Bullet Points: Rapid Fire (1989)
One day I was having a conversation with Anthony Criss (Treach for those in the know) and he asked me a simple question, “You down with AIP?”. My response was, “Yeah, you know me.”
As you may have guessed, that conversation never actually happened but what did actually happen was my recent viewing of 1989’s Rapid Fire produced by AIP (Action International Pictures for those in the know).
- Guy Walks Onto a Battleship: The world’s most wanted terrorist, Mustapha (Del Zamora, Boone: The Bounty Hunter) has been caught and is set to be transported to the United States via battleship. Eddy Williams posing as a Naval officer, gains access to the ship while carrying a very conspicuous case that houses a gun that is like no other. Eddy gets the gun out of the case and heads to the brig to bust Mustapha out. Eddy and Mustapha make their way off the battleship and to an awaiting speed boat. When the local marine police give chase, Eddy blows up their boat with the rocket attachment on his “ultimate weapon” gun.
- Guy Walks Into a Bar: Former mercenary, Mike Thompson (Ron Waldron, Terror in Beverly Hills) walks into a bar for a shot and a beer. A few moments later, the lovely Corie Parker sits next to Mike at the bar and is almost immediately harassed by a big goon, who think she should be sitting with him. Corie throws her drink in the goon’s face and when he doesn’t let it go, Mike steps in and comes to Corie’s aid. Corie gets a phone call at the bar like she’s Norm Peterson and has to leave immediately. Corie asks Mike if he wouldn’t mind escorting her to her car in case the goon wants to start more trouble. Mike is more than happy to do so… and after Corie pulls away, Mike is abducted by some guys who were hiding in a van parked next to Corie’s car. When Mike comes to, he finds himself tied to a chair, with an interrogation light shining right in his face. The man speaking to Mike is no stranger, it is Hansen with the CIA (Joe Spinell, Rocky). Hansen has a job for Mike. Mike reminds Hansen that he doesn’t do that kind of work anymore… then Hansen mentions the name Eddy Williams and Mike can’t accept the job offer quick enough.
- Guy Walks Into an Ice Cream Parlor: If Mike is going to go after Eddy Williams, he is going to need some help from his old buddy Pappy (Doug Harter, White Fury). Mike crashes Pappy’s pool party and after Pappy’s shot gun toting ex-wife does the same… Pappy and Mike head over to one of Eddy’s known hang outs… an ice cream parlor?!?! Pappy tells Mike what he should order when he gets inside and it turns out that the ice cream parlor is the front for a brothel. Mike gets inside and chats with one of the lovely women inside, Chocolate Swirl. When Mike asks about Eddy Williams, that gets the attention of some Eddy’s boys, who attempt to beat up the infiltrating Mike, but end up getting their asses handed to them. Before Mike leaves he tells them to let Eddy know that Mike Thompson is looking for him… When Eddy gets the message he kills the messenger (farewell Chocolate Swirl, we hardly knew you) and then goes into denial… Mike Thompson is dead as far as Eddy is concerned.
- Guy Walks In On a Woman Getting Out of The Shower: Mike heads home and the ominous music and the way he is acting makes you know that Mike realizes that somebody is in his house and that somebody is Corie who decided to take a shower after her car broke down and she had to walk to Mike’s place. Corie apologizes for the set up at the bar parking lot and says she was just following Hansen’s orders. Mike doesn’t hold a grudge, in fact he even cooks a chicken dinner before bedding her. This one night stand earns Corie girlfriend status with Mike and that leads to her becoming a pawn in the Thompson/Williams rivalry. Eddy, after accepting that Mike Thompson is alive and not just the boogeyman in his dreams, calls up Mike and suggests a trade Mike’s life for Corie’s life.
- Guy Walks Into a Trap: Mike and Pappy are preparing to rescue Corie when Hansen shows up and wants to take control. Hansen wants Mike to wear a wire and take some of his CIA guys as backup. Shortly after they hit the road, Hansen’s plan goes right down the Bemis after Pappy goes into the back of the van and throws the CIA guys out! When Mike and Pappy arrive at the exchange they fully expect that they are walking into a trap, but it is Eddy’s guys who end up getting their legs shot out from underneath them courtesy of the sniping skills of Pappy. Mike and Corie are reunited and Eddy’s wounded guys spill the beans as the location of Eddy Williams… now the trio of Mike, Corie and Pappy are going to gear up and get some revenge on Eddy and his buddy Mustapha!
Like most of AIP’s productions, Rapid Fire was written and directed by David A. Prior. But unlike most AIP productions, Rapid Fire felt like it was lacking. The action wasn’t quite as crazy, the villain was a real sad sack and the hero was kind of just there. The standout character was Pappy, who brought some much needed energy and personality to the movie.
AIP loyalists have likely already seen Rapid Fire, but if you are new to the world of AIP, I’d suggest watching Invasion Force or Deadly Prey before giving this one a go. But there’s no need to wait to check out these Bonus Bullet Points…
- Sad News: Rapid Fire would end up being Joe Spinell’s final movie. Spinell died shortly after shooting his scenes for the movie. Spinell will always be Willi Cicci to me.
- Flashbacks: Mike Thompson has flashbacks through out the movie that explain the origin of his issues with Eddy Williams. Spoiler Alert: The ultimate weapon gun, originally belonged to Mike!
- If You Ever: …thought a movie should end with a guy wrestling a bear, then 1989’s Rapid Fire is the movie for you.
