An Eye for an Eye (1981)

Sean Kane is forced to resign from the San Francisco Police Department's Narcotics Division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered. He decides to fight alone and follows a trail... See full summary »

Director:

Steve Carver

Writers:

James Bruner (screenplay), James Bruner (story)

Stars:

Chuck Norris, Christopher Lee, Richard Roundtree

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chuck Norris	...	Sean Kane
Christopher Lee	...	Morgan Canfield
Richard Roundtree	...	Capt. Stevens
Matt Clark	...	Tom McCoy
Mako	...	James Chan
Maggie Cooper	...	Heather Sullivan
Rosalind Chao	...	Linda Chan
Professor Toru Tanaka	...	The Professor
Stuart Pankin	...	Nicky LaBelle
Terry Kiser	...	Dave Pierce
Mel Novak	...	Tony Montoya
Dorothy Dells	...	Cab Driver
Dov Gottesfeld	...	Doctor
Rick Prieto	...	Stark
Sam Hiona	...	Ambler

Storyline

Sean Kane is forced to resign from the San Francisco Police Department's Narcotics Division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered. He decides to fight alone and follows a trail of drug traffickers into unexpected high places.

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Plot Keywords:

murder of an asian woman | lifting a female into the air | lifting someone into the air | murder of a reporter | partner | 

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Taglines:

Kane's justice is revenge. Kane's weapon is himself.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 August 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ojo por ojo

Filming Locations:

Alcatraz Prison, Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$7,680,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Adams Apple Film Company, Major Studio Partners, South Street Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 97 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mako and Professor Tanaka would later reunite in The Perfect Weapon.

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Goofs

During the Triad assault on James Chan's house, Sean Kane attacks a Triad terrorist who knocks an ornamental box off a desk as he falls. When Kane runs for the door, the box is back on the desk again.

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Quotes

James Chan: [knocking a bad guy out with a handy desk telephone] The warrior uses whatever is closest to hand.

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Alternate Versions

Most European versions of the film omit the shower scene between Norris and Maggie Cooper and cut straight to the boat fight sequence.

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Connections

Referenced in Adjust Your Tracking (2013)

User Reviews

Leave Your Brain At The Door Entertainment - Enjoy.

Now, this film really takes me back to my youth, where you were a member of a video shop... or fifteen (I counted the cards I used to have)... and you would troll around them all to find a movie worth watching - at least it kept us fit.

This is pretty much your basic '80's action flick. Where the good guy is out for revenge for the death of a lover, a family member, friend, or in this case a partner on the force. The plot, like this one, would usually revolve around drugs trafficking. Throw in a love interest and loads of exciting fights and you have the perfect mix. This was the start of the "Leave your brain at the door" movies. To be fair, it's nice to let enjoyment and excitement take you out of your daily routine. I know I need it at the moment.

So in this story, you have Kane (Norris) and his partner, Dave (Kiser), heading to an undercover meet. However, it's a trap and Dave is killed, in quite a nasty way. From here on in Kane is out to solve the murder and get revenge for his dead partner. This leads him and Dave's girlfriend reporter, Linda (Chao) into a world of drug trafficking...

So what makes this a film worth watching?

Well there is Chuck Norris, who to be honest, isn't too bad in this film. He was just coming into being an actor in his own right at this time. These types of characters, like the films, were ten-a-penny and you were lucky if they made it to two-dimensional, let alone three. I have to believe that it's the likes of Christopher Lee (Canfield), Richard Roundtree (Captain Stevens), Matt Clark (McCoy), and even Mako (Chan) that elevated his acting up a notch or two for this movie. The rest of the cast are solid actors and carry the film and the much-used scenario easily.

Next, there's the direction. Steve Carver does a really good job with the camera work. There are some really well-framed sections. I loved the part where Kane goes to visit his sensei and master Chan. He parks his beautiful red Mustang and gets out. This is all superbly framed in a long shot by an ornamental oriental fence. Even on the drive up to his masters home, he is followed by a helicopter. This is filmed smoothly; you have a side portrait of Norris driving and outside the passenger window you see the copter flying at his side. There's also a nice sequence where Kane runs from his house, down his pier to his private jetty, opens his speedboats enclosure, jumps in and speeds away. There is a lot in this film that Carver should be proud about. Even the slow motion sections of the fight scene's work. When a lot of martial arts opted to speed up the action, slowing it down works really well - especially when you have a master of the arts like Norris.

Carver also sets a nice rollercoaster pace for the movie. He knows when to slow down to drive the plot and quicken it up to boost excitement and tension. A Lot of filmmakers could take a few notes from this film.

The only thing in the film that irked me was the love interest, Maggie Cooper. This was mainly for Sullivan's wooden performance. In some scenes, she appears so laid back that she may have been sampling the product the bad guys were moving.

If you like your martial arts flicks and are not too worried about plot, then I would recommend this one to you. It may not be intellectually brilliant but it is kick ass entertaining.