To appreciate this movie on its own merits requires a certain measure of generosity. Decidedly low-budget and astoundingly ham-handed, 'Honor and glory' is made with easygoing care for fun and martial arts, and active disregard for authenticity in the plot or dialogue. Pretty much every passing scene is ridiculous and over the top in one way or another, whether it's wholly extraneous flourishes added on top, bare-faced plainspokenness in lines, their delivery, or scene writing, or a cheeky excess of martial arts inserted wherever possible. I can understand why this would go on to be lampooned by RiffTrax, as the feature is filled from top to bottom with tomfoolery that just has to be seen to be believed. Yet it's also clear to me that however absurd it may be, this is a picture that was only ever intended for gauche, tongue-in-cheek silliness. And that it is - I can't help myself, this is a really great time!
Witness: Cynthia Rothrock gets top billing, but sometimes it seems like she doesn't have as much time on screen as her co-stars. Characters talk to themselves as if to fill in the audience on the goings-on, and Rothrock's character Tracey at one point refers to herself as "an FBI" (NOT an "FBI agent"). A random henchman bears a surprising resemblance to a taller Fran Kranz. Every character on hand, but especially Tracey's sister Joyce (Donna Jason), revels in using fancy moves for the most preposterously mundane of activities, like... answering a phone. A scene of training is needlessly sped up to make the forms seem more intense; one specific costume, from out of nowhere, is designed with one small portion that fails to match the rest. And among still many other peculiarities, Todd M. Hahn's oddly playful score does fit the bill, varying slightly to fit the mood, but always feels like second-tier compositions below even the level of this conscious buffoonery - and, I must assume, deliberately so.
For all the marvelous nonsense herein, I'll say this much: Herb Borkland's screenplay boasts a coherent, cohesive narrative. Wonderfully exaggerated characters, and scene writing and dialogue that has no illusions of being something it's not. 'Honor and glory' seems to be Borkland's only screen credit, but I dare say it's a good one. Director Godfrey Ho carries a noteworthy volume of work under his belt, and obviously has the experience and intelligence to lean into the pomposity and let these shenanigans be all that they could be - bless his heart. In that same spirit, the cast fully embraces the roles they're given, and the bizarre energy that so brazenly defines the title. Rothrock, Jason, John Miller, Chuck Jeffreys, Gerald Klein, Yip Yim Hing, and everyone else before the camera drops all pretense and grandiosity and lets themselves indulge in every last ounce of wild, heightened ludicrousness. And it's an absolute delight!
The technical craft and rounding details of the picture, and the contributions of those behind the scenes, are quite competent. The stuntwork and fight choreography is genuinely terrific, and whatever else may be true of Godfrey Ho, he knows quite well how to film martial arts action. It's an incredible understatement to say this movie is quirky, but all things considered, I can't imagine watching this and not walking away with at least a bemused smile on your face. I laughed a lot while I sat for it, not out of mockery, but out of earnest enjoyment or perhaps disbelief. I entered with at best mixed expectations, and am ever so pleased to say I had a blast. 'Honor and glory' occupies a very particular niche space, and only those receptive to the most outlandish of B-movies are likely to find favor here as I did. But if anything I've described has piqued your interest, then kick back, relax, and get ready for some superbly entertaining, highfalutin baloney!
Witness: Cynthia Rothrock gets top billing, but sometimes it seems like she doesn't have as much time on screen as her co-stars. Characters talk to themselves as if to fill in the audience on the goings-on, and Rothrock's character Tracey at one point refers to herself as "an FBI" (NOT an "FBI agent"). A random henchman bears a surprising resemblance to a taller Fran Kranz. Every character on hand, but especially Tracey's sister Joyce (Donna Jason), revels in using fancy moves for the most preposterously mundane of activities, like... answering a phone. A scene of training is needlessly sped up to make the forms seem more intense; one specific costume, from out of nowhere, is designed with one small portion that fails to match the rest. And among still many other peculiarities, Todd M. Hahn's oddly playful score does fit the bill, varying slightly to fit the mood, but always feels like second-tier compositions below even the level of this conscious buffoonery - and, I must assume, deliberately so.
For all the marvelous nonsense herein, I'll say this much: Herb Borkland's screenplay boasts a coherent, cohesive narrative. Wonderfully exaggerated characters, and scene writing and dialogue that has no illusions of being something it's not. 'Honor and glory' seems to be Borkland's only screen credit, but I dare say it's a good one. Director Godfrey Ho carries a noteworthy volume of work under his belt, and obviously has the experience and intelligence to lean into the pomposity and let these shenanigans be all that they could be - bless his heart. In that same spirit, the cast fully embraces the roles they're given, and the bizarre energy that so brazenly defines the title. Rothrock, Jason, John Miller, Chuck Jeffreys, Gerald Klein, Yip Yim Hing, and everyone else before the camera drops all pretense and grandiosity and lets themselves indulge in every last ounce of wild, heightened ludicrousness. And it's an absolute delight!
The technical craft and rounding details of the picture, and the contributions of those behind the scenes, are quite competent. The stuntwork and fight choreography is genuinely terrific, and whatever else may be true of Godfrey Ho, he knows quite well how to film martial arts action. It's an incredible understatement to say this movie is quirky, but all things considered, I can't imagine watching this and not walking away with at least a bemused smile on your face. I laughed a lot while I sat for it, not out of mockery, but out of earnest enjoyment or perhaps disbelief. I entered with at best mixed expectations, and am ever so pleased to say I had a blast. 'Honor and glory' occupies a very particular niche space, and only those receptive to the most outlandish of B-movies are likely to find favor here as I did. But if anything I've described has piqued your interest, then kick back, relax, and get ready for some superbly entertaining, highfalutin baloney!