Breathing Fire (1991)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Directors:

Lou Kennedy
Brandon Pender

Writers:

Raymond Mahoney (writer)
Tao-liang Tan (story)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

The Ultimate Kickboxing Showdown

Plot:

Michael, a Vietnam vet with two kids, pulls off a bank heist with his gang, which includes the bank's manager...

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Kickboxing | Independent Film

Cast

Jonathan Ke Quan	...	Charlie Moore
Eddie Saavedra	...	Tony Moore
Ed Neil	...	David Moore
Jerry Trimble	...	Michael Moore
Bolo Yeung	...	Thunder (as Bolo Young)
Wendell C. Whitaker	...	Tank
Allen Tackett	...	Alan (as Alan Tackett)
Jacqueline Pulliam	...	Jenny
Laura Hamilton	...	Annie Stern
Drake Diamond	...	Peter Stern
T.J. Storm	...	Mickey (as Juan Ojeda)
Pamela Maxton	...	Tank's Mother
Jackie O'Brien	...	Mrs. Stern (as Jacqueline Woolsey)
Gary Green	...	Harry
Annie Wood	...	April (as Annie Rubanoff)

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Chino Hills, California, USA

Company:

Golden Pacific Films & Arts

Goofs:

Continuity: Michael imprints the keys in a fake cheese pizza, but when they reassemble the pieces it has toppings.

Quotes:

Michael Moore: Get that damn pizza!

Forgettable.

Annie, a young teenage girl who was a witness to the murder of her parents by cold-hearted bank robbers seeks out David Moore, her father's old buddy from their fighting days together in Vietnam for protection as her father had warned against going to the police. David takes her to his brother Michael's house, not realizing Michael is secretly the leader behind the bank heist and the murder of Annie's parents. Michael also has two sons, one natural and one adopted from Vietnam, who befriend Annie and eventually receive martial arts instructions from David so they can aid him in her protection.

They say if you cannot say anything good, don't say anything at all. If I were to abide by that rule, I'd have very little to say with regards to this one. Jonathan Ke Quan actually does a decent job as Charlie Moore who really is the only truly likable character in the film in that's he's funny and likes to have fun making him feel more real as a character than any other person in the movie. Also the training scenes and the fights are surprisingly well executed.

It's too bad that the plot is filled with gaping plot holes (the worst of which is characters disappearing from the scene for long periods of time with no adequate explanation as to their whereabouts), the rest of the acting cast is atrocious and the fights, while shot nicely, are hardly convincing in reality especially in the case of the Moore brothers showdown with Bolo Yeung, who's all but wasted here as another faceless henchman.

Forgettable.