Gymkata (1985)

An American gymnast travels to a foreign country to compete in a deadly game not won by anyone other than a native in more than 900 years.

Director:

Robert Clouse

Writers:

Charles Robert Carner (screenplay by), Dan Tyler Moore (based on the novel "The Terrible Game" by)

Stars:

Kurt Thomas, Tetchie Agbayani, Richard Norton

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Kurt Thomas	...	Jonathan Cabot
Tetchie Agbayani	...	Princess Rubali
Richard Norton	...	Zamir
Edward Bell	...	Paley
John Barrett	...	Gomez
Conan Lee	...	Hao
Bob Schott	...	Thorg
Buck Kartalian	...	The Kahn
Eric Lawson	...	Colonel Cabot
Sonny Barnes	...	Western Trainer
Tadashi Yamashita	...	Eastern Trainer
Sharan Lea	...	Connie
Zlatko Pokupec	...	Mackle (as Z. Pokupec)
Slobodan Dimitrijevic	...	Tamerlane (as S. Dimitrijevic)
Ivo Kristof	...	Brockschmidt (as I. Kristof)

Storyline

Johnathan Cabot is a champion gymnast. In the tiny, yet savage, country of Parmistan, there is a perfect spot for a "star wars" site. For the US to get this site, they must compete in the brutal "Game". The government calls on Cabot, the son of a former operative, to win the game. Cabot must combine his gymnastics skills of the west with fighting secrets of the east and form GYMKATA!

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Plot Keywords:

gymnastics | kung fu classic | martial artist | kung fu | chop socky | 

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Taglines:

For Glory, For Nation, For Survival: Let the Game Begin!

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 May 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Asia Mission

Filming Locations:

Adriatic Sea

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,261,845, 5 March 1985, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$5,730,596

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Christopher Atkins was considered for the male lead.

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Quotes

Jonathan Cabot: It's not over yet, so put your hardware back in your pants.

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Connections

Referenced in Family Guy: The Woof of Wall Street (2018)

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Soundtracks

Get Even
Written by Alan Nathanson and Roger Stone
Performed by Remote Control

User Reviews

A Hilariously Bad Movie

How this movie escaped the wrath of MST3K I'll never know. "Gymkata" is a ridiculous action movie, filled (or is that empty?) with paper-thin plots, dumb characters, and preposterous situations. But take it from me, if you enjoy watching poor, yet goofy, movies, you will enjoy "Gymkata" a great deal.

The action centers around a gymnast who is chosen by government agents (at least I think they were government agents) to become a spy. You see his dad was another quasi-government agent, who has gone missing competing in this game, called, eloquently, "The Game." So the gymnast (played blandly by Kurt Thomas) trains to compete in this game and find out what happened to his lost dad.

Sounds promising doesn't it? Okay, so it doesn't but still, that bare bones plot sypnopsis doesn't begin to describe the joys of this movie. They can be found in the movie's strange details. Like the gymnast's mysterious Asian girlfriend, who doesn't speak for the first half hour of the movie, then all of a sudden begins to talk, and doesn't shut up for the rest of the time! Or the really tough shirtless bad guy who likes to make and break "The Game"'s non-existent rules whenever he so pleases. And of course there's our hero's delightful romp through the "Village of The Crazies" (Evidently that's the place's real name!). Nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

But where this movie really shines is the action scenes. Since our protagonist is a gymnast, the director thought it wise to stick gymnastic equipment into the back alleys and town squares of Middle Eastern cities, so that our Gymkata master would be better able to use his gymnast skills to fight the scourge of evil on parallel bars and pummel horses. It has to be seen to be believed.

One interesting thing of note. A lot, I'd say about half the cast, dies from being shot with an arrow. Interesting because the arrows are the only believable effects or action in the entire movie. If these were indeed effects, my one major note of compliment to whoever devised these very realistic arrows wounds. More likely, this was the film's way of not paying extras. Nevertheless, "Gymkata" deserves a look if you can see it without paying and are looking for some silliness that is an easy target for riffing.