Avenging Force (1986)

A senator is targeted by the Pentangle, a right wing paramilitary group. His pal, a former CIA agent and martial artist, tries to help him. The group kidnaps the agent's sister and tries to hunt him down, "The Most Dangerous Game" style.

Director:

Sam Firstenberg

Writer:

James Booth

Stars:

Michael Dudikoff, Steve James, James Booth

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Dudikoff	...	Capt. Matt Hunter
Steve James	...	Larry Richards
James Booth	...	Adm. Brown
William Wallace	...	Wade Delaney (as Bill Wallace)
John P. Ryan	...	Prof. Elliott Glastenbury
Karl Johnson	...	Cmdr. Jeb Wallace
Marc Alaimo	...	Charlie Lavall
Allison Gereighty	...	Sarah Hunter
Loren Farmer	...	Andrew Parker
Rick Boyle	...	Grandpa Jimmy (as Richard Boyle)
Sylvia Joseph	...	Daisy Richards
Robert Taylor	...	Larry Richards Jr.
Bruce Johnson	...	Jeff Richards
Robert Cronin	...	T.C. Cooper
John Wilmot	...	Gen. Al Wyatt

Storyline

Matt Hunter, a former Military Intelligence man who resigned so that he could take care of his sister following his parents' death, goes to visit Larry Richards, a friend who's running for the Senate. When he arrives he learns that Larry's been receiving death threats from a group calling themselves the Pentangle. Later at the rally, someone takes a shot at Larry and hits one of Larry's sons. Matt chases the shooter and takes him out. Matt then calls his former boss to find out who Pentangle is. He learns that they're a right wing paramilitary group and that Larry once foiled one of their plans which is why they're targeting him. Matt also learns that they have an affinity for hunting men. When they try to lure Larry into a trap, Matt tags along and stops them. The group upon learning of Matt decides they would like to make him their next prey. They attack Matt's ranch where Larry and his family are staying and kill Larry and his family and take Matt's sister hostage and tell Matt ...

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Plot Keywords:

hunting | farm | death | escape | chase | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 September 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Night Hunter

Filming Locations:

Kraemer, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,131,502, 14 September 1986, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,679,650

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Cannon Group, Golan-Globus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the German translation Glastenberry says "We are right" instead of "Hitler [Adolf Hitler] was right".

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Goofs

A different truck is used for the jump stunts (on the draw bridge and the junk yard). Most obviously it has only one pair of headlights and a large "4x4" sign on the radiator.

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Quotes

Larry Richards: Matt, you don't have to get involved in this part, this is my fight.
Matt Hunter: Your fight is my fight. You just remember that.

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Connections

References Southern Comfort (1981)

User Reviews

Preachy,unimpressive action movie , but Dudikoff's fans should be satisfied

This movie was originally written as a sequel to "Invasion USA" (1985) with Chuck Norris returning in the role of Matt Hunter. When he was uninterested, the role was rewritten to be younger and given to rising Cannon star Michael Dudikoff instead. Despite sharing the same main character name, the finished film was no longer intended to be a sequel or prequel to the earlier film, but its own stand-alone movie.

It's a good Dudikoff movie , but not a good movie overall. I don't understand the positive reviews for this movie. It's along "American ninja" and "American ninja 2 " one of best Michael Dudikoff movies , however one should remember that none of this movies is really good. You can enjoy them only as guilty pleasures. I prefer "American ninja" movies to "Avenging force" since they don't take themselves too seriously.

Michael Dudikoff and Steve James make a likable duo. They were friends in real life and you can obviously see it here. It's refreshing to see them actually working together in a friendly way, with no bickering. I liked that. Too many "team-up" movies feature the lead good guys squabbling the whole time - but not here. They give adequate performances. The little girl Alison Gereighty who plays Dudikoff's sister is annoying as hell. Same goes for John P. Ryan who is laughably bad as the villain. Other actors and actresses are hardly anything else than mediocre.

The action isn't anything special . Some shootouts , some fights , even sword-fight and kendo fighting . The most memorable thing about "Avenging force" is the nasty violence. This is one movie where even woman and children can't be safe. I guess it makes "AF" slightly different than other movies of this type , but I found the violence here to be full of cheap shock value.

Directed by Sam Firstenberg ("American ninja") the movie is at times dull and doesn't have the much needed suspense. The story itself is nothing special and predictable . The ending sets up for a sequel that obviously never commenced. Having been shot on location in Louisiana, "AF" does have some solid production values. I liked the swamps.

Some people might like that the movie seems to be anti-racist. I find this movie to be preachy and just as subtle as hitting someone with a brick. The bad guys are rich , old and right wing people (The only kind that exist in Hollywood movies – poor people, young or left wing people never do anything wrong) who don't like black people and like to hunt for humans . Oh , how deep , how thought provoking … "Avenging force" also briefly touches upon themes of narrow-mindedness, racism, and corruption in the highest powers of authority.

I rather recommend "Survivor game" or "Hard target" . Both movies have similar story to the one here , but are far better and not preachy , unlike "Avenging force". With low expectations you could enjoy this. Personally there are better escapist movies out there. I give this one 3/10.