Bullet Points: Triple Impact
Mathematically speaking, one could say that 1992’s Triple Impact is greater than 1991’s Double Impact.
But as we know movies are not an exact science like mathematics, so there was really only one way to find out if Triple Impact was in fact greater than, less than or equal to Double Impact and that was to watch Triple Impact and then review Triple Impact…
- Welcome to the Jungle: The movie starts off in the jungles of Cambodia in the early 1970’s where a firefight is going on. It is in the midst of this action that we are introduced to Sergeant Adams (Robert Marius, Raw Target) and Captain Burroughs (Steve Rogers, Bloodfist II) as they are in retreat mode. All the carnage and action have Adams and Burroughs flipped turned upside down and they are wandering aimlessly through the jungle. Then they are literally flipped turned upside down when they fall in a hole and stumble upon the greatest discovery of their lives… a cave that houses a solid gold Buddha head statue!
- What Is This Professional Wrestling?: Fast forward to the early 90’s where we meet two thirds of the soon to be Triple Impact team… Dave Powers (Dale “Apollo” Cook, American Kickboxer 2) and James Stokes (Ron Hall, Bloodsport 2), but they don’t look like much of a team at first as they are battling one another in front of a group of enthusiastic spectators. But a few seconds in and it is obvious that the outcome of this fight has been predetermined and Dave and James are putting on a show and making some cash at the expense of the rubes. After the fight Dave and James are in the parking lot debating if one of the guy deserves more money than the other and that’s when we see Sergeant Adams from the opening scene of the movie run by them as he is being pursued by some goons… Dave and James end up taking out the goons, allowing Adams to escape.
- Golden Opportunity: Later that day, Dave and James are at a local restaurant when Sergeant Adams tracks them down and he tells them about the solid gold Buddha head. It is here where we get more of the Adams/Burroughs backstory that included a falling out between the two when Burroughs tried to kill Adams right after they got out of the cave that housed the treasure and hid the entrance so nobody else would find it. A fight broke out and Burroughs ended up blinded, and Adams ended up in jail as a result. Now Adams is out of prison and is the only one who knows where the entrance to the cave is, but Adam’s “old friend” blind Burroughs is working with a bad guy named McMann. Burroughs stooged Adams off to McMann and it was McMann’s goons that were after Adams since they need him to show them where the treasure is. Adams offers Dave and James a golden opportunity to go with him to retrieve the gold Buddha head (this thing is so big it will take at least three to get it out of the cave)… they are hesitant at first, but eventually come around. The trio start doing their due diligence getting a map from the local library and doing some research on the treasure they are about to go hunting for. But after the library, the treasure hunting trio find themselves in one of the most dangerous places in all of action movies… A PARKING GARAGE… where they encounter McMann’s goons, who foolishly end up killing Adams!
- One Night in Bangkok: Adams may be out of the picture, but not before he could approximate on the map of Cambodia where the entrance to the cave is… so Dave and James hop on a plane to Bangkok, where they’ll look up an old friend of Dave’s to help them on this treasure hunt and complete the Triple Impact team. That friend is a fighter named Julie Webb (Bridgett “Baby Doll” Riley, WMAC Masters) and we soon find out that she and Dave were more than friends.. they were LOVERS! The relationship didn’t end well, but Julie is willing to help Dave and James in the name of getting rich! The three rent a helicopter to take them to Cambodia but something unexpected happens as they get closer to their destination.
- Macho Head Games: Dave, James and Julie’s helicopter is shot down by some drug runners over Cambodian air space, they are forced to jump out of the helicopter down to the water below. This unexpected development throws a monkey wrench in our heroes’ plans… but also the plans of McMann and his goons, who were laying low and planning on piggybacking off of the work Dave, James and Julie were doing and then swoop in and take the gold Buddha head for themselves. Now if our heroes want to make it to the treasure, all three have to survive the “ring of death” against the drug runners’ best fighters. Having a series of fight scenes when you have a cast filled with skilled fighters is never a bad thing and the “ring of death” sequence ramps up the action heading into the final showdown between Triple Impact and McMann and Company as they battle over the solid gold Buddha head!
Triple Impact is less than Double Impact in every way possible… the star power is less than, the budget is less than, the production values are less than. But despite its deficiencies, Triple Impact still has a certain charm to it and I can honestly say I enjoyed the movie for what it was and I appreciate the treasure hunting aspect that they incorporated. It really made Triple Impact more than just another 90’s kickboxing movie. Speaking of more…
One Bonus Bullet Point would be disappointing, but three Bonus Bullet Points would triple the impact…
- Acknowledge Them: The opening credits borrow a page from many a Don “The Dragon” Wilson movie and list the championship accolades of the cast… like WKA World Middle Weight Champion Dale “Apollo” Cook and WKA U.S. Bantam Weight Champion Bridgett “Baby Doll” Riley.
- Is He Hung?: Triple Impact was directed by David Hung, however he is credited as David Hunt. So is he Hunt or is he Hung?
- Montage Alert: When Dave and James need money to get to Bangkok, Dave manages to get a professional fight with Mike “Cobra” Cole. The winner’s share of the purse can finance Dave and James treasure hunting dreams, so Dave MUST win… that means Dave MUST train harder than he ever has before and the only way to do that is with a training montage!
