A villain, lots of gunfire, some girls that need rescue - you have seen it one thousand times before - and 999 of them were probably better than this. I wouldn't waste time and money on this movie if I were you.
4 Reviews
The default not-so-good action movie
natt-215 August 2000
it's one-time-watch territory.
tarbosh2200014 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Tava Parker (Stone) is a Vietnam vet who now teaches Martial Arts to kids at the Pai-O-Hana Karate School in Hawaii. When his girlfriend Karen Kirkland (Bryant) is kidnapped, along with other women such as Sherry and Aloha (Eva Winnercrans and Kasey Antonio, respectively, in their only screen roles), Tava "Tigershark" Parker snaps into action. He travels to the Philippines (where else?) and links up with his old 'Nam buddy Dave "Cowboy" Reynolds (Quade), and his local contact, the taxi driver Tony (Alvarez). Of course, the mission is not going to be easy, as the evil commie Col. Barro (Silayan) is holding the ladies hostage. Will our three heroes rescue the three hostages? And what will become of the TIGERSHARK?
Mike Stone, known for being a Martial Artist, stuntman, and associate of Elvis, here gets his one and only starring role. Just as Martin Kove sliced that pineapple with a samurai sword in Shootfighter (1993), here Stone kicks coconuts off a stand and shatters them. It's a very Hawaiian form of Martial Arts. In his quest to save the girls, he gets involved in a Punchfighting-type scenario, where the two fighters are chained together at the wrists, and they wear a sort of sandal with a metal piece on it that would definitely incapacitate the opponent. As if that wasn't enough, there is a cockfight going on at the same time, and the blood from said cockfight is poured on the sandals. Well, that's what the screaming audience calls entertainment, I suppose.
While Stone is decent enough in the lead, and he can definitely carry the movie, he was helped a lot by John Quade as Cowboy. He puts in an energetic performance and he strongly resembles Charles Durning. Pamela Jean Bryant as Karen is always a pleasant sight to see, especially since the last time we saw her was in the classic "Geteven" (1993), which is a Comeuppance favorite.
Director Emmett Alston, known around these parts for 9 Deaths of the Ninja (1985) and his last directorial effort, Little Ninjas (1993) - but also for New Year's Evil (1980) - really makes you wait for any of the machine gun shootin', hut-explodin' , guard-tower-fallin' action. Most of it is saved for the grand finale. That's all well and good, but the movie overall seems to have a lack of forward drive and it drags in many places. Not that it's bad, per se, but because it has an overly simplistic plot, it should have been filled with many more thrills along the way.
Mike Stone wrote the script along with fan favorite Ivan Rogers. To the film's great detriment, Rogers does not appear on screen at any time. He was just on board in a writing capacity. If Rogers was in front of the camera, that would have improved things tremendously. Too bad that couldn't have happened.
Much like how Rage to Kill (1988) ended with the tender ballad "Do You Remember Love?" after countless people had been slaughtered, Tigershark goes down the same road for its end credits song. After many people are beat up, blown up, shot, or in any case mangled or killed, the soaring, midtempo adult-contemporary number "Two People, One Heart" by Joe Fagin and Tessa Niles croons away on the soundtrack. The song is very catchy and it's the perfect thing to have stuck in your head as you think back to Tigershark's Vietnam flashback scene.
While Tigershark did get a U. S. VHS release on New World, and had decent distribution worldwide at the time (especially compared to some of its contemporaries), it still appears to be little-seen and not very well-loved. That's not entirely fair, but let's face it, it is pretty middle-of-the-road stuff. It's not good enough to be great or bad enough to be awful. That being said, it does have its moments, however. But, for us at least, it's one-time-watch territory.
Mike Stone, known for being a Martial Artist, stuntman, and associate of Elvis, here gets his one and only starring role. Just as Martin Kove sliced that pineapple with a samurai sword in Shootfighter (1993), here Stone kicks coconuts off a stand and shatters them. It's a very Hawaiian form of Martial Arts. In his quest to save the girls, he gets involved in a Punchfighting-type scenario, where the two fighters are chained together at the wrists, and they wear a sort of sandal with a metal piece on it that would definitely incapacitate the opponent. As if that wasn't enough, there is a cockfight going on at the same time, and the blood from said cockfight is poured on the sandals. Well, that's what the screaming audience calls entertainment, I suppose.
While Stone is decent enough in the lead, and he can definitely carry the movie, he was helped a lot by John Quade as Cowboy. He puts in an energetic performance and he strongly resembles Charles Durning. Pamela Jean Bryant as Karen is always a pleasant sight to see, especially since the last time we saw her was in the classic "Geteven" (1993), which is a Comeuppance favorite.
Director Emmett Alston, known around these parts for 9 Deaths of the Ninja (1985) and his last directorial effort, Little Ninjas (1993) - but also for New Year's Evil (1980) - really makes you wait for any of the machine gun shootin', hut-explodin' , guard-tower-fallin' action. Most of it is saved for the grand finale. That's all well and good, but the movie overall seems to have a lack of forward drive and it drags in many places. Not that it's bad, per se, but because it has an overly simplistic plot, it should have been filled with many more thrills along the way.
Mike Stone wrote the script along with fan favorite Ivan Rogers. To the film's great detriment, Rogers does not appear on screen at any time. He was just on board in a writing capacity. If Rogers was in front of the camera, that would have improved things tremendously. Too bad that couldn't have happened.
Much like how Rage to Kill (1988) ended with the tender ballad "Do You Remember Love?" after countless people had been slaughtered, Tigershark goes down the same road for its end credits song. After many people are beat up, blown up, shot, or in any case mangled or killed, the soaring, midtempo adult-contemporary number "Two People, One Heart" by Joe Fagin and Tessa Niles croons away on the soundtrack. The song is very catchy and it's the perfect thing to have stuck in your head as you think back to Tigershark's Vietnam flashback scene.
While Tigershark did get a U. S. VHS release on New World, and had decent distribution worldwide at the time (especially compared to some of its contemporaries), it still appears to be little-seen and not very well-loved. That's not entirely fair, but let's face it, it is pretty middle-of-the-road stuff. It's not good enough to be great or bad enough to be awful. That being said, it does have its moments, however. But, for us at least, it's one-time-watch territory.
"In 'Nam we called him Tigershark, because he stalked like a tiger and attacked like a shark."
HarryLags17 October 2016
Sensei Tava Parker (Mike Stone, American Ninja 2) is having a relaxing life teaching karate to kids in a Hawaii karate school, since the Vietnam war ended. He has a model girlfriend, Karen (Pamela Bryant, Don't Answer the Phone) who is kidnapped while doing a photo shoot in Sudan. Tava's old 'Nam pal Cowboy (John Quade, Every which way but loose) see's the kidnapping and calls Tava. Tava flies over from Hawaii determined to rescue his girl and make the kidnappers pay.The action is a little light on for the first half hour but some of the lines delivered by Cowboy are so funny that you are distracted enough anyway. The second half picks up and there is quite a bit of action with huts exploding, missiles firing, and some good martial arts from Mike Stone. Mike Stone is pretty good here and i'm surprised he didn't do more movies of this type. Definitely a solid piece of 80's Jungle action that is worth hunting down. Tigershark currently has a very low score and i think it is unfairly awarded. It's a movie called Tigershark, what are these people thinking? Look at the poster! This isn't going to be Casablanca folks! Overall a decent action film that is worth a watch.
Old-fashioned action filler
lor_1 April 2023
My review was written in February 1989 after watching the movie on Diamond Entertainment video cassette.
"Tiger Shark" is a Filipino-lensed action pic that rarely rises above the routine but functions adequately as a throwback to the soldier of fortune pics popular in the '50s.
Mike Stone topliens (and collaborates behind the camera too) as Tava, nicknamed Tiger Shark, called from his Hawaiian martial arts academy to help war buddy John Quade rescue Stone's kidnapped girlfriend Pamela Bryant.
A subplot involving a Soviet communist leader (played as a lecherous caricature by Jimmy Fabrigas) providing military aid to rebels goes nowhere. Pic climaxes in a well-staged, to-the-death kickboxing contest, the combatant joined with a steel chain.
Acting is weak except for a very entertaining, salt-of-the-earth performance by Quade, a familiar good ol' boy character actor who rarely gets such a meaty role as here.
"Tiger Shark" is a Filipino-lensed action pic that rarely rises above the routine but functions adequately as a throwback to the soldier of fortune pics popular in the '50s.
Mike Stone topliens (and collaborates behind the camera too) as Tava, nicknamed Tiger Shark, called from his Hawaiian martial arts academy to help war buddy John Quade rescue Stone's kidnapped girlfriend Pamela Bryant.
A subplot involving a Soviet communist leader (played as a lecherous caricature by Jimmy Fabrigas) providing military aid to rebels goes nowhere. Pic climaxes in a well-staged, to-the-death kickboxing contest, the combatant joined with a steel chain.
Acting is weak except for a very entertaining, salt-of-the-earth performance by Quade, a familiar good ol' boy character actor who rarely gets such a meaty role as here.
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