Bullet Points: The Order of the Black Eagle

Often imitated but never duplicated. That is a phrase that can easily be used in reference to one of the most iconic movie characters in the history of cinema, Bond… James Bond.

The character of James Bond has a kind of magic that, no matter how hard others try, can not be recaptured. But that fact never actually stops producers from trying. Many times the Bond imitators come in the form of lower budget fare and other times they come in the form of spoofs. The Order of the Black Eagle, the subject of this edition of Bullet Points, is a little bit of both.

• The Premise: Super spy Duncan Jax (Ian Hunter) and his lovely partner Tiffany Youngblood infiltrate a neo-Nazi group known as The Order of the Black Eagle (DING!) and stop their nefarious plans of world domination. The Order is led by a man named Baron Von Teppish (William T. Hicks). The Baron idolizes Adolf Hitler to the extreme. Now I’ve been accused of idolizing people in my life, but I don’t have the corpse of Charles Bronson in a cryogenic chamber in my house like The Baron has Hitler on display in his South American lair. The Order of the Black Eagle kidnaps the world’s leading expert in the field of lasers and forces the good doctor to work on their laser project. The Order is looking to create chaos in the world by using a powerful laser to shoot down all the communication satellites. They want the laser fully operation by Hitler’s birthday (August 2nd for you history buffs), so they can unthaw their fuhrer and get back to Nazi business with Hitler at the helm. Things start looking bleak when the bad guys figure out that Duncan and Tiffany are not who they say they are, so the world’s only hope to prevent these horrible things from happening appears to be lost.

• The Calvary: But just when you think Duncan Jax is about to face certain death, he manages to escape and hook up with an old friend Maxie Ryder (Anna Rapagna). Maxie has assembled a colorful group of mercenaries who are ready to take out The Order of the Black Eagle if the price is right. Jax also gets some assistance from his boss Star (C.K. Bibby) and his gadget man Sato (Shangtai Tuan). And last but certainly not least is the scene stealer of scene stealers, Boon the Baboon. Aside from his crude manners and comic relief, Boon is actually a pretty effective member of the team since he can operate all sorts of vehicles and has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Boon is by far my favorite character in this movie and I would rank him somewhere between Roddy McDowall’s Cornelius and Lancelot Link Secret Chimp on my list of favorite primate characters. Now Duncan Jax has a fighting chance to stop The Order of the Black Eagle, save the world and rescue Tiffany Youngblood in the process.

• Land of Confusion: If you thought the old chicken or the egg debate was an impossible quagmire, then you’ll really be confused by the two Duncan Jax movies that were released. IMDb lists The Order of the Black Eagle as being produced in 1987 and Unmasking the Idol as being produced in 1986. From that perspective The Order of the Black Eagle would be the sequel to Unmasking the Idol. So tell me why on the piss poor Unmasking the Idol cover above that the words “Duncan Jax is back!” are featured above the picture of Duncan. Well, looking at the release dates of both films in the United States, Unmasking the Idol was released on video June 1, 1988. The Order of the Black Eagle had a release date of December 1987 in the United States. Therefore in the United States, The Order of the Black Eagle was actually the first film in the series. Across the pond, Unmasking the Idol was released in November of 1986, more than a year earlier than it was released in the United States and there is no UK release date information for The Order of the Black Eagle. So which movie should be considered the original and which movie should be considered the sequel?

As I said at the opening of this review, The Order of the Black Eagle was part low budget Bond wannabe and part Bond spoof. The tongue in cheek aspect sets the tone that this movie doesn’t take itself too seriously and neither should the audience. For those of you able to enjoy a movie like that, I’d suggest checking out The Order of the Black Eagle. For those of you with a stick permanently up your ass I’d suggest NOT watching The Order of the Black Eagle and instead using that time to make a much needed appointment with a proctologist.

But whether you have a stick up your ass or not, I’d suggest checking out these Bonus Bullet Points…

• Added Confusion: To further muddy the waters of the Duncan Jax flicks, William T. Hicks stars in both movies, but as two completely different characters.
• If You Ever: …wanted to see a world renowned laser scientist shoot a Nazi in the back, then this is the movie for you.
• Dirt Bikes, Hovercrafts and a Hot Air Balloon: No, that is not the name of the direct to video sequel to Planes, Trains and Automobiles. But it is just some of the numerous vehicles featured in The Order of the Black Eagle.
• The Name Game: In West Germany, The Order of the Black Eagle was released under the title Black Eagle. That should not be confused with the Sho Kosugi/Jean-Claude Van Damme movie of the same name. And for more movies with Eagle in the title, be sure to check out this Matt Spector post.
• Tiffany or Maxie?: Duncan Jax can keep Tiffany Youngblood, I only had eyes for Maxie Ryder!
• Most Awesome Death: The bad guys in the boat that get blown up by a rocket launcher. Loved it!