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Cast:
Shannon
Lee
Antonio
Sabato Jr
William
Zabka
George
Kee Cheung
Amy
Smart
Action:
Koichi
Sakamoto
Producer:
Ivon
Visalli
Mike
Mains
Director:
Isaac
Florentine
Score:
 
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HIGH
VOLTAGE
AKA:
N/A
Year:
1997 Reviewer: Tony
Ryan
Yet
again I decided to put myself through the pain of an Isaac
Florentine directed American action film, seemingly blinded by
the other "talents" on offer! In this case it was
the presence of Shannon Lee (daughter of Bruce & star of 'Enter
the Eagles') in front of the camera and Koichi Sakamoto ('Drive',
'Wicked
Game') behind it, co-ordinating the action.
I
think there was a plot here somewhere. It might have had
something to do with a bank robbery gone wrong causing some
friends to go on the run. On the other hand, there may not
have been one at all, and the clichéd, semi-pointless
dialogue mixed with insubstantial, stereotypical characters
were purely an excuse for action scene set-ups. Either way, I
was only interested in seeing this film for the action, and
yet again, I was disappointed.
With
Koichi Sakamoto being as talented a choreographer as he is,
which has been proven in projects where he has more control, I
wish he would put his foot down with people like Florentine
(whom he also worked with on 'Savate')
and give us something interesting. Instead, we get the same
old low tempo moves with the odd flashy kick and fall. I have
seen worse American action films (not hard) but this is so
generic it becomes a total waste of time. To its credit, there
is as much gunplay as legwork, and much of it is fairly well
executed. Nevertheless it is still a poor man's John Woo style
and nothing to get excited about.
All
in all, this had potential, but failed to capitalise on it. I
cannot understand how people like Florentine are hired as
directors so often when their storytelling and
characterisation are as poor as their ability to shoot a fight
scene. Another one to add to the dust gathering pile of DVD's
- and recommended only for Koichi or Shannon completists.
Thankfully, it was very cheap!
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