it's their loss. Among the hills of schlock and mountains of trash this genre has accumulated, this one's a diamond.
One great performance!
Lorifan4 January 2004
This would be an instantly forgettable action film, were it not for a sexy standout performance by Everson. Her vicious villain steals the show every time she is on screen, right up to her brutal fight to the death with the films heroine.
Watch it for the wonderful Cory Everson, skip the rest!
Watch it for the wonderful Cory Everson, skip the rest!
Been on my Watch List a while
Killa4217 July 2022
This movie has been on my list a long time because it has a few scenes where women fight and beat up men. I finally saw it and the movie's not so bad at all. Marjean Holden plays a detective whose dad, played by Shaft (Richard Roundtree), and while she tries to figure out how to get her dad out of jail, a philanthropist and all around bad guy, Nick, is paying off cops and doing evil stuff like drug deals and underground fights. Marjean and the guy who plays her boyfriend team up to take down Nick and the crooked cops The fighters in this movie actually know what they're doing. Michael Jai White, Corinna Everson, and others are martial artists as are the other characters. This is available on Youtube if you search the name and year.
Yawn
sc5018 December 1999
Apart from Richard Roundtree playing around, Marjean is all that recommends this waste of film. Marjean is a taller, slimmer, less chunky Marjean than we saw in the '99 Nikita episode. There are a couple scenes where we see her sprint like the track star she was...great form! She's pretty quick and snappy with the martial arts moves, but not enough to stay in the business as an action actress
Go Ballistic
stiers-818583 November 2023
This is a typical 90s movie!
The low budget is obvious.
The main characters in this are female! A cop who is trying to free her father,whilst be set up by crooked cops... The most interesting part of this movie is when Marjean,is undercover as a prostitute to lure drug dealers. She gets to do a deal,and has it wired,but the bust goes wrong,and the dealer makes a run for it! This is when we see 6ft Marjean chase him and end up in a dead end alleyway! He knows he's collared, so decides to resist. That's a big mistake as Marjean in a mini skirt a low top,and knee high boots,dishes out a beating to him,rather easily. And to compound the emasculation she restrains him with his tie.... It's a decent female lead watch... I'll give it 8/10.
The low budget is obvious.
The main characters in this are female! A cop who is trying to free her father,whilst be set up by crooked cops... The most interesting part of this movie is when Marjean,is undercover as a prostitute to lure drug dealers. She gets to do a deal,and has it wired,but the bust goes wrong,and the dealer makes a run for it! This is when we see 6ft Marjean chase him and end up in a dead end alleyway! He knows he's collared, so decides to resist. That's a big mistake as Marjean in a mini skirt a low top,and knee high boots,dishes out a beating to him,rather easily. And to compound the emasculation she restrains him with his tie.... It's a decent female lead watch... I'll give it 8/10.
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