Movie Kumite: China O’Brien vs. One Man Army
When you think of the stars who were cornerstones of the late 80’s-mid 90’s DTV action era, both Cynthia Rothrock and Jerry Trimble are likely to be two of the first names that pop in your head. Each one of them has an impressive resume of features that allowed them to showcase their martial arts skills, and at the top of those lists you’re likely to find the films China O’Brien and One Man Army. Those films were among the most recognizable out of the flood of fight films from the era, and arguably the most popular films that featured Rothrock and Trimble in leading roles. In fact, not only were they huge fan favorites, but they were almost exactly the same! In this edition of Movie Kumite, we pit Trimble’s Jerry Pelt vs. Rothrock’s titular heroine to see which master of martial law will walk out the winner!
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
80’s and 90’s action cinema gave us a plethora of action hero names ranging from awesome to absurd. In fact, Mystery Science Theater 3000 spent an entire episode cracking wise about the subject. Here, we had Rothrock playing China O’Brien, a big city cop turned small town sheriff. In One Many Army, Jerry Trimble played Jerry Pelt, a simple enough name, but not one that strikes fear in the hearts of evildoers. Despite having all the ass kicking ability in the world, the name Jerry Pelt just isn’t as marketable as Ms. O’Brien’s is. China wins Round 1 easily.
CHINA O’BRIEN – 1 ONE MAN ARMY – 0
WHAT ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS?
The hit song from TLC asked “Will they stand their ground? Will they let you down again?”, and both of these movies delivered the answer to those questions. China O’Brien was reunited with her old boyfriend Matt (Richard Norton), and together with the mysterious drifter Dakota (Keith Cooke) they formed a heroic trio that swore to take back the town. When Jerry Pelt came back to Johnson City, he was welcomed back with open arms by his old flame Natalie, Hank the family dog, and his best buddy Eddie. Unfortunately for Jerry, Eddie wasn’t the bosom buddy he thought he was, because he was the one responsible for his grandfather’s murder. You know how Meatloaf said two out of three ain’t bad? Maybe for him it’s not, but it wasn’t enough for Jerry to win this round.
CHINA O’BRIEN – 2 ONE MAN ARMY – 0
REASONS FOR REVENGE
Neither China or Jerry knew what they were in for when they went back home. China needed a break after killing a street thug who turned out to be a kid. Jerry got the sad news about his grandfather and came back to settle his affairs. As Jerry slowly uncovered the truth about what was going on in town (and eventually, his grandfather’s death), China bore witness to it firsthand, between being accosted by some thugs and watching as her father got blown up in a car bombing. Actually seeing your father die in a fiery police car is going to scar you for sure, but finding out that your best friend killed your grandfather as a result of his drug addled loyalty to the scumbag taking over the town will also do a number on you. I’m going to have to call this one right down the middle.
CHINA O’BRIEN – 2.5 ONE MAN ARMY – .5
MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR
China’s reunion with Matt sees them make flirty eyes at each other and team up to dish out justice, but anyone thinking they’ll get to see Ms. Rothrock doing anything physical besides fighting is going to be sad. Back in Johnson County, Jerry Pelt is rewarded for his heroic deeds by sealing the deal with Natalie (played by B movie queen Melissa Moore). Jerry’s definitely got more game than his female doppleganger, so he’s got this one in the bag.
CHINA O’BRIEN – 2.5 ONE MANY ARMY – 1.5
THE EVIL THAT MEN DO
China O’Brien’s criminal mastermind Sommers killed cops (made all the more tragic by China witnessing her father get engulfed in flames), pimped out whores, killed the ones that crossed him (like Dakota’s mother), had deputies and judges in his pocket, and an army of thugs to do his bidding. One Man Army featured shady businessman Sharperson running a slave trade operation, a drug ring, and prostitution, all with the help of corrupt Sheriff Boze. He also forced Jerry’s supposed best friend Eddie to work for him to feed his drug addiction, enlisted him to off Jerry’s grandfather, and indirectly led to Eddie murdering his wife after she revealed what was going on with Eddie to Jerry and Natalie. While Sheriff O’Brien’s death was a tragic turn that led to China rising up against those that caused it, Sharperson managed to take away Jerry’s grandfather AND best friend in one fell swoop, then tried to kill the woman he loves on top of all his other evil actions. That kind of master manipulation puts him past Sommers, and puts One Many Army over in Round 5.
CHINA O’BRIEN – 2.5 ONE MAN ARMY – 2.5
Just when you thought this Mortal Kombat style Mirror Match couldn’t be any closer, we have a tie! Both China O’Brien and One Man Army are standing on equal ground after five rounds, which means this battle is entering Sudden Death!
SOUNDTRACK SHOWDOWN
China O’Brien managed to gain notoriety outside of its targeted fanbase thanks to the inclusion of the song “Distant Storm” on the soundtrack. The song can be heard during China’s drive back home after the shooting incident that made her quit the police force. So why exactly is that song the reason for China’s popularity among music lovers? Because it was performed by award winning singer-songwriter Tori Amos! Since China didn’t have an official soundtrack album, Tori fans went crazy for copies of the film to have such a rare piece in their Tori collections. Oh, and you’d have to be an uber Tori fan to know this tidbit, because she released the song under the name “Tess Makes Good”, because she had albums that failed previously and feared having another one to her name! The film also featured a catchy guitar riff that was used in the opening fight and over the end credits that set a great tone for fighting, and is one of those songs that would be at home on anyone’s gym playlist.
One Man Army featured a bunch of stock instrumental songs, and a closing love ballad lifted from another martial arts movie! I covered Don “The Dragon” Wilson’s Blackbelt in my No Surrender Cinema column a while back, and the song sung by the lead actress in that film was used as the love theme for Jerry and Natalie. Sure, it’s nice to send our hero off into the sunset with his woman, but not with a song that sent Matthias Hues into a murderous rage!
FINAL SCORE: CHINA O’BRIEN – 3.5 ONE MAN ARMY – 2.5
The equal levels of awesomeness in both China O’Brien and One Many Army had them locked in battle to the bitter end, but when the dust cleared it was Cynthia Rothrock’s beloved badass that won the day. Jerry Pelt was a worthy adversary, strong enough that he managed to take the fight into overtime until a small footnote in music history did him in.
