Lethal Force

Lethal Force is a very low-budget action film that both parodies and pays homage to a slew of other action films.  The lack of budget and a slow start to the film initially had me concerned that it would be terrible.  Fortunately I was wrong; while the film never looks particularly good, it eventually picks up the pace and kicks some ass.

The plot has Jack (Frank Prather), husband and father, forced to set up and betray his friend Savitch (Cash Flagg Jr.) in order to save his family.  Unfortunately for everyone involved Savitch is not only a ruthless low-rent hitman, he's also one tough bastard.  Insanely tough—this guy makes John McClane look like a puff pastry.  At first Savitch refuses to believe that his only friend Jack would betray him, but once he's sure the gloves come off.  And the final showdown is going to be messy.

Lethal Force is at its best once the action gets into full swing.  The beginning of the movie is a bit too talky, and not all of the acting is good.  Once things get rolling in the action department the little things that don’t work as well are much easier to ignore.

The fights, particularly the martial arts sequences, are really very good for an indie film.  They get better as the movie goes along, with the dual-hand-blade Savitch fighting sequence possibly being the best (and one of the goriest) in the movie.  The gunfights are also shot quite well. Keep an eye out for action director/cinematographer Eric Thornett as the silent bowtie kung fu fighter who gets lit on fire.

The film is also pretty funny in spots.  Some of the outright jokes work and some fall flat.  The male-bonding flashback moments between Jack and Savitch will probably amuse most people, and several of the gory parts had me chuckling.  The violence in the film is so over the top that it can’t be taken seriously, which definitely suits the film well.

For action fans, Lethal Force is worth checking out if you can look past the low budget.  If you’ve seen a lot of action films you’ll have fun picking out which movies they’re parodying.  Even if you haven’t seen many of those films there’s enough solid action and gore towards the last half of the movie that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to folks that like low-budget action flicks.