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  • Warning: Spoilers
    MIDNIGHT WARRIOR is one of many cheap and gritty thrillers that PM Entertainment were putting out in the late 1980s before they moved into bigger-budgeted action flicks in the 1990s. This one feels like an '80s version of NIGHTCRAWLER and involves a TV cameraman who ends up reporting extreme news for his ratings-hungry network boss.

    Along the way he uncovers a conspiracy of sorts and is thrown into the thick of danger. Like many PM films, this one is almost exclusively shot at night in various dark and dingy locations. The set-pieces include a suicidal woman threatening to jump off a roof and someone trapped in a burning car. The cast is as undistinguished as the direction, and despite the interesting premise, this film fails to ignite.
  • Nick Branca (Kevin Bernhardt) is an alleged "ambulance chaser," constantly getting his rear end caught in one urban crossfire after another. As the heat intensifies and the situations become more explosive, Nick ironically now finds himself a part of the action within...

    By saving a woman's life from a burning car, Nick has proven himself an inspiration for his peers and others alike as to show true heroes go an extra mile just to serve the community... However, once Branca has been declared a media hero... Nick finds a lot more excitement than what he is use to handling... He has been given a realization only too well that his boss, "Buddy" (Bernie Angel) plans to sell him out...

    Nick is always at the wrong place...at the right time... Now, his involvement with an unscrupulous, greedy boss has placed both him and his girlfriend's life in danger... Nick Branca has drawn himself into this dilemma...and only he can pull himself out of the war zone...

    Midnight Warrior was a shockingly inept drama with a boring execution that fails to breathe life into a promising premise. Excellent cinematography capturing the glitter, glamour...and decadence of the streets of Los Angeles does little to redeem what is essentially a flagrant and mean spirited story. The film itself, inserts too much effort into attempting to be a "gritty thriller" just for the full blown reason of being "dramatic," but this blatantly distracts the film's course and purpose.

    Midnight Warrior, perhaps when it was written down as a script, had plenty of subtle intentions. The motion picture wanted to satirize on the media, portraying it as a cold hearted institution that cares only about two values: Money and ratings. The media is seen in this film as a corporation which doesn't care about the triumphant spirit of human life and courage; rather the media is only willing to capture the "best" stories which will attract higher ratings. As for the main character, Nick Branca, he learned only too well that his life was endangered numerous times by dire encounters...

    Midnight Warrior does receive acknowledgements for being an admiring tale of a power driven media hungry for a grandiloquent image. Having that been said, Midnight Warrior is most unfortunately, a poorly constructed film. Slow paced with little action, and full of plot holes everywhere which are never resolved by the end, Midnight Warrior does not succeed in fulfilling its potential. A few explosions are thrown in for good measure. Midnight Warrior had a great idea in its hands, but the overall resultant is a disorganized, unkempt hodgepodge. It's pure low budget silliness with an invalid script, plain and simple. Luckily, Joseph Merhi later improved as a director and subsequently, the PM Entertainment Group films have progressed slightly...

    RATING: NO STARS out of ****.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Nick Branca (Bernhardt) is a freelance TV news cameraman who cruises the streets of L.A. at night looking for news events to sell to the networks. Along with his buddy/co-worker/old salt Sam (Brinton), the two, well...nightcrawl as they search for - and flirt with - disaster. However, Nick is going through some changes. He's putting aside his womanizing ways and ventures to settle down with "neighborhood girl" Angelina Mantucci (Melgar). He also saves someone from a burning car and becomes the hottest news of the day himself.

    While Nick wants to downplay the event, unscrupulous and downright evil news producer (aren't they all?) Buddy Arnstein (Angel) wants to exploit the event for, you guessed it, higher ratings. All of this comes to a head in a shocking act of violence that only Nick Branca has the guts to report on...permanently. Or something like that. Will we all discover the true meaning of fake news? Or will Branca be the ultimate MIDNIGHT WARRIOR? (And what about Sam?)

    As we're always saying, the low-budget independent productions are always ahead of the curve. Because they can't hide behind bloated budgets and superhero franchises, they actually have to have ideas. These filmmakers are forced to react quickly to the events of the day, as well as think ahead to the events of tomorrow. Case in point, one Midnight Warrior. It predates not just the above-referenced Nightcrawler (2014), but also another video store classic with a similar theme, the much sillier Parole Violators (1994).





    Director Merhi and the whole PM crew apply their signature style to this tale of romance, violence, and media jackals. It's essentially a drama, but because it's PM there's bound to be a blow-up or two. There's even a "love theme from Midnight Warrior" on the soundtrack. At least that's what we called it. The main title theme song by Jastereo Coviare and Azelie Corliss is incredibly catchy, and is used well on the soundtrack. You'll be at work or somewhere else and just randomly start singing "war-ey-or!" because it's still stuck in your head. Sade should have covered the song.

    Other highlights include shady backroom deals, a scene outside a video store called Video Force (presumably they had a big action section), and Kevin Bernhardt's hair. We last checked in on Bernhardt with Kick or Die (1987), which was quite a while ago. He makes a decent 80's coolguy. He's not to be confused with Daniel Bernhardt, however. PM-only actor Bernie Angel wonderfully chews the scenery as the heartless (and ironically-named) Buddy, while Brinton as Sam almost steals the show.



    In the end, Midnight Warrior is a decent example of what PM does, and is a good exemplar of how the low-budget independents can be quite ahead of their time. While it leans more on drama and isn't really a slam-bang action movie, Midnight Warrior - despite some minor pitfalls - is worth checking out.
  • My review was written in April 1989 after watching the movie on Raedon video cassette.

    "Midnight Warrior" is a low-budget made-for-video feature that captures an authentic film noir mood in approximating the B pictures of yore.

    TV star Kevin Bernhardt portrays a principled tv news cameraman in L. A. who resists the blandishments of his boss Bernie Angel, who is more interested in a fast buck than integrity. Pic documents in episodic form a series of assignments leading to the hero becoming cynical and replacing Angel as the exploiter.

    Modestly lensed, pic is buoyed by a persuasive Bernhardt performance and capable supporting cast. Topic of tv news as exploitation remains a timely one and is treated convincingly here.