The plot is of secondary importance: something about a female karate champion who goes to the Phillipines to investigate her sister's disappearance and stumbles on a drug ring and a tournament of no-holds-barred fights to the death. The film is mainly a showcase for the beautiful, athletic, voluptuous woman and convincing, tough fighter Jillian Kesner - and I have no complaints there: she has about 10 fight scenes in this movie, the first one of which occurs after only 2 minutes! The production is very cheap, but the fight choreography is actually quite good - not exactly on the level of early Jackie Chan but certainly vastly preferable to the heavily wired, computer-enhanced crap that so often passes for martial arts today. The long scene in which Kesner ends up topless as she tries to fight off two attackers is not just exploitation, but almost a statement: here is this undressed, unarmed, completely feminine woman and these two men can't touch her, can't even go near her without getting hurt. I'm surprised this B-movie mini-classic is so little known today. (**1/2)
21 Reviews
A Pretty Strong And Barely Known Exploitive Low Budget Martial Arts Film
TheAnimalMother30 October 2022
Forgotten, lost, underappreciated. Whatever you want to call it. It's 5.5/10 rating on here makes no sense. I'd rather watch this film, than most of the modern films that most of you are rating 8 out of 10's on here. Then again, this film only has 712 rating votes so far. I find it hard to believe that this hasn't become more of a cult favorite. That is its destiny I would have to say. Eventually it will find enough of its suitable audience and become more well known and appreciated I believe. I've seen it happen to a number of films on here over the years, and I'm often one of the people helping to get these underseen strong films seen by more people. If you like low budget martial arts films that are somewhat funny and exploitive. Don't miss this. It is similar to many other cheesy films of its type, but it has its own unique vibe this film, it deserves more recognition. These types of films aren't for everyone obviously, in fact not nearly everyone. However there certainly is a big audience out there that would appreciate this film if they saw it.
7/10.
7/10.
unforgettable scenes
ergunbul19 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
yes this film was a typical b rated movie that I watched when I was nearly 11.It was bad but there was something which I could not forget and keep myself away and after years I still remember this film.Especially the love scene between Jillian and her boyfriend whom she later killed very brutally,at the last scene... I was child then and was affected too much of the violence.... I later learned she is not a fighter but was practicing sometimes anyway she was pretty good and fighting was OK for her... As I read the other peoples comments I found many similarities about my feelings and theirs.. WATCH THIS FILM....
Yet another movie to see for the sake of one oddly sexy bit.
pro_crustes2 April 2003
Yup, star Jillian Kesner does manage to combine a karate fight scene with a slow strip, and it actually is a bit sexy. She's not the most lovely woman who ever took her clothes off in a movie, but I thought she was attractive and there's something appealing to a certain sort of adolescent sexual mind (like mind) in the sequence. She gets her clothes ripped off, a bit at a time, while she's fighting for her life. It adds vulnerability to her physical allure, and that worked for me. Of course, that's because it's a movie, and not reality. Seeing women attacked for real is nothing I hope for. Hell, most of what happens in movies is nothing I hope for.
There are other scenes in this movie, but I don't remember any of them from the one time I saw it, over 20 years ago. They're probably awful. But, who cares? There are many films that are worth seeing for one scene and, if you share my fondness for the sort of thing that makes teenaged boys snicker and rewind their VCRs, over and over, you'll think this is one of them.
There are other scenes in this movie, but I don't remember any of them from the one time I saw it, over 20 years ago. They're probably awful. But, who cares? There are many films that are worth seeing for one scene and, if you share my fondness for the sort of thing that makes teenaged boys snicker and rewind their VCRs, over and over, you'll think this is one of them.
Hilarious, cheesy, but fun B-Movie
dwremy14 August 2019
This is goofy '80s exploitation/martial arts fun at its best. Horrible fight scenes, yet hilarious. Cornball fight choreography-which includes one of the funniest fight/chase scenes involving our heroine(a very attractive Jillian Kessner) . And, a sex scene that will leave you cracking up! Check out this movie but only if you want to laugh at how ridiculous it is from beginning to the abrupt ending. SO BAD THAT IT'S GOOD👍🏾.
Kung-fu kitten kills sans clothes...
mcslime15 September 1999
This movie was probably singularly responsible for my interest in B-grade martial arts movies. I saw it when I was very young (before cable - eeeeek!) on late-night "Kung-fu Theater". The local station had obviously made a mistake and aired the movie uncut - violence, nudity, and all! The epic final fight scene finds the heroine steadily losing pieces of her clothing one item at a time until she finishes the battle wearing nothing but her panties. The sight of her fighting in such a condition forever made me a fan of the genre! See it if you have a chance.
If I am judging by the action scenes alone, the fim gets like 2 stars for the effort, but because Jillian Kesner voluptuous body is a10 the movie gets a 5
jordondave-2808520 August 2023
(1981) Firecracker
ACTION
Co-written and directed by Cirio H. Santiago (also credited as co-executive producer) and Allan Holzman that has martial artist, Susanne Carter Susie for short (Jillian Kesner) coming to the Philippines from LA. For the intention of finding her sister, Bonnie who was a photo journalist and has suddenly disappeared. And it is like, by the time Susie arrives and almost immediately, two thieves attempt to break into her apartment and rob her while she is half naked in a hotel room, and of course she beats both of them down. And then, by the time she goes to a bar where her sister "was" staying, both the big bar server, Pete (Pete Cooper) and his server Rey (Reymond King) are then being attacked by Philippine customers and they are beating them down, with Susie joining in the fight. And after that brawl had settled down, Pete and Rey then inform her that the last time Susie's sister was last seen was with club owner, Erik Stallard (Ken Metcalfe). And what is unusual about this particular club is that the stage itself is actually used for one on one fights. Except that as soon as she entered into the club, Erik's #1 fighter Chuck Donner already knew who she was, and that Susie is not just any kind of martial artist, we soon find out that she happens to be a six time black belt karate expert who owns her own dojo back in LA. And by getting Chuck to discourage her, he then offers her 500 bucks to get in the ring with the current winner, and when she does beat him, Chuck does not even pay her. As the movie continues, and is predicted, we find out Susie's sister, Bonnie stumbled onto an illegal dope racket happening with Erik's number one fighter Chuck double crossing his boss to intercept those exchanges by stealing them from his boss, Erik's supplier Grip (Vic Diaz) for the intention of enriching himself.
Acting is bad, the fights are bad, where almost all of them looked fake when people are clearly are not even touched, and react as if they are, as well as the few shoot outs shown when the characters are just waving the guns and the sound effects does the rest. And yes, even king of low budget movies, Roger Cormon is shown on the credits here uncredited as executive producer. From what I've seen I'd give the film two stars for the effort, but because the led actress, Jillian Kesner is very voluptuous, it did motivate me to check out other work she has done Speaking as a heterosexual male it's one of those movies when if the actress is attractive enough, you can some times perhaps look at her all day, regardless how bad her acting and the action is, there are times a persons presence can be sufficient enough.
Co-written and directed by Cirio H. Santiago (also credited as co-executive producer) and Allan Holzman that has martial artist, Susanne Carter Susie for short (Jillian Kesner) coming to the Philippines from LA. For the intention of finding her sister, Bonnie who was a photo journalist and has suddenly disappeared. And it is like, by the time Susie arrives and almost immediately, two thieves attempt to break into her apartment and rob her while she is half naked in a hotel room, and of course she beats both of them down. And then, by the time she goes to a bar where her sister "was" staying, both the big bar server, Pete (Pete Cooper) and his server Rey (Reymond King) are then being attacked by Philippine customers and they are beating them down, with Susie joining in the fight. And after that brawl had settled down, Pete and Rey then inform her that the last time Susie's sister was last seen was with club owner, Erik Stallard (Ken Metcalfe). And what is unusual about this particular club is that the stage itself is actually used for one on one fights. Except that as soon as she entered into the club, Erik's #1 fighter Chuck Donner already knew who she was, and that Susie is not just any kind of martial artist, we soon find out that she happens to be a six time black belt karate expert who owns her own dojo back in LA. And by getting Chuck to discourage her, he then offers her 500 bucks to get in the ring with the current winner, and when she does beat him, Chuck does not even pay her. As the movie continues, and is predicted, we find out Susie's sister, Bonnie stumbled onto an illegal dope racket happening with Erik's number one fighter Chuck double crossing his boss to intercept those exchanges by stealing them from his boss, Erik's supplier Grip (Vic Diaz) for the intention of enriching himself.
Acting is bad, the fights are bad, where almost all of them looked fake when people are clearly are not even touched, and react as if they are, as well as the few shoot outs shown when the characters are just waving the guns and the sound effects does the rest. And yes, even king of low budget movies, Roger Cormon is shown on the credits here uncredited as executive producer. From what I've seen I'd give the film two stars for the effort, but because the led actress, Jillian Kesner is very voluptuous, it did motivate me to check out other work she has done Speaking as a heterosexual male it's one of those movies when if the actress is attractive enough, you can some times perhaps look at her all day, regardless how bad her acting and the action is, there are times a persons presence can be sufficient enough.
Naked beauty Kessner creates hardfisted adventure, a real firecracker
videorama-759-8593916 June 2014
I love this movie the first time I saw it back in 86, and I haven't changed my opinion of it, one iota. It's one of those selected movie pleasures, and lovers of kung fu flicks, whatever, will gets their entertainment's worth here. While snapping shots of an underground fight in Thailand, a young girl is snatched. Enter her older sister (Jillian Kessner) hot as hell, who can really kick arse, someone you don't underestimate, especially with personal issues as you'll see. She stumbles into this syndicate, wanting a bit of the fight action, while falling in love with badarse Hinton (yes the little boy from Daniel Boone) part of the syndicate, a supplier who runs the gambling, heroin, whatever rackets. Watching Kessner, nude, is almost a priveledge, a thankyou from God above, but watching her fight is something too, like when she takes on two rapists, or outwits a most deadly and venomous snake when cornered in a boxing ring, as some goons do an Q and A on her, from which they don't get much. The sex scene between Hinton and Kessner is erotic if involving a little rough play, where we're not really sure if Kessner has been leading him on the whole way, or really is in love with him. I'd go with the prior opinion, but leads him on she does well. Beautifully filmed, using some great sights around the Phillipines, some shots, stay memorably drawn in my mind, what we've got here is a chop suey, kick arse, extravaganza, different too from the prospect, the woman's doing it. I like that. Check the full on action kicking scene near the start of the movie, where she has a bit of help, those simulated SFX working to the cheap style of the film. A non stop action adventure treat.
Lobotomy without surgery
necrophilissimo21 August 2005
Ever wanted a lobotomy but are either afraid of surgery or you just haven't been able to prove your psychiatrist that you need one? Well, no problem, just try to find this "Firecracker" or "Naked Fist" on video (or DVD if someone's been crazy enough to release one).
I love martial arts films, really do. Chackie Chan and Bruce Lee are quite common in my DVD collection and I always try to look for other genre classics. Having such a cult status, "Naked Fist" got me excited, even though the bare title made me worry - Naked Fist sounded awful lot like a porn film. And when the film started, I was STILL afraid it was a porn film. The looks, the acting skills; Pure exploitation quality. And actually the script is VERY close to porn films, too; Actors drop a few lines of dialog, then comes the action sequence. After that they switch the scene, drop a few lines of dialog and start another action sequence. This pattern is repeated all the way to the end. That wouldn't be bad for cult film, though, if the plot was any good or had any reasonable sense. Poor cutting makes things worse, as I honestly had no darn clue what the heck they were fighting for this time. Just insane hustle. The choreography wasn't near great, either.
First I feared it was a porn film. After an hour of it I started to hope it WAS a porn film.
After all this, you possibly wonder why I gave it TWO points. The only thing I enjoyed was Nonong Buencamino's insane retro-trip soundtrack; The score was just like from Commodore 64 era video game classics, like "International Karate +". Sadly the score gets constantly overrun by horrible punch noises - or noise, they seem to use same sample for every 200+ punches in the flick.
But hey; If you STILL want a lobotomy, have go!
I love martial arts films, really do. Chackie Chan and Bruce Lee are quite common in my DVD collection and I always try to look for other genre classics. Having such a cult status, "Naked Fist" got me excited, even though the bare title made me worry - Naked Fist sounded awful lot like a porn film. And when the film started, I was STILL afraid it was a porn film. The looks, the acting skills; Pure exploitation quality. And actually the script is VERY close to porn films, too; Actors drop a few lines of dialog, then comes the action sequence. After that they switch the scene, drop a few lines of dialog and start another action sequence. This pattern is repeated all the way to the end. That wouldn't be bad for cult film, though, if the plot was any good or had any reasonable sense. Poor cutting makes things worse, as I honestly had no darn clue what the heck they were fighting for this time. Just insane hustle. The choreography wasn't near great, either.
First I feared it was a porn film. After an hour of it I started to hope it WAS a porn film.
After all this, you possibly wonder why I gave it TWO points. The only thing I enjoyed was Nonong Buencamino's insane retro-trip soundtrack; The score was just like from Commodore 64 era video game classics, like "International Karate +". Sadly the score gets constantly overrun by horrible punch noises - or noise, they seem to use same sample for every 200+ punches in the flick.
But hey; If you STILL want a lobotomy, have go!
Watchable for fans of *bad* movies
kensai-524 May 2019
This movie doesn't hold anything of interest to the average viewer. Back in the early 80s it had the fairly rare oddity of featuring a western woman as a martial arts protagonist. Nowadays it'll just be worthwhile to people who are fascinated by the awkward B-movie productions that bloomed together with the video tape market. Like most low budget movies of that time, Firecracker lacks good writing, editing, acting, fight choreography, camera operation and a director who understands the genre. The laughable scenario might intrigue fans of bad movies.
The uncut version has a few scenes of explicit gore and sexploitation. I wouldn't consider them noteworthy except for the odd tonal mismatch to the rest of the movie. Especially the nude scenes raise a lot of questions regarding the plot and internal logic.
Jillian Kesner's character could have been an early example of a strong female lead in an action movie, except that the producers probably demanded to balance her tough moments with weak ones. The result is a protagonist who appears to suffer from multiple personality disorder, seemingly fearless in most scenes, but helpless and scared when the script is asking for moments of sexual humiliation.
Jillian's martial arts performances are only barely watchable if you have hardly any experience in the field. She didn't know what she was doing and it shows in every single stance and move. That considered, she's at least doing better than most pretty women cast in action movies at the time, but the more competent scenes are performed by her double, whom you'll recognize by the wig. Rey Malonzo adds a few decent fight scenes that are at least on par with the most average western martial arts movies of that era. His Bruce Lee imitation certainly isn't the worst. Unfortunately, they seemingly decided not to keep his voice in the fight scenes when they added the sound effects for punches, kicks, etc. Thus, we can't tell whether he also tried to imitate Bruce's cat calls.
Speaking of sound, the synthesizer based soundtrack might be the most worthwhile feature of Firecracker.
The uncut version has a few scenes of explicit gore and sexploitation. I wouldn't consider them noteworthy except for the odd tonal mismatch to the rest of the movie. Especially the nude scenes raise a lot of questions regarding the plot and internal logic.
Jillian Kesner's character could have been an early example of a strong female lead in an action movie, except that the producers probably demanded to balance her tough moments with weak ones. The result is a protagonist who appears to suffer from multiple personality disorder, seemingly fearless in most scenes, but helpless and scared when the script is asking for moments of sexual humiliation.
Jillian's martial arts performances are only barely watchable if you have hardly any experience in the field. She didn't know what she was doing and it shows in every single stance and move. That considered, she's at least doing better than most pretty women cast in action movies at the time, but the more competent scenes are performed by her double, whom you'll recognize by the wig. Rey Malonzo adds a few decent fight scenes that are at least on par with the most average western martial arts movies of that era. His Bruce Lee imitation certainly isn't the worst. Unfortunately, they seemingly decided not to keep his voice in the fight scenes when they added the sound effects for punches, kicks, etc. Thus, we can't tell whether he also tried to imitate Bruce's cat calls.
Speaking of sound, the synthesizer based soundtrack might be the most worthwhile feature of Firecracker.
This film had some unforgettable scenes.
pdf12010 January 2001
I remember seeing this film when I was young. It was being aired on cable, when it first came out. This was great because it was the un-cut version. I somehow was able to get a copy of this when it was aired on late night TV some years ago. I still have the copy with commercials (edited for television). I would like to get the full version. This film had some unforgettable scenes. I have to say that it turned me on to women in the martial arts.
Firecracker (1981)
jonahstewartvaughan21 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Return to the Video Store #23
Firecracker (1981)
(7/10): Here we have once again, another Roger Corman produced film, I'm telling ya, he's going to mentioned so many times that you're gonna lose track.
Firecracker is about a female martial arts instructor who travels to Asia in search of her lost sister, a journalist who has gone missing there, and she finds herself fighting against the Mafia who has been running guns and drugs through their underground, unregulated fighting tournament.
Once the body of her sister surfaces, She goes on a killing spree against her sister's killers.
A simple enough plot but enough to give the film a sense of plot development as it does what it set out to do, be cheesy, over the top fun that you and your buddies can chug a few beers and make fun of and just have a good time.
It's got some decent fight scenes, nothing that'll blow your mind but they are still good, sometimes, and other times it's just okay.
The sets are pretty cool in some scenes, mainly the underground fighting rings are nice to look at, especially considering the budget.
Other than that I don't really have a whole lot to say, it's silly, yet simple, B-Movie fun.
Firecracker (1981)
(7/10): Here we have once again, another Roger Corman produced film, I'm telling ya, he's going to mentioned so many times that you're gonna lose track.
Firecracker is about a female martial arts instructor who travels to Asia in search of her lost sister, a journalist who has gone missing there, and she finds herself fighting against the Mafia who has been running guns and drugs through their underground, unregulated fighting tournament.
Once the body of her sister surfaces, She goes on a killing spree against her sister's killers.
A simple enough plot but enough to give the film a sense of plot development as it does what it set out to do, be cheesy, over the top fun that you and your buddies can chug a few beers and make fun of and just have a good time.
It's got some decent fight scenes, nothing that'll blow your mind but they are still good, sometimes, and other times it's just okay.
The sets are pretty cool in some scenes, mainly the underground fighting rings are nice to look at, especially considering the budget.
Other than that I don't really have a whole lot to say, it's silly, yet simple, B-Movie fun.
horrible fight scenes
alucifer4 June 2006
this has some of the worst choreography i have ever seen in a martial arts movie and believe me i have seen a lot.the not bad looking blond who stars in this cheese fest obviously doesn't know a thing about martial arts.cynthia rothrock would laugh so hard if she seen this woman's pathetic fight scenes.as other people have mentioned is the fight scene where her dress gets ripped off of her body and the a sickle gets swung at her cutting off her bra leaving her wearing only her panties.if you want to see women who know how to fight get a DVD with cynthia khan or michelle yeoh and cynthia rothrock and stay away from this badly acted and badly choreographed pile of b-movie cheese
what a waste of film
sandcrab27730 August 2020
This darby hinton is not an actor but a glamour boy living on his past laurels as a child actor ... he couldn't act his way out of a wet paper bag if the side was torn open ... everything about this film is rubbish including the martial arts choreography ... don't waste your time watching it
Very enjoyable low-budget action with strong heroine
shakspryn14 April 2023
Jillian Kesner is a standout in this fast-moving action film set in the Philippines. She's radiantly beautiful, with her fit figure unabashedly displayed several times. Also, she is the action star of the movie, frequently mixing it up with the bad guys and winning out.
We get a good amount of well-shot locations; the film, on the dvd-three pack, looks crisp and the colors are vibrant. It's definitely a B film, but so what? It's highly entertaining all the way through. A few times the violence gets quite gory, but it isn't a gore-fest by any means. Because of the setting, it works fine that the majority of the cast is from the Philippines; it fits with the story.
Watching this movie, I wish that Jillian Kesner had starred in a good many more films of this type. She's very likeable, and that comes through to the viewer; that quality she has, combined with her beauty, makes one more willing to overlook cheesy aspects of the movie. Recommended.
We get a good amount of well-shot locations; the film, on the dvd-three pack, looks crisp and the colors are vibrant. It's definitely a B film, but so what? It's highly entertaining all the way through. A few times the violence gets quite gory, but it isn't a gore-fest by any means. Because of the setting, it works fine that the majority of the cast is from the Philippines; it fits with the story.
Watching this movie, I wish that Jillian Kesner had starred in a good many more films of this type. She's very likeable, and that comes through to the viewer; that quality she has, combined with her beauty, makes one more willing to overlook cheesy aspects of the movie. Recommended.
Enjoyable chopsocky exploitation trash
Woodyanders27 October 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Lovely, but tough and lethal karate champion Susanne Carter (a winningly spunky performance by gorgeous blonde knockout Jillian Kesner) stumbles across a nefarious drug cartel and a ruthless to-the-death martial arts tournament while searching for her missing sister in the Philippines. Director Cirio H. Santiago, who also co-wrote the blithely low-grade script with Ken Metcalfe, relates the entertaining story at a brisk pace, delivers a sizable smattering of tasty gratuitous female nudity (Kesner gets stripped down to her panties by two slimy thugs in one especially hot and thrilling set piece), stages the wall-to-wall no-holds-barred martial arts fights with a reasonable amount of flair and competence, and certainly doesn't skimp on the unflinchingly grisly violence. This movie further benefits from a solid cast of familiar B-pic regulars: hunky Darby Hinton as cocky ace karate fighter Chuck Donner, Metcalfe as smooth head villain Erik, the ubiquitous Vic Diaz as crude and short-tempered dope connection Grip, Chandra Romero as smart and sultry moll Malow, Tony Ferror as dogged narcotics cop Tony, and Peter Cooper as scruffy bartender Pete. Nonong Buencamino's throbbing synth score hits the get-down funky spot. Ricardo Remias' fairly polished cinematography likewise does the trick. The sex scene between Susanne and Chuck in which they cut off each other's clothes with knives is a sizzling doozy. A real blast.
Superior trash.
Hey_Sweden1 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
One can tell by a few major set pieces that this is more than just your garden variety exploitation; veteran director Cirio H. Santiago definitely cooks with gas here. Having co- written the screenplay with actor Ken Metcalfe, he makes this a continuously snappy affair. The movie isn't wall to wall action, but there's still quite enough of it, as we get treated to many fine fight scenes that start almost right away. The feisty and fetching Jillian Kesner, may she rest in peace, is a delight to watch as she plays a karate champion & instructor, newly arrived in the Philippines, hellbent on finding out what happened to her missing sister. This makes "Firecracker" sound like something of a rehash of Santiago's "T.N.T. Jackson", where the plot was very similar, but "Firecracker" is even better, a fast paced, furious, bloody thrill ride highlighted by a shoot out staged in a striking location, a love making scene that is prefaced by the male CUTTING the clothes off of his partner (sex and violence are mingled in a memorable manner here), and the one scene that us fans of this movie will always have first and foremost in our minds, as Susanne Carter (Kesner) is pursued by two would be hit men and ways are constantly contrived to remove her clothing, until she's nearly nude (and showing off one extremely fine body) yet still very capable of defending herself. The supporting cast contains a few familiar faces that are very welcome to B movie lovers: Darby Hinton ("Without Warning", "Malibu Express") as male lead Chuck Donner, the understandably ubiquitous Vic Diaz as Grip, Metcalfe himself as crime boss Erik, and Chanda Romero ("The Last Reunion") as undercover cop Malow. A little slicker than your typical potboiler, "Firecracker" is exciting and enticing stuff, and the viewer can groove along to the funky electronic score courtesy of Nonong Buencamino. The movie always makes sure to get right to the point, and deliver what fans of the genre want, and it deserves respect in that regard - and once it's over, it's OVER. It's 78 straight minutes of no-fooling-around fun. Eight out of 10.
Worth it for the no-clothing fight scene ALONE!!
feev15 January 2020
Firecracker is an enjoyable gem that mixes two hot genres of the day: Martial Arts and exploitation.
tarbosh220008 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Susanne Carter (Kesner) is a beautiful female Martial Arts instructor (we're informed multiple times that she's a sixth-degree black belt) who travels alone to the Philippines in search of her missing sister. While on her quest, she runs afoul of a man named Chuck (Hinton) who not only fights in Karate tournaments himself, but is also involved in a variety of illegal doings with a man named Grip (Diaz). While Susanne has to navigate this treacherous world, she also finds time to enhance her Martial Arts studies, learning the Philippine art of stick fighting, known as Arnis - they even made a whole movie about it called Sticks of Death (1986). Will Susanne's beauty and brawn combination lead her to find her sister and win the day? Find out today! Jillian Kesner, of Operation Cobra (1997) fame was an ideal choice for the heroine of Firecracker: she's attractive, athletic, and was not only game for the many fight scenes, but also the Cirio standby of the nearly-nude girl fighting multiple attackers. It's one of the standout scenes in the movie, as it would be again in the future for Silk 2 (1989) and Angelfist (1993). Firecracker is classic Cirio. It has a thin plot about a woman trying to find her missing sister, there are plenty of shots of the beautiful Philippine countryside and other local cultural things, plenty of fight scenes, and a lot of 70's.early 80's fashions on display. Plus at an audience-considerate 77 minutes, it never overstays its welcome.
Darby Hinton, who plays Chuck (did they try to get Chuck Norris for this role, fail to do so, then hope nobody would notice?) steals the (fashion) show with his multiple stylish outfits, not to mention his resemblance to basketball great Larry Bird. But it was a different time - a time when audiences would dress up nicely and go to a supper club to watch Martial Arts displays while they eat dinner by candlelight. A time when seemingly-random barfights could break out at a moment's notice, a time when Jillian Kesner could step in and save us all with her newly-acquired Arnis skills. Has the world really gotten better since then? Clearly not.
With contributions by Philippine film legends Vic Diaz and Joe Mari Avellana, and a very cool main musical theme by Nonong Buencamino, Firecracker is an enjoyable gem that mixes two hot genres of the day: Martial Arts and exploitation. Now that it's on DVD with the three-movie "Lethal Ladies" collection, there's really no excuse not to check it out.
Darby Hinton, who plays Chuck (did they try to get Chuck Norris for this role, fail to do so, then hope nobody would notice?) steals the (fashion) show with his multiple stylish outfits, not to mention his resemblance to basketball great Larry Bird. But it was a different time - a time when audiences would dress up nicely and go to a supper club to watch Martial Arts displays while they eat dinner by candlelight. A time when seemingly-random barfights could break out at a moment's notice, a time when Jillian Kesner could step in and save us all with her newly-acquired Arnis skills. Has the world really gotten better since then? Clearly not.
With contributions by Philippine film legends Vic Diaz and Joe Mari Avellana, and a very cool main musical theme by Nonong Buencamino, Firecracker is an enjoyable gem that mixes two hot genres of the day: Martial Arts and exploitation. Now that it's on DVD with the three-movie "Lethal Ladies" collection, there's really no excuse not to check it out.
Every bit as good as you want it to be
BandSAboutMovies2 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Have we ever mentioned how much we love Cirio H. Santiago?
Oh yeah. We have.
If you watch that quick clip of this movie and don't fall in love with this movie, there's no hope for you.
Firecracker, also known as Naked Fist, is everything you want in a mindless action movie.
Did you like seeing Cookie (Jillian Kesner) kick ass in Raw Force? Of course you did.
Did you love watching Cody Abilene (Darby Hinton) make love to the ladies and being suave in Malibu Express? You know you did.
What if we put them both in the same movie, had them fight a lot and then throw in a lovemaking scene where they use scissors to cut one another's clothes off?
And what if it was gory and had dinner theater that featured martial arts battles to the death?
Kesner is Susanne, a karate instructor who travels to the Philippines - where life is cheap - looking for her missing sister. That's when she meets the mustache that she must ride on the face of Chuck, played by Hinton. This movie has enough sexual tension to burn down the internet, intercut with all manner of ridiculous fisticuffs.
People get impaled. People get killed with snakes. People act sleazy. People eat dinner while other people fight to the death.
Some movies, you wonder, can it live up to the poster? Firecracker is the kind of movie where you wonder, "Can the poster be good enough for how awesome this movie is?"
Oh yeah. We have.
If you watch that quick clip of this movie and don't fall in love with this movie, there's no hope for you.
Firecracker, also known as Naked Fist, is everything you want in a mindless action movie.
Did you like seeing Cookie (Jillian Kesner) kick ass in Raw Force? Of course you did.
Did you love watching Cody Abilene (Darby Hinton) make love to the ladies and being suave in Malibu Express? You know you did.
What if we put them both in the same movie, had them fight a lot and then throw in a lovemaking scene where they use scissors to cut one another's clothes off?
And what if it was gory and had dinner theater that featured martial arts battles to the death?
Kesner is Susanne, a karate instructor who travels to the Philippines - where life is cheap - looking for her missing sister. That's when she meets the mustache that she must ride on the face of Chuck, played by Hinton. This movie has enough sexual tension to burn down the internet, intercut with all manner of ridiculous fisticuffs.
People get impaled. People get killed with snakes. People act sleazy. People eat dinner while other people fight to the death.
Some movies, you wonder, can it live up to the poster? Firecracker is the kind of movie where you wonder, "Can the poster be good enough for how awesome this movie is?"
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