Bullet Points: One Armed Executioner
When you see a movie is titled One Armed Executioner, you probably think the plot involves a man with only one arm killing people and you’d be right.
The film directed by Bobby A. Suarez and starring Franco Guerrero (aka Chito Guerrero) features a poster that is as transparent as the title of the film because in the immortal words of The Dramatics, “Whatcha See Is Whatcha You Get”.
- Into The Drink: The movie begins with a dime dropper known as “The Mouse” on a payphone making a person to person call with the chief of Interpol’s Manila office… but before he can spill the beans about the local drug trade, he is locked inside the phone booth by Mike Jason (Pete Cooper), a classic action movie heavy if there ever was one. The big baddie with two first names then proceeds to tip over the phone booth and dump it into the nearby bay… turning the phone booth into an underwater coffin for the snitch.
- Duty Calls: It is now time to meet our hero, Interpol Agent Ramon Ortega (Franco Guerrero). Ramon and his lovely bride Ann (Jody Kay in her acting debut) have just returned home to Manila after a California vacation and they decide to stop into a restaurant run by an old Interpol associate of Ramon’s named Wo Chen. But Ramon’s friendly visit is interrupted when his boss calls and Ramon soon finds himself on an assignment to intercept a drug shipment and get some evidence so they can finally bust Edwards, the island’s drug kingpin.
- A Cluster: This operation does not turn out well for anyone… four Interpol agents are killed, some of the bad guys are killed when the plane that contained the drugs and the coded ledger that could connect “legit businessman” Edward to the Manila drug trade are all blown to smithereens. The bad guys who did survive get their ass chewed out by Edwards. And Interpol is forced to bluff as they try to put the fear of God into Edwards, when Agent Ortega pays Edwards a visit at his home to inform him that Interpol has the ledger and it is only a matter of time before they decode it and bust his ass. And boy does that power play backfire on our hero…
- A Farewell to Arm: Edwards wants the ledger before Interpol can use it against him so he sends out his #1 henchman Mike Jason and a couple nefarious individuals on his payroll to Ortega’s home to find out where Interpol is keeping the ledger. Ramon is not there when they first arrive, so Mike ends up torturing Ann to see if she knows anything about the ledger… when Ramon shows up and sees his wife in danger, he comes clean with the villains and tells them that the thing about the ledger was not true. Mike thinks Ramon is full of crap so he stabs Ann, presumably in her baby maker with a samurai sword, as a helpless Ramon looks on as his wife dies before his very eyes. Mike really, really loves his work and is practically giddy with excitement in the most sick and perverse way you could imagine and he ain’t done yet… Mike has his two associates hold Ramon down and he chops off Ramon’s left arm with one fell swoop from his sword!
- Down and Out: When Ramon wakes up in the hospital and realizes he has lost his left arm it is obviously a shock to his system. He quickly vows revenge, but his boss The Chief nips that idea in the bud and tells him Edwards will be handled with officially by Interpol and Ramon is not going to be on the case nor should Ramon attempt to take the law into his own hands… so instead of the law, Ramon takes the bottle into his own hands… as in alcohol. A depressed and disheveled Ramon has officially hit rock bottom after his drunk ass is robbed and his favorite watering hole refuses him service. Fortunately for Ramon, an Interpol buddy finds him at the bar and takes him to Wo Chen’s place.
- An Executioner is Born: Wo Chen makes it his mission to get Ramon to stop feeling sorry for himself and get him back in action so he can seek the revenge he so desperately wants. Wo Chen oversees Ramon’s intense training that focuses on balance and the heightening of Ramon’s senses to make up for the fact that he now has one arm. They throw in a jogging montage for good measure and next thing you know, Ramon is ready to become the One Armed Executioner!
The final act of the film has Ramon Ortega using what Wo Chen has taught him and declaring war on Edwards and his minions. Ramon uses an assortment of weapons against his foes with my favorite being Ramon dropping grenades from a helicopter and destroying Edwards’ compound with reckless abandon.
One Armed Executioner is exactly what I expected it would be… a Filipino action movie from the 1980’s that was going to deliver balls to the wall, over the top action and deliver it did. Now let me deliver some Bonus Bullet Points for your reading pleasure…
- Familiar Face: I recognized Jim Gaines, who apparently had something to do with every action movie made in the Philippines in the 1980’s. Gaines played one of Edwards’ evil henchmen. You may recognize Gaines from his small role in American Ninja or his larger role in the American Ninja ripoff Black Fire.
- Favorite Quote: “Listen Fat Head!” – The Chief
- If You Ever: …wanted to see a grown woman sleeping on a couch holding a baby doll, then this is the movie for you.
- Worth The Wait?: One Armed Executioner was produced in the Philippines in 1981, but did not see the light of day in the United States until April 9, 1983.
- Shit Got Real: Legend has it that Franco Guerrero’s appendix burst while shooting the arm chopping scene and he had to be rushed to the hospital.
- Evil Reinforcing: Just in case by the end of the movie we are not fully aware that Edwards is a bad guy, the speedboat he uses to try to escape the wrath of Ramon has swastikas on it.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see a sex in the shower scene, where one of the participants is wearing a shower cap, then this is the movie for you.
