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The Power Within

  • Video
  • 19951995
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
5.0/10
349
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Gerald Okamura and Ted Jan Roberts in The Power Within (1995)
  • Action
Stan Dryer, a teen afraid to even ask a girl to the prom, finds courage and extreme martial arts skill when he is given a ring by an old man he tried to save from a group of attackers. The r... Read allStan Dryer, a teen afraid to even ask a girl to the prom, finds courage and extreme martial arts skill when he is given a ring by an old man he tried to save from a group of attackers. The ring is a mate to a ring stolen by a double-dealing art thief who had been hired to steal i... Read allStan Dryer, a teen afraid to even ask a girl to the prom, finds courage and extreme martial arts skill when he is given a ring by an old man he tried to save from a group of attackers. The ring is a mate to a ring stolen by a double-dealing art thief who had been hired to steal it by a criminal mastermind who wanted it for its mystical powers.
IMDb RATING
5.0/10
349
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Art Camacho
  • Writers
    • Joe Hart(screenplay)
    • Scott McAboy(story)
  • Stars
    • Ted Jan Roberts
    • Karen Valentine
    • Keith Coogan
Top credits
  • Director
    • Art Camacho
  • Writers
    • Joe Hart(screenplay)
    • Scott McAboy(story)
  • Stars
    • Ted Jan Roberts
    • Karen Valentine
    • Keith Coogan
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 6User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Ted Jan Roberts and William Zabka in The Power Within (1995)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ted Jan Roberts
    Ted Jan Roberts
    • Stan Dryeras Stan Dryer
    Karen Valentine
    Karen Valentine
    • Clyda Dryeras Clyda Dryer
    Keith Coogan
    Keith Coogan
    • Eric Gravesas Eric Graves
    John O'Hurley
    John O'Hurley
    • Lt. Cabrellas Lt. Cabrell
    William Zabka
    William Zabka
    • Raymond Vonnas Raymond Vonn
    Gerald Okamura
    Gerald Okamura
    • Yungas Yung
    Tracy Melchior
    • Sandy Applegateas Sandy Applegate
    • (as Tracy Lindsey)
    P.J. Soles
    P.J. Soles
    • Mrs. Applegateas Mrs. Applegate
    Irwin Keyes
    Irwin Keyes
    • Moshas Mosh
    Jean Speegle Howard
    Jean Speegle Howard
    • Dr. Richmanas Dr. Richman
    Karen Kim
    • Hin-Seeas Hin-See
    Ed O'Ross
    Ed O'Ross
    • Derivaas Deriva
    Jacob Parker
    • Deke Dryeras Deke Dryer
    Marc Riffon
    • Rockyas Rocky
    Francis Fallon
    Francis Fallon
    • Leonas Leon
    Joe Hart
    • Drunk Surfer #1as Drunk Surfer #1
    Scott McAboy
    Scott McAboy
    • Drunk Surfer #2as Drunk Surfer #2
    Kathy Messick
    • Teacher #2as Teacher #2
    • Director
      • Art Camacho
    • Writers
      • Joe Hart(screenplay) (story)
      • Scott McAboy(story)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When Stan, played by Ted Jan Roberts, returns from the beach, Deke and their mother are watching Magic Kid (1993), which Ted Jan Roberts also appeared in.
    • Crazy credits
      Dedicated to "HE WHO DESTINES ALL THINGS"
    • Connections
      Features Magic Kid (1993)
    • Soundtracks
      NO ONE'S ROCKIN'
      Written by Jim Halfpenny

      Performed by Vicky and the Virgins

      Strong Domino Music BMI

    User reviews6

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    "Heaven is different for everyone. For me, it is fishing"
    This here's the first film adolescent karate star Ted Jan Roberts starred in after beginning his MASKED RIDER TV show, and his first feature following the same year's superior A DANGEROUS PLACE. THE POWER WITHIN isn't a bad movie but it's far from great - more of a middle-of-the-road thing, mixing magic and martial arts on a B-movie's budget with unsteady results. There's an interesting cast here and some decent fight scenes, but for all this one's potential, it still sort of comes up short.

    The story: When one of two ancient, magic rings comes into the possession of a timid high schooler (Roberts), he acquires not only impressive new abilities but also an adversary in a dangerous thief seeking the ring (William Zabka).

    The screenplay by PM Entertainment regular Joe Hart is a bit problematic. I don't think it's very effective in getting its point across. The lesson it imparts is that you ought to fulfill your potential, something which Ted's character eventually learns he can do even without magic jewelry, but the setups used to illustrate this are unrealistic and unfair. Prior to acquiring the ring, Ted gets chastised by everyone from his martial arts instructor (Michael DePasquale) to his little brother (the kid from EVENING SHADE) for getting beaten up by no less than five bullies, and after he gets the ring, a teacher challenges him with ridiculously complex history questions as though purposely trying to make him fail. Later he's arrested for beating up a load of goons in self-defense. Lighten up, folks!

    Gerald Okamura, the wise old man Ted receives his ring from, plays a pretty strange character who introduces the inexplicable magical feats seen in the movie (e.g. teleporting, projecting visions, shooting explosive lightning), but I don't mind him since he delivers what might be the best fight scene of the movie, using smooth kung fu to take on a group of thugs. This is one of the few fights unmarred by unnecessary editing, which hurts the remaining six brawls to varying degrees. They're still watchable, especially the one wherein Ted gets back at the aforementioned bullies, but disappointingly, the worst fight is also the most important one: the final showdown between Ted and William Zabka. Zabka's fun to watch throughout the movie, with his crazy sunglasses and English accent, and by all means it should be intriguing to see him antagonize another karate kid, but it's all for naught when their only battle is a short, one-sided little thing that takes place in front of an unconvincing backdrop. I've definitely seen better.

    Not unlike Roberts' previous MAGIC KID, a good portion of the film takes place in and acts as a pseudo-advertisement for the Universal Studios theme park, which is fun in a campy and corny way. Karen Valentine is interesting as Ted's on screen mother, and there's a lot of enjoyable weirdness throughout the film, like the unexplained presence of a chimpanzee in Gerald Okamura's house and Ted's inexplicable ninja dream. However, it's not crazy enough to be great on that leg alone, and as a fantasy/martial arts flick it doesn't deliver entirely either. If this sounds like your kind of thing, go for it, but I've seen better from the boy action hero.
    helpful•0
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    • The_Phantom_Projectionist
    • May 10, 2015

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 24, 1995 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Harika Çocuk 4
    • Filming locations
      • 2nd Street Tunnel between Hill and Figueroa, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • PM Entertainment Group
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 37 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo

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