That I paid the paltry sum of one dollar for the video should be taken into account in regard to the following review. Raw Target (how's that for a title, sounds like a horror film) is a case of a film being better than it deserves to be. It's well written and entertaining and thats all one can ask for in a low budget action film. What is surprising is that the leads are not only good martial artists but competent actors. There is also some nice humor that runs throughout, mostly intentional which is always good. At one point the hero is mugged in an alley and multiple muggers (who are well organized for such a low level crime) start dropping from what appears to be the sky (actually the rooftops). The lead Dale "Apollo" Cook has a nice relaxed manner and is likable. The fight scenes are well done, nothing exceptional though there are moments, and its nice that the quick cut editing now favored in film is absent here though some of the scenes are shrouded in darkness which happens a lot in VHS. Recommended.
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Johnny Rider (Cook) is a kickboxer who accidentally kills his opponent during one of his matches. His brother Gabe was working with DEA agent Susan Wells (Charters) to take down the evil, sadistic, drug-dealing Rod Sparks (Hill). Unfortunately, Sparks found out Gabe was undercover and killed him. Now Johnny wants revenge, so he follows in his brother's footsteps and works with Susan to infiltrate the Sparks gang. Meanwhile, Johnny and Susan develop a romantic relationship, and the main cop working the case, Bill Williams (Hall) complicates matters because he's involved as well. Can Johnny use his kickboxing skills to get some closure regarding his brother? It's a good thing kickboxers and cops have brothers, or most low-budget action movies would not get made. Luckily, Johnny Rider does, so he comes into town to get justice. It seems the filmmakers at least tried to make Dale "Apollo" Cook likable this time around. For Rider, shirtlessness is a way of life, and he always seems to run into trouble and having to kickbox his way out of it.
Because the film is under-lit and most scenes are extremely dark - this is probably the darkest film we've seen, darker than American Dragons (1998), Raw Target seems to have pioneered a new genre: Darkfighting. This variant of punchfighting happens when few, if any, lights are on. Perhaps this was a conscious choice by director Tim Spring, thinking that an audience would be hard-pressed to tell if punches and kicks are connecting if you just can't see anything. But the problem is, well...you just can't see anything! Luckily you can see Nick Hill's wardrobe in the film. Rod Sparks is one snappy dresser. Hill is better acting-wise in Death Match, 1994 (and Fists of Iron, 1995 for that matter), but his martial arts looks good. He tries to play an over-the-top crazy villain, but it doesn't really come off, he seems more suited to playing the "nice guy". But though Raw Target falls prey to such common problems for movies of this type such as some horrendous acting and some really terrible editing, once again these things don't matter. I would assume most people that rented this from their local video store back in the day weren't concerned with the copious padding of the running time and serious pacing issues. What fans want to see is Cook beat people up, and that definitely happens. Watch out for Nick Nicholson in a small role as well.
After all the mindless fighting that has gone on, during the final confrontation, the same guitar riff plays over and over again in the background. Could they only afford one riff? But the movie redeems itself from that with a freeze-frame ending and an amazingly groan-inducing, dated final line. And the title song by Gracy Carlson is perfect for the movie, falling perfectly in with other songs such as "No Exit" (from Fatal Combat, 1997) and "White Fury" (from the AIP film of the same name).
Released on Vidmark on VHS in the U.S., as was most of Cook's material, you could certainly do worse than Raw Target. -
DrScore13 February 2007I think this was shot in the Phillipines, and that some of the cast and crew were drugged out ex- pats who had worked on Apocalypse Now and never made it home. Many of the same also show up in American Kickboxer 2, including the producer, the star, and one of the editors. But whatever they were on, it somehow works. This film has weird, sometimes funny dialogue, and the action sequences are violent and effective. Everything gels, though it's often teetering on the edge of bad. There's even a fight that crashes through a movie set. It's wild.
Dale "Apollo" Cook is the star. He's sort of forgotten in kick boxing movie lore, hidden in the shadows of even Cynthia Rothrock, but he's not bad at all. His character really does seem like a Yank stuck in some horrible, mosquito infested no-man's land who has to fight his way out. That was probably his experience working on the film, too. I'm not recommending this for just anyone. I think you need to watch it late at night, while in the middle of some crazy binge, and you're experiencing intense clarity about life, and you just can't be bothered by any phony baloney pretentious BS. -
bruceleefann8828 July 2004This action martial arts flick stars Kickboxing Champion Dale " The Appolo" Cook in one of his last movies, not as good as " Fist of Steel" which was by far his best. That movie also had the American debut of Cynthia Kahn, which helped matters a lot. Not to many of Cook's movies have gotten any recognition, probably due to flooding of these kinds of productions are the time he was involved. The fights in this one are pretty good, I like the Nick Hall stuff although I always confuse him with Chris Cassamasa, who is another good martial artist who played Scorpion in "Mortal KOmbat". Bad filming and sound don't help matters either. Rent it and check your brain at the door of the video store and just enjoy the action.