Bullet Points: Striker (1988)
John Rambo may not have fathered any children, but the success of the Rambo film series spawned many a John Rambo imitator in the years that followed the release of 1982’s First Blood. From Chuck Norris’ Col. James Braddock in the Missing in Action trilogy to Mike Danton in Deadly Prey to the cleverly named Rambu in The Intruder, many an action star got their John Rambo on in the 1980’s.
Frank Zagarino (Zags to his friends) had his opportunity to do his best John Rambo impersonation in 1988’s Striker…
- Dirty Laundry: Frank Zagarino plays John Slade (shouldn’t his name have been John Striker?) a former special ops soldier of some description who now finds himself in the linen service industry in beautiful Miami. After one of his stops, Slade is attacked by three masked men. This scene allowed Slade to show off his ass kicking and improvisational skills early when at one point he used his laundry bag as a weapon. During the skirmish one of the masked assailants planted some drugs in Slade’s pocket moments before the cops show up to break up this very public fight. When the cops find the drugs on Slade’s person, he is promptly thrown in jail and is looking at 10 years in prison if convicted.
- Get Out Of Jail Free Card: Slade quickly realizes he’s been set up when some government bureaucrat type shows up and offers Slade a deal. Slade has been selected by a General Rosen, to go to Nicaragua on an extraction mission to get out war hero/reporter, Frank Morris (John Phillip Law, Space Mutiny), if Slade can successfully bring Morris back he won’t have to worry about dropping the soap for the next 10 years. The decision is an easy one for Slade, in fact he tells General Rosen that he would have gladly volunteered for the gig and they didn’t have to go through the trouble of setting him up since Frank Morris was the main who trained him.
- Joop There It Is: Slade arrives in Nicaragua under the guise of a Canadian photographer covering the ongoing turmoil between the Contras and the Sandinistas. Slade keeps up appearances before meeting up with his contact, Marta (Melonee Rodgers, Sinbad of the Seven Seas). Slade soon realizes Marta is more than his contact, she is going to be his partner on this rescue mission, whether he likes it or not. But first things first, they have to meet up with helicopter pilot, Joop Houtman. The flying Dutchman has all the equipment that Slade requested and he will drop off Slade and Marta as close to the Sandinista HQ as possible… Slade and Marta see a bit of action before they even meet up with Joop, but the action is about to intensify…
- Welcome to the Jungle: Slade and Marta make their way to the jungle, not knowing exactly where Morris is being held and having to fight off the Sandinistas at every turn… the action highlight has to be when Slade uses a slingshot with explosive pellets against his foes. Eventually Marta has the bright idea that she should allow herself to be captured, then Slade can follow at a safe distance with the theory being, they would likely lock her up in the same place as Frank Morris. It proves to be a risk that pays off…
- Revelations: Slade and Marta manage to spring Frank Morris from his imprisonment, much to the chagrin of the two top villains… Kariasin the Russian (John Steiner, Cut and Run) and Santiago the commanding officer of the Sandinistas. But Slade, Marta and Morris still need to make it back to the pickup point so Joop can fly them the hell out of danger… and you just know that Kariasin and Santiago aren’t going to make it easy on them. One thing Frank Morris didn’t know was how in the hell Slade knew to come to Nicaragua in the first place… when Slade tells him he’s working for General Rosen, Morris flips out. Rosen doesn’t want Frank Morris reporting how the United States government was playing both sides in the Contra/Sandinista conflict, so Rosen didn’t want to save Morris, he wanted to silence him. Who could have guessed the shady General who got Slade to go on this mission by shady means, had a shady ulterior motive?! After that shocking revelation, it is soon revealed that Marta and Joop were well aware of the actual mission, which leads to Slade going ape shit, surviving torture and sticking it to the man just like John Rambo would have, well almost like John Rambo would have.
Striker struck fast and struck hard and despite losing some steam as it went on, it avoided striking out. Frank Zagarino brought exactly what I expected him to bring to the Rambo-esque role of John Slade (again, why wasn’t his name John Striker?) as he stacked up a Rambo-esque body count.
It bears repeating, but the action highlight for me was Slade using the slingshot as a weapon. If there was ever a John Slade action figure produced, it damn sure better have a slingshot accessory and a soulless blank stare on the face. The slingshot was even featured in some of the artwork for the film and for good reason, it is something that made John Slade stand out from all the other Rambo knock offs of the time.
Before I knock off, here are some Bonus Bullet Points…
- Directed By: Striker was directed by Enzo G. Castellari, who also directed such films as Light Blast, Street Law and The Inglorious Bastards.
- If You Ever: …wanted to witness a woman compliment Frank Zagarino’s ass, then Striker is the movie for you.
- Favorite Quote: “You fuckers are all born with your heads up your asses” – Frank Morris, right before he spits in Kariasin’s face
- Familiar Face: Daniel Greene (Uppercut Man) pops up at the end up at the end of the movie as a trucker/boxer who offers to give John Slade a ride out of town.
- If You Ever: …wanted to witness a man electrocute Frank Zagarino’s genitals, then Striker is the movie for you.
- Who’s Your Daddy?: I probably need to go back and pay closer attention so I can spot Frank Zagarino Sr. who appears in the film as a businessman. Striker was the one an only credited film role for Papa Zags.
