Bullet Points: Martial Law
I had some preconceived notions before I went into Martial Law. Knowing that Chad McQueen was replaced by Jeff Wincott in the sequel, Martial Law II: Undercover, that was released less than a year after the original, I assumed that McQueen must have really shit the bed. This was an unfair assumption on my part… sure the producers could have been unhappy with McQueen’s performance but the reason McQueen didn’t reprise the role of Sean Thompson could have been due a scheduling conflict, it could have been a dispute over compensation or some other behind the scenes business.
After finally giving Martial Law a chance, I realized I was way off on my McQueen criticism…
- 30 Minutes or Less: The movie begins with a hostage situation at a low rent jewelry store with three amateur criminals trying to act like big shots… this serves as the perfect backdrop to introduce the movie’s hero, Sean Thompson (Chad McQueen, Firepower) or as he is known around the precinct, Martial Law (DING!). Under normal circumstances, the S.W.A.T. team would be called in for a hostage situation like this, but why call in the whole S.W.A.T. team when you can just call upon, Martial Law! Thompson shows up posing as the pizza delivery guy… enters the discount diamond shop and proceeds to whoop some ass. This was a fun introduction to the Sean Thompson character, but I think my favorite part was when the brains of this heist gone bad demands “decorum”… the only other person I can recall ever demanding decorum was “Mean” Gene Okerlund.
- The Low Rhode: David Carradine (P.O.W. the Escape) plays the main villain in the movie, Dalton Rhodes. Rhodes’ evil empire includes smuggling exotic cars, operating a martial arts school and a little gun running on the side. Working for Dalton Rhodes is one Michael Thompson, the younger brother of our hero Sean Thompson. How does the brother of a cop get tangled up with a guy like Dalton Rhodes? Well, Michael was sick of living in the shadow of his heroic cop brother and decided he wanted to be better than his brother at something so he started studying the martial arts at Rhodes’ dojo. Rhodes took a liking to Michael and eventually managed to convince Michael to commit some grand theft auto for him. As you might imagine the brothers Thompson being on opposite sides of the law puts both characters in precarious positions as the events of the movie unfold.
- Partners In Every Sense: Once the cops link some recent murders and the rash of stolen cars in the city to Dalton Rhodes and his crew, the decision is made by the police brass that even the martial arts maverick Sean Thompson is not going to be able to take down Rhodes alone, he’s going to need a partner. Sean agrees with their assessment, but he wants to select his partner… his undercover cop girlfriend Billie Blake (Cynthia Rothrock, Sworn to Justice). Billie proves to be the ultimate partner… she sleeps with Sean, she has Sean’s back when they get into street fights and a big brawl at a nightclub and she even helps Sean pick out his mom’s birthday gift. But a gift from Sean is not all Grace Thompson gets for her birthday… she also has the tragic news that her son Michael has been murdered dropped on her like an anvil! There’s no mystery on who killed Michael and this heinous act by Dalton Rhodes is the catalyst to get to the final martial arts showdown between Sean Thompson and Dalton Rhodes!
Martial Law played it safe and followed standard direct to video operating procedure. The movie was Chad McQueen’s first starring role and proved he could hang. Still the pressure of being in the top spot for the first time combined with the inherited pressure of living up to the larger than life reputation of his father, it made total sense to pair him up with the more experienced Cynthia Rothrock. Rothrock, who at this point had established herself as a legit action star both in the United States and Hong Kong, was perfect in this role… but the casting of Dalton Rhodes may have to be considered more than perfect.
The appeal of David Carradine as a hero is debatable, but there really is no denying that the man can play a fantastic villain (just ask Lone Wolf McQuade). Carradine’s Dalton Rhodes was arrogance personified. The arrogance served him well as he charged outrageous prices for his goods and services and if his clients didn’t like it… he didn’t sweat it for a second, he told them to take their business elsewhere. Rhodes could also be described as a bit eccentric, like the scene where he has Michael and a disgruntled ex-employee battle to the death in his office, arming both men with nunchaku and when Michael refuses to kill his opponent, Rhodes stands up and shoots the guy right in the head. Now that’s what I call a villain!
And now these are what I call Bonus Bullet Points…
- If You Ever: …wanted to see Chad McQueen dressed as a delivery person for Domino’s, then Martial Law is the movie for you.
- Familiar Faces: John Fujioka (American Ninja) plays Chang, a business associate of Dalton Rhodes in the car smuggling game. Chang’s bodyguard, Jimmy Kong, was played by none other than Professor Toru Tanaka (The Running Man)… Tony Longo from Suburban Commando and Rapid Fire fame, played one of Rhodes’ heavies… Vincent Craig Dupree played Faster Brown, a former student of Rhodes who desperately wanted to be a part of Rhodes’ criminal empire and had a vendetta with Michael Thompson. I knew V.C. looked familiar, you too may remember him as Julius, the guy who literally gets his head punched off by Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.
- Benny and the Jets: Dalton Rhodes’ dojo was actually Benny “The Jet” Urquidez’s Jet Center in Van Nuys.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see David Carradine kill Professor Toru Tanaka with the dim mak, then Martial Law is the movie for you.
- Never Ending Questions: It is never a good idea to answer a question with another question. When Billie is asked if her lead is solid she quips, “Does Jim Baker drop the soap?”. Which made me ask, am I supposed to know who Jim Baker is? Were they referring to disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker, who was serving an eight year prison sentence when this movie was made? And if so, were they implying that Bakker enjoyed sexual relations with other men? His affair with Jessica Hahn would contradict that. Or were they referencing another Jim Baker completely?… like some random guy named Jim Baker who in addition to dropping soap a lot, loved cigarettes, classic Lays potato chips and the movie The Sand Pebbles starring Chad McQueen’s dad, Steve.
