A Force of One (1979)

Director:

Paul Aaron

Writers:

Pat E. Johnson (story) and
Ernest Tidyman (story) ...

Release Date:

June 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

He hears the silence. He see's the darkness. He's the only one who can stop the killing.

Plot:

A team of undercover narcotics agents is conducting an investigation when things mysteriously begin to go haywire...

Plot Keywords:

Karate | Police | Undercover | Martial Arts | Murder

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jennifer O'Neill	...	Mandy Rust
Chuck Norris	...	Matt Logan
Clu Gulager	...	Dunne
Ron O'Neal	...	Rollins
Bill Wallace	...	Sparks
Eric Laneuville	...	Charlie Logan
James Whitmore Jr.	...	Moskowitz
Clint Ritchie	...	Melrose
Pepe Serna	...	Orlando
Ray Vitte	...	Newton
Taylor Lacher	...	Bishop
Lisa James	...	Harriett
Chu Chu Malave	...	Rudy
Kevin Geer	...	Johnson
Eugene Butler	...	Murphy

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | UK:18

Filming Locations:

San Diego, California, USA

Company:

American Cinema Productions

Trivia:

Filmed originally began in January 1979.

Goofs:

Continuity: The Skateboard Boy's shirt changes color from green, to blue, and back again while being followed by police.

Quotes:

Charlie Logan: I wonder if that guy knows he's so obnoxious.

Movie Connections:

Featured in How American Cinema Changed Hollywood Forever (2003) (V)

Early Norris thriller playing a tough trainer is packed with noisy action, tension and violence

Chuck Norris exciting vehicle with lots of action, thrills, suspense and spectacular kick-boxing fights. One time the Vietnam war is over, a Karate teacher named Matt Logan(Chuck Norris) keeps a new occupation as trainer, previous life as leader of a Vietnam commando named ¨The Black Tigers¨ (at his former film titled ¨Good guys wear black¨ by Ted Post). A police lieutenant (Clu Gulager)attempts to resolve why his squad members(Jennifer O'Neill,Pepe Serna,Ron O'Neal, among others) are being mysteriously killed .Then Norris using his skills as fighter to help combat drug trafficking and discover as the undercover narcotic agents are being eliminated one-by-one.

This stirring picture is plenty of action-packed, excitement, tense and cheesy sub-plot to boot with wild stunts .The story displays a plethora of martial-arts struggles and especially Thailand fighting. Norris cleans up the nasty fighters by means of punches ,kicks, bounds and leaps with fights certainly slick . Mediocre screenplay in spite of being written by Ernest Tidyman (French Connection, Shaft).It's violent, frenetic and hectic and not particularly literary but worthy entry in Kung-Fu genre , although runs out energy surprisingly early. Average Norris-thriller ,exciting and tense at times with fine work from Clint Ritchie, James Withmore Jr and Clu Gulager as a brilliant chief named Dune. And of course, Karate expert Chuck Norris who saves the day with lots of visceral violence , he's a nice wrestler who possesses incredible strength . The motion picture is regularly directed by Paul Aaron. The film belongs Norris's early period ,as during the 70s when he made low-average budget as ¨Breaker,Breaker¨, ¨Slaughter in San Francisco ¨, after that, in the 80s and 90s he acted in better movies as ¨Code of silence,Delta Force,Silent rage,Octagon,Forced vengeance, Delta Force I,II, An eye for an eye¨ among others ,with successful box office at cinemas and video-rentals. In the 90s and 2000s with exception of ¨Walker Texas Ranger¨,the Norris star has gone down. Action addicts will give this one a passing grade ,all others need not apply. If you're a previous Norris fans,you'll like it but contains enough action and violence for enthusiastic of the Karate genre. This is a must see if you're a die-hard Chuck Norris fan.