homecoming8 Woow, the early 90's.. Martial arts action films were more popular than ever and cinema and especially video was dominated by real macho action stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Dolph Lundgren, Brandon Lee, Jeff Wincott, Lorenzo Lamas and Jeff Speakman. It was a great era and after the successful "Stone Cold" former NFL star Brian Bosworth starred in another excellent action film "One Tough Bastard" (aka One Man's Justice). With good fight scenes, an interesting story and well played characters we have a better than usual action film. Bosworth certainly has charisma like Van Damme and shows he really can act. A movie is as good as his villain and here we have MC Hammer (!!) AND Bruce Payne. Payne will always be known as the criminal mind Charles Rane in Wesley Snipes' "Passenger 57" but as Agent Karl Savak this is Payne at his best: Over the top arrogant and very entertaining to watch. Also look out for Robert La Sardo, at that time he played in similar films like "Hard To Kill, "Out For Justice" and "Last Man Standing" More recently, he made the horror film "Parlor". Too bad Bosworth only starred in 2 good films. "Black Out" was flawed and "Virus" and "Back In Business" were awful. But that's not his fault: after 1996 the martial arts era dried up. Van Damme and Seagal were forever doomed to star in cheaper home video releases and we never again saw classics like "Hard Target", "Under Siege", "TimeCop" or "Marked for Death". It even took 12 years before another "Die Hard" film saw the light of day.. Ooh, I really miss the good old days..

Scarecrow-88 Abysmal action garbage stars The Bos (Brian Bosworth) as a military sergeant who nearly dies from serious gunshot wounds in an attempt to protect his family from a drug-dealing scumbag named Marcus (Jeff Kober, as detestable as they come; this guy can play these cretins in his sleep). Marcus is associated with a drug kingpin (MC Hammer!!!) and gunrunning cop (Bruce Payne, in long hair with a nose ring, smirking his way through the movie as he kills one criminal lowlife after another; amazingly, it is hard to really cheer against the guy because those he constantly obliterates are worse than he is!). Bos wants to find Marcus and get revenge for the murder of his wife and little girl, but he also winds up having to rescue a young black kid (DeJuan Guy) from the midst of all the drug-dealing and gun-distribution that exists on the streets of sunny palm tree LA. There is just a plethora of loathsome human trash in this film, with Payne, as psychopathic as he is, almost a hero at times. It isn't like those he and his "cops" (using that loosely; he is part of the FBI, although his activities and behavior you'd think would be suspicious to the government he serves) destroy are innocent, upstanding citizens…if anything they are worse than Payne and his guys! There is even one scene where Payne keeps his men from killing Bos, questioning their scruples! Payne casts off this arrogance and his cold-blooded dispatching of victims just for the hell of it, seemingly for kicks, does set him up as a maniac destined to be knocked off his perch. Bos, bless his heart, gives it all he has to earn our sympathy, but he's not exactly cast for his thespian emoting. He tries, that I'll give to him. He's ultimately a softie who only fights when he must, even pulling away from killing Kober (and if anybody deserved to die a slow, painful death it is this guy!) when DeJuan is nearby…the whole "practice what you preach" as Bos had talked with the kid about his disapproval of hunting down and killing a street punk who killed a school chum. Willing to shock, there's even a scene where Payne threatens to drown DeJuan if he doesn't lead him to the man responsible for taking his guns! There's one scene Payne sets a gunrunner on fire using gasoline from a pump without giving it a second thought, and he purposely sells guns with blanks to Hammer's men who invade a cop baseball game believing they are responsible for the murder of the kingpin's accountant brother! The trick Bos goes to in order to break free from two agents associated with Payne using the ole "I need to pee" excuse (he was to be set up and tried for gun selling) agrees with the implausible plot shenanigans of this really dumb movie. Payne and Kober posit warts and all, let-it-all-hang-out performances, adhering to the requirements of providing the film with the vilest, most conscience-less villains so worthy of execution. Could be fun to non-discriminating action fans who embrace the unsavory elements of despicable people committing egregious acts to profit themselves no matter who gets hurt. Bos' fight choreography is shot carefully, allowing him to look like a million bucks. Payne is having a hell of a lot of fun, but Kober is equally repellent. The street locations are appropriate backdrops for the characters highlighted. DeJuan's little tough guy routine is laughable…but the plight of a kid influenced by his surroundings is real life. This film is just an over the top Z-movie action flick which takes that plight and exploits it for dramatic purposes that will make you cringe due to the poor performances of those attempting to convince us as unsettling depictions of LA gang life.

kapelusznik18 ***SPOILERS*** The usual 1990's action revenge flick made a bit more interesting with Brian "Boz" Bonsworth staring in it as tough but sensitive in that he feels that killing is bad, but someone's got to do it, US Army drill Sergent and martial arts expert John North. A dude that you don't mess around with; especially with those close to him in that's what a group of in house terrorist arms dealers do and end up paying for it big time.Lead by the guy with a ring in his nose dirty Federal Agent Karl Savak played by Bruce Payne who looks more like the famous, with his Samson or lion like mane, Fabio then a movie bad guy who are out to get the latest US military weaponry and sell it to this highest bidder regardless to who he's selling them to. Lead by one of Savak's goons the scuzzy looking Marcus, Jeff Kober, that while robbing a US Army supply truck killed North's wife and kidnapped his 6 year old daughter who later died from her wounds. North himself was badly wounded trying to negotiate their release soon, after two months recovers from his wounds, which to him were nothing but a few bee stings, and is out for revenge. Even though he's really against violence in this case he makes an exception and by the time the movie is over North ends up wiping out both Savak's as well as his rival Dexter Kane's, M.C Hammer, drug and weapon trafficking rings.***SPOILERS*** despite trying to show some sensitivity in his role as tough Sgt. North The "Boz" only excels in the action scenes that he's in which make the film worth watching in the first place. The "Boz" or Sgt. North is also given a young street-wise sidekick 12 year old Mikey Adams, DeJuan Guy,who he tries to straighten out in keeping him from becoming a future gang banger. But his actions, that are anything but peaceful, doesn't help any is showing Mikey how to change his mind. It's in his final slug fest with Savak that North/The Boz pulls his punches in not trying to do him in just for the sake of Mikey-whom Savak is holding hostage- and almost gets killed by doing it. But Savak saves the day for North in his eagerness to finish him off, by pushing him off a 20 story building, and ends up doing himself in instead.

whpratt1 The film started out with a boot camp situation with a drill instructor breaking in his new company of Army enlistments. All of a sudden there is a horror show going on in a local convenient store, where things start being turned into Swiss Cheese and lots of tomato juice. The Army instructor is Brian Bosworth,(John North),"Mach 2",'01,who winds up in a hospital for a few weeks and when he gets outside the door, all hell breaks loose. In this picture there is a very young boy who deals with drugs and is very street smart, which in today's society is being used all the time. These kids are under age and cannot be given hard sentences, so they do the dirty work of the Older Boys. Bruce Payne,(Karl Savak),"Hellborn",'03 gives an outstanding performance as an FBI agent who seems to like evil more than good. This is an entertaining film, but there is nothing you will remember about this film after an hour goes bye~! This film was called two names: "One Man's Justice" and "One Tough Bastard", whatever you prefer