Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to an all new Reaction & Review. Tonight, guys, I'm taking a look at the 11th entry in the "Triple B" series, which came out in 1996. That movie is "Day of the Warrior".
Now this movie, I do know, has Andy Sidaris back writing and directing this movie after his son fumbled with the previous film in this series, which was "The Dallas Connection". And if you hadn't read my review of that movie yet, to give you a short summary, the movie really kinda sucked. It had all of the ingredients in a regular Andy Sidaris flick, but it lacked a lot of the charm and interest that Andy Sidaris usually puts in his movies.
So with Andy Sidaris back in the director's chair for this one, I'm hoping that he'll be able to rebound after his son's disappointing showing. Granted, I probably shouldn't be too harsh on his son, but honestly, after watching "The Dallas Connection", I'm already happy that Andy Sidaris took over for the next two films. And like I said, I'm hoping for this one to at least be entertaining enough for me to consider worth watching. Mind you, I haven't really heard good things about this movie, but as I said back in my review of "The Dallas Connection", none of these movies are actually "good", they're just cheesy action films that feature what you would expect from Andy Sidaris. And I really only care if they're entertaining. So long as this one is entertaining in a so bad it's good kind of way, then I'm not asking for much else here.
So anyway, I'm hoping this one will be really entertaining in it's own way. But the only way I'm gonna find out if it is entertaining at all is if I shut up and I push play, and I'm gonna do that right now. So, without further ado, it's time to kick back, relax, and check out "Day of the Warrior".
9 minutes later
Well, guys, so far, I can't really say much about the story itself yet, but I will say that gun that our main character was using looks awesome. I really want that gun.
6 minutes later
So, I'm going to assume that this is suppose to be the head honcho of our villains this time, Warrior. And the guy who's playing him is Buff Bagwell. Yes, guys, former WCW wrestler Buff Bagwell is playing the main villain of this movie. That's actually really cool! I'm hoping that I get to see more of him in this movie.
10 minutes later
You guys can't hear this for obvious reasons, but this rock song here is actually sorta catchy. Well, at least, I'm enjoying this song anyway. So, I can at least say the music here is a positive, so far at least.
5 minutes later
So the Elvis Impersonator on stage is, not only one of the side villains from "The Dallas Connection", but his stage name is called "Elvis Fu". Oh god...that name is really fucking stupid. Granted, it's sorta funny, but why the hell did he choose that name of all things?! Just...why?
3 minutes later
So, I've gotten a little bit more backstory for Warrior here. And I'll say this on the record, he's probably one of the most developed villains in the entire "Triple B" series. I want you to process that for a moment. Our villain, Buff Bagwell, who's also a professional wrestler in this movie, has the most development in an Andy Sidaris film, which is mainly about women showing their boobs and overly ridiculous action scenes. I'm...just speechless, guys, just...wow.
15 minutes later
Well, guys, I think somebody might've taken some inspiration from Rambo by shooting a crossbow-looking gun and having the arrow explode afterwards. But what's interesting about the gun is, well, as I just stated, it looks like a pistol with the smaller length-size of a crossbow. Why the fuck anyone would make a gun like that makes zero sense, but I'm gonna say that at least it looks stupid, in a really funny way. Just thought I'd share that with you guys.
11 minutes later
So, guys, I just saw posters featuring films from previous Andy Sidaris flicks like "Do or Die" and "Savage Beach". There was one other, but I couldn't quite make out which one that was. Still though, it was a nice cameo to see there.
The Review
Well, guys, that was "Day of the Warrior". Let me go ahead and shut the movie off here...OK. Before I delve right into this movie, I'm first gonna get this question out of the way. How does this film compare to the other films in the "Triple B" series? Well, it still isn't good, but I will say, when compared to something like "Hard Hunted" and "The Dallas Connection", it's certainly a huge step above those movies. And as for it's own standards, well, I would say that it's just OK. I can't really rank any of these because I don't really do "tier" lists that people take incredibly seriously, but if I were forced to do that with this one, it would be somewhere hanging out in the middle. But still, it's a very entertaining film that I still enjoyed, even if it did go slightly overboard at times.
Let's start with the writing. Now, in case you hadn't read my review for "The Dallas Connection", I talked about the different styles between how Andy Sidaris writes for his movies, and how his son, Drew Sidaris, writes for his movies. With Drew's movies, it seemed like he just took ingredients from his father's previous works and just stitched it together into some mishmash of a half-assed plot, along with things that were done in previous Andy Sidaris films, only he didn't do it in an interesting way. And without go too much into detail, because I've already written a review for it that you can read for yourself, it just made Drew's movies look a lot weaker, when compared to his father's work. Now that's not to say that Andy himself had his fare share of weak movies, but in terms of what I watched from Drew's two movies, I can hardly see myself ever watching his movies again. Maybe I could give "Enemy Gold" another watch, because that was at least partially decent, but "The Dallas Connection" is where I had to put my foot down and say that it completely sucked so much that I genuinely believe it to be the worst movie out of the entire "Triple B" series.
Now with this movie, it's very similar to what Andy Sidaris did with "Fit To Kill" after he kinda fumbled with "Hard Hunted". Basically, this movie is what I would call a "back to basics" sort of film. Where he took what worked in his previous movies, and used his magic to make this film stand out in his own charming way. This movie has everything you could ask for from him. Women showing off their big boobs, over-the-top action scenes, and a lot of T&A. And while, admittedly, this movie doesn't do it as cool as the previous entries did, there is still a couple of moments where the action scenes do shine. Such as near the very end where one of our heroines uses a walking cane to blow up and kill one of the bad guys in an over-the-top fashion. It's out of nowhere and very hilarious, which is another thing I can grant this movie is that the humor is definitely really funny at times. Granted, not every joke here is going to land, but what is here for humor still works in it's own way.
Now as for the plot, well, the only things that I could pick up from it is that a former CIA Agent, AKA Warrior/Buff Bagwell, turns heel and steals a computer database, which has information on all of our agents, who are now in danger of being killed. And it's also here where I can say that Buff Bagwell's character is the most developed out of every character in this series. Because, aside from his status as CIA Agent, he's also a pro wrestler and is also part Native American on his mother's side, which is why you see him dressed up with an Indian's big feather wig as part of his wrestling attire. Honestly, the first time I saw Buff Bagwell wearing that outfit, part of me pictured Tatanka, an actual Native American wrestler from the WWF days, in that role. Now granted, I don't know if they could've made that work or not. But still, what is here for Buff Bagwell's character still works. However, I'll get into all that later when I covering acting.
Speaking of characters, that actually is one of the big problems with this movie. And it's not just that a lot of the characters are bland, but moreover, there are just too many characters in this movie to follow. To give you guys an example, in the beginning of the movie, we follow blonde-haired male agent by the name of Doc Austin infiltrating an enemy unit's camp that's working for Warrior. One of the villains of the movie is named Manuel, who is also the same actor who played the previous two villains in "Enemy Gold" and "The Dallas Connection". I'm going to assume that they couldn't hire anybody else to star in these movies due to budget concerns or contractual obligations. I don't know which is the correct answer, but regardless, we have him and some blonde girl I've never seen before.
Next, we have Cobra, who was also the same blonde-haired lady from "The Dallas Connection". And she's in a lot of scenes that probably could've been trimmed down, because some of them are just tracking shots of where she's going next. She's also one of the agents that's being hunted down. Then you have another male agent by the name of Tyler, who also has another girl with her who's name that I don't remember. Then you have Julie Strain back in this movie, only this time, she's playing one of the protagonists by the name of "Willow Black". Yeah, seriously, she went from "Black Widow" in "The Dallas Connection" to "Willow Black" in "Day of the Warrior". Very creative naming, I know. But anyway, she's in this movie. And also, the Asian dude who got killed in "The Dallas Connection" is in this movie too, and he also has a gig where he becomes an Elvis Impersonator performing in Vegas. And while his stage name "Elvis Fu" is incredibly stupid, he honestly is one of the only other characters in this movie that I can remember who stood out to me.
But you see where I'm going at here, right? There are just too many characters in this movie to follow, and there's probably a couple of more that I forgot about because there really is a lot to follow and keep track of here. And what sorta hampers this is the pacing of the movie. The film's only about 96 minutes long, and while I don't think the pacing here is as terrible as it was in "The Dallas Connection", I admit that it does go on for about 10 minutes too long. Like I mentioned earlier involving the scenes with Cobra, I do believe that they could've trimmed a couple of scenes involving the tracking shots and it could've flowed a little better.
So anyway, the writing here, plotwise, is really nothing you're gonna care about. The only thing most fans care about is what you would come to expect from an Andy Sidaris film. And all of that is, thankfully, here. Especially after the disappointing run of films that came from Drew Sidaris, this is a nice welcome back to basics for Andy Sidaris. And as for the acting, well, much like with a lot of these movies, the acting here is mostly terrible. Most of the acting here sounds stilted and wooden. And even though you have returning actors like Julie Strain, Julie K. Cobra, and Rodrigo Obregon in this movie, most of them still put on wooden performances like they did in the previous movies. The only two standouts I can give is the Asian guy playing "Elvis Fu" and Buff Bagwell, the latter who is just hamming it up whenever he's in the ring. And I don't just mean when he was performing on WCW, I mean his actual role in the movie. Mind you, he's not as bad as he could be here, but it's still laughably bad, which still makes it stand out in a positive way. But overall, guys, the acting here is pretty much the standard terribleness you come to expect from an Andy Sidaris movie.
Special effects are also the same kind of thing from just about every film in this "Triple B series". Pyrotechnics, squibwork for guns, and what little blood effects are just there, really. Costuming here is pretty good, although I'm mainly just saying that for Buff Bagwell's wrestling attire. Then again, as a pro wrestling fan, I take more attention to those whenever I see a wrestler's costume or attire that stands out to me. But anyway, costuming here is pretty good, at least when it comes to Buff Bagwell.
Camerawork here is good. Lighting here is great. Sound-mixing is also good. Music here is definitely a positive, as there is quite a bit of music in this movie, and the songs here are actually sorta catchy. The one song, though, that kinda got to me in slight annoyance is this one piano track that I swear they loop a *lot* here. I can't quite count how many times I've heard it, but it did start to sound a little grating after a while. But other than that, the score and soundtrack here is mostly really good.
Ultimately, guys, when all is said and done, am I able to recommend "Day of the Warrior". Yes, I actually can. Provided, of course, you're into these movies to begin with. And also, if you're someone like me who was disappointed by Drew Sidaris's last couple of films and you want to see a return to form from Andy Sidaris, then yeah, this movie is definitely going to provide that for you. And I'm happy to say that, again, I really did enjoy this movie. Not quite as much as the previous films that he did, but it is still entertaining in it's own right. So yeah, guys, I can recommend "Day of the Warrior" to you all. Which now only leaves one more movie to go in this series. And, my god, I can't believe we're about to reach that cornerstone. But that's not gonna be until next week. I actually have a couple of more movies to go first, one in which includes my "Christmas In July Special". I won't spoil what it is, but if you're curious about it, then stay tuned, because that'll be coming up very soon. Until then, though, I'm gonna go and watch something else. Well, I've been watching a lot action films lately, so I think I need to switch it up a bit and watch something different. I think I'm gonna go and watch something like "The Cat Returns". Why not? It's sorta random, but I haven't seen a Studio Ghibli film in quite a while, and "The Cat Returns" is certainly one of my top favorites from them. So I'll go and do that next as soon as this review gets put up.
And with that, guys, we come to the close of another Reaction & Review. Until next time, ladies and gentlemen, take care, and I will see you all later. Peace.
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