Gymkata (1985)

User Rating:

3.5/10   

Director:

Robert Clouse

Writers:

Charles Robert Carner (writer)
Dan Tyler Moore (novel)

Release Date:

May 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

The skill of gymnastics, the kill of karate.

Plot:

Johnathan Cabot is a champion gymnast. In the tiny, yet savage, country of Parmistan, there is a perfect spot for a "star wars" site...

Plot Keywords:

Gymnastics | Fall From Height | Martial Arts Gymnastics | Ninja | Bow And Arrow

Awards:

1 nomination

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)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:(Banned) (1986) | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Yugoslavia

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Quotes:

Eastern Trainer: There are many sounds around us, each is slightly different. So small as to go un-noticed by the person who is unaware. Do not hear the wood split. Hear the only sound of axe, cutting air. Read the air itself. It has much say to you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Amazing Stories: Fine Tuning (#1.7)" (1985)

This film deserves (a lot) more credit

The average rating of 2.9 out of 10 for this film is a travesty. Anybody who watches this film and gives it less than 3 out of 10 is a fool who has completely missed the point. Let me explain: The acting...is not great. The plot...could be deeper. The direction and cinematography...second to many. However, all of those things (and probably many more) take a sideline when you watch the film. This is due entirely to the sheer fun of it all. It is not meant to be a serious work of art (at least I hope not), it is meant to be a fast paced, entertaining vehicle for showing off Kurt Thomas's ample gymnastic abilities in the most contrived situations imaginable (spot the high bar (and chalk) between two buildings). And in this capacity, the film really delivers as we follow Thomas (aka Jonathan Cabott) through a life or death race - that some people bizarrely seem to have volunteered for - across some very inhospitable ground with a bunch of well armed, evil looking locals on his tail. Sure, if you're a movie critic who has watched every film ever released since 1896, you'll probably think this is puerile rubbish. That is why I am so pleased not to be a movie critic, because I can sit down and watch a simple film and derive a simple pleasure from it. Simple as that.