Night of the Warrior (1991) from Tuna

Night of the Warrior is a kickboxing film staring Lorenzo Lamas.

Now don't let that discourage you. Sure he fights, but he's also a Renaissance man, with a big heart, and a passion for street photography, especially of the homeless. He truly loves the common man. In fact, he eventually finds the love of his life (played by Lorenzo's real-life wife, Kathleen Kinmont) working as a humble waitress in a greasy spoon.

The dramatic conflict in the movie results from the fact that Lamas borrowed money from Anthony Geary to purchase a nightclub for himself and his mother. He had agreed to pay back his debt in no-rules fighting competitions, and won his final fight to own the bar free and clear - theoretically. But Geary was not finished with him. Geary was approached by a rich Korean with a lucrative offer for more fights, so he will do anything in his power to get Lamas to fight again.

This film is so bad that IMDb's weak 3.3 score might even be a little high. It's one of those simplistic black-and white films where the bad guys are ridiculously bad, our hero is completely virtuous, and there must be a last fight followed by a final showdown between good and evil. Guess which one wins. As the kids say, "It's got nothin'." An actioner should have much more action, and a sexy grade-B love story should have much more nudity. The transfer is unremarkable; the music is bad; the plot is sappy; and the fight choreography is uninspired. Worst of all, Night of the Warrior takes itself seriously, so it's just no fun.
 

DVD INFO

  • no widescreen
  • no features

NUDITY REPORT

Kathleen Kinmont shows one breast while on her back in a dark sex scene.

The Critics Vote ...

  • No major reviews online

 

The People Vote ...

Miscellaneous

 
The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics, or a C- from our system. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or a D on our scale. (Possibly even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

Our own guideline:

  • A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre.
  • B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. In order to rate at least a B-, a film should be both a critical and commercial success. Exceptions: (1) We will occasionally rate a film B- with good popular acceptance and bad reviews, if we believe the critics have severely underrated a film. (2) We may also assign a B- or better to a well-reviewed film which did not do well at the box office if we feel that the fault lay in the marketing of the film, and that the film might have been a hit if people had known about it. (Like, for example, The Waterdance.)
  • C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by people who enjoy this kind of movie. If this is your kind of movie, a C+ and an A are indistinguishable to you.
  • C means it is competent, but uninspired genre fare. People who like this kind of movie will think it satisfactory. Others probably will not.
  • C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie, but genre addicts find it watchable. Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film, but films with this rating should be approached with caution by mainstream audiences, who may find them incompetent or repulsive or both. If this is NOT your kind of movie, a C- and an E are indistinguishable to you.
  • D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-. Films rated below C- generally have both bad reviews and poor popular acceptance.
  • E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre.
  • F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

 

Based on this description, this film is a D - at maximum.

Return to the Movie House home page