Bullet Points: UltiMax Force
Question… what is better than one American ninja?
Cannon believed the answer to that question was two American Ninjas as seen in their 1991 film, American Ninja 4: The Annihilation. The fourth installment in the franchise starred both of the previous solo American Ninjas, Michael Dudikoff and David Bradley.
But years before that, 1987’s UltiMax Force had a different answer to that question… because their movie had FOUR American ninjas and these were ninjas who carried firearms and were dubbed “the first ninja commandos”…
- California Ninjas: Four American ninjas are summoned to the Ninja Society of California… the sign at the entrance did not seem very ninja like, but the test the four ninjas must pass certainly had all the ninja hallmarks as the four ninjas had to battle other ninjas to prove they are worthy for the mission that lies ahead. Once all four pass the test, they reveal their identities. There’s Chris Burton, Dick Foster, Mike Dobson and Bill Norton… all played by one and done actors that you have never heard of. Which makes me wonder if they were actual ninja commandos and not actors at all?!?! Master Hiroshi informs them of their mission… they need to get Captain Morgan… and not the type that is readily available, but Captain David Morgan, who is a prisoner of war in Vietnam, a place Chris, Dick, Mike and Bill are all too familiar with.
- Dinner for Two: Chris is the leader of the team and he has a nice dinner with Audrey, David Morgan’s sister, where he wears his always present headband. Audrey provides Chris with information she received from a reporter for “War Zone Magazine” and that leads Chris to a soldier of fortune known as Dr. Death who will provide Chris and his team transport to Vietnam. Dr. Death ends up having to get them there in a hurry… whether he likes it or not!
- Missing in Action: The movie then gets into full blown Missing in Action mode with the team arriving in Vietnam and finding their contact Lloyd in unique fashion… the guys walk into a bar and there is ALREADY a bar fight going on and the fight is basically Lloyd getting his ass kicked… the guys step in and help him out and get in on the bar fight action as action movie rules state they should. Lloyd is going to escort them to a man who could help… Sam. Now as luck would have it Chris Burton is familiar with Sam from his time during the war and considered him an old friend, which makes it even worse when Sam double crosses Chris and the team and radios the evil Col. Minh to give him the heads up that there’s Americans looking for the prisoners under Minh’s watch. Chris catches Sam mid transmission and blows him away!
- Good News, Bad News: With time running out it is time to get down to business… so Chris, Dick, Mike and Bill get in their ninja garb and form
VoltronThe UltiMax Force! Lloyd does a double take when he sees the guys all in black… Chris simply says, “We’re warriors Lloyd!” …things cut to Col. Minh who has some good news and bad news for Captain David Morgan… he informs Morgan that his call for help has been answered, BUT he assures him that they will not be successful. Morgan defiantly tells Minh that he hopes they slit Minh’s throat! …one of the reasons Minh is so confident that the American rescue team will not be successful… is because he is moving all the prisoners.
- A Phoung in the Ointment: But what Col. Minh wasn’t accounting for is that the UltiMax Force would get some help from one of the local, a young lady named Phoung (played by Vivian Cheung, who got the Introducing credit for some reason when this was literally a movie filled with first time actors)… but the team doesn’t want her help when she first offers it. Dick doesn’t want her around because he lives by the motto “the only good Viet Cong is a dead one” and Chris doesn’t want her around because she is a woman… but when the guy they pick for the job betrays them, Phoung comes through and even racist Dick welcomes her to the team.
- Sore Loser: Col. Minh proves to be a sore loser and when he believes that the Americans may actually accomplish their goal he shoots Captain Morgan and his fellow prisoners right in the hole he stuck them in…. which means there’s no way the Americans can win now. But wait… we get a flashback to the Vietnam War and see what happened the last time Col. Minh and Chris Burton crossed paths… and lets just say it wasn’t a pleasant experience for Chris. But now Chris has the opportunity to make things right for himself and avenge the death of the man he was attempting to rescue and do so in spectacularly violent fashion.
Mashing up Cannon classics won’t get any complaints from me. Menahem Golan himself was known for mashing up ideas in his movies (Ninja III: The Domination for example), so in some ways The UltiMax Force is like a double tribute to Golan. Chris Burton and his headband ranks right up there with John Rambu of The Intruder fame as one of my favorite low budget action heroes and when the movie was over I sincerely wished there were more Chris Burton movies to watch… but alas much like the actor that portrayed him (Arnold Nicholas for the record), the Chris Burton character was one and done.
This review is almost done, so lets get into some Bonus Bullet Points…
- Ninja Scroll: The movie begins with a scroll that gives the statistics of American servicemen who remain unaccounted for in Vietnam.
- Favorite Quote: “Minh, this is Chris Burton you mother fucker!”
- Familiar Face: I recognized Henry Strzalkowski’s last name from my most recent eye exam and I recognized Henry’s face from the movies Raiders of the Sun and Rage. Henry played Bob Cummins in UltiMax Force, the best intelligence officer in the game, who provides Chris and the team with the intel they need to rescue Captain Morgan, is arrested for stealing top secret files and is then never heard from again. Thanks for your sacrifice Bob and thank you for uttering the term “UltiMax Force” as well, and speaking of thanks…
- Special Thanks: Once again I have to put over what a great follow Big Mike Leeder is on social media especially if you are an old school action fanatic (or coffee enthusiast). Mike’s recent post about UltiMax Force and his description, “genius worthy of Cannon, IFD and Roger Corman combined” was enough to sell me on seeking the movie out.
