minnix

Well Bronson does it again. The headlining star and only speaks 10 words but gets away with it cus badasses don't have to talk and they can do whatever they want. But it works obviously if you take a look at his filmography. Here Charlie is a mysterious mountain man who runs afoul of the local dunce trappers and in turn is pursued by the law, even though the law is acting out of a responsibility to keep others from being killed by Bronson. Lee Marvin carries this though and his chemistry with Carl Weathers is great. The newbie young mounty is not that good but doesn't really change the dynamic of the story as he's there mainly for comedic relief. The ending was not that satisfying to me but it's a Golden Harvest flick made for American audiences so the action is the selling point here, not the plot, and I'd say it delivers on that aspect.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. I would tentatively put it in the "made for SyFy" category but it has much more heart and acting ability than your typical Asylum production. There's quite a bit of humor here as well. The lizard creatures are a lot of fun and the gore is surprisingly decent. Also I'm a sucker for horror films based in the snowy hinterlands of the great white north.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2 out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This isn't what I expected when I read the VHS box art. It says 1996 but it's actually an Italian 1967 James Bond ripoff. Lots of goofy gadgets and technology that I dig, hot women and a cool evil society poised for world domination. Sean Connery's little brother Neil plays the reluctant surgeon turned spy here and just to capitalize on 007's success his name in the film is even Neil Connery as well. Not only that but he's also referenced as the brother of the British spy agency's greatest agent "Oh Oh... something or other". Not to mention a lot of actors from previous Bond films were somehow convinced to be in this.

Although there is some goofy fun to be had here, it suffers from terrible editing. So many weird and out of place cuts are made that it's up to the viewer to try and pick up the pieces of what's left and attempt to make sense of a big mess. There's lots of threads that are never even addressed as if it was originally a much longer movie and a blind man was brought into the editor's both to squeeze it down to a reasonable length. It's ok as a random curiosity, but apart from the excellent Morricone soundtrack, I can't recommend it.

⭐ ⭐ out of ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐