In the chop! kick! clunk! splat! school of movies, karate expert Chuck Norris' films are relatively clean. The gore—by today's standards—is minimal. The martial arts action, though, does give this supposed thriller a modest amount of excitement. Good thing, too, because the plot is rickety with age. A crime syndicate wants to move in on a small, honest gambling house in Hong Kong, where Norris is in charge of security. Naturally the owner won't sell, and he and his son are dispatched by the Mob. Norris quickly moves to save the one surviving member of the family, jet-setting daughter Camila Griggs. With her in tow, Norris and his girlfriend, played by Mary Louise Weller, set off on a wild trip. Eventually the hoodlums catch up. That sets off a final round of whacking and stomping as Chuck attempts to get to Mister Big, who in a nice reversal turns out to be Mister Little. Michael Cavanaugh, as a harpoon-wielding villain, shows some signs of life, and veteran David Opatoshu, as the casino owner, provides much of the acting in evidence. Norris has developed either a mastery of the cool, laid-back approach or a sincere sense of boredom about these things, which wouldn't be unreasonable. (R)
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