Bullet Points: Futurekick
If the late, great Don Rickles were to have ever introduced Don “The Dragon” Wilson, he would have likely said “The man I am about to introduce is the greatest kickboxer of all-time, I know this because every time I see him he tells me he is the greatest kickboxer of all-time.”
But truth be told, Don “The Dragon” Wilson did not have to go around telling people what a great fighter he was because the records speak for themselves. And Wilson was able to parlay his success in the kickboxing ring to the movie world when producers like Roger Corman were looking for their answer to Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal.
1991’s Futurekick was one of the many collaborations between Wilson and Corman and it happens to be the subject of this edition of Bullet Points…
- State of the Future Address: The movie opens up with some exposition narrated by Meg Foster. We learn that after countless wars on Earth, big corporations took over the planet. These corporations then created a group of Cyberons (law enforcement androids) to keep the criminal elements in check. Unfortunately for the corporations, the Cyberons were so good at their jobs that they figured out that the biggest criminals on Earth were the corporations! So then the corporations were forced to create a corporate police force to hunt down and eliminate the Cyberons. At the start of the film there are only two Cyberons left… Andrews (Jeff Langton, Final Impact) and Walker (Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Ring of Fire).
- Walker, New Los Angeles Ranger: The corporate police are hot on the trail of Andrews and Walker so it is really no surprise when Walker finds himself the last Cyberon standing after his friend Andrews is eliminated… When Walker isn’t on the run from his former employers, he is still doing what he was designed to do… bringing in criminals, which there are plenty of in the cess pool that is New Los Angeles. One night Walker takes out a bunch of scumbags outside a strip club using his superior fighting skills and it catches the attention of visiting software designer, Howard Morgan.
- Business or Pleasure?: Some background on Howard Morgan, he is the creator of the Virtual Reality System (or VRS for those in the know). VRS is sweeping the nation or sweeping the moon in this case. You see, all the wealthy people left Earth and now call a colony on the moon their home. But from time to time, rich guys like Howard Morgan have to conduct business on Earth. And when Howard is on Earth, he’s not opposed to mixing business with pleasure and partaking in the debauchery that is the New Los Angeles night life. This is how Howard happened to be outside the strip club when Walker was kicking ass. Howard makes Walker a business proposition and tells him to meet him at his hotel the next day before heading off to partake in more of the night life with his New Los Angeles mistress. That is the last time Walker would see Howard alive.
- Corporate Synergy: The reason Howard was interested in a man like Walker and his set of skills, is he knew trouble was heading his way (he just didn’t know how soon). Howard had a vision to take VRS to the next level by working with the New Body Corporation, a company that specialized in organ transplants for the wealthy. I am not entirely sure what new organs and a virtual reality game have to do with one another, but that could be why I am not a software designer or the head of a major corporation. Howard through his contact at New Body discovered that New Body was killing people in order to have the organs ready for their paying customers. And the chief harvester was an unhinged guy named Hynes (Eb Lottimer, Bloodfist VII: Manhunt). Hynes finds out that Howard has a disk that will expose New Body’s less than ethical business practices… so Hynes does what Hynes is best at, he kills Howard and Howard’s mistress in an alley.
- Grieving Widow: Word gets back to Howard’s wife Nancy (Meg Foster, Masters of the Universe) on the moon that her husband has been murdered. She hops on the first shuttle to Earth and starts looking for answers but the cops prove to be useless. So Nancy decides to take matters into her own hands, but when Hynes finds out Nancy is looking for her husband’s killer, she is instantly in danger. And that’s about the time she is able to convince/pay off Walker to help her get to Hynes before Hynes gets to her!
Walker and Nancy make a formidable team and the action really ramps up as they deal with the ruthless Hynes in the third act of the film. But then it happens…
SPOILER ALERT
…we see what appears to be the movie’s finale but then we cut to a shot of Nancy in her living room on the moon removing her virtual reality apparatus and her loving husband Howard entering the room to check on his wife’s latest VR experience. So most of what I just watched didn’t actually happen?!? Ain’t that a futurekick in the head!
No VR apparatus required to enjoy these Bonus Bullet Points…
- Familiar Face #1: William Utay, who played Phil the bum and Phil’s evil twin Will on Night Court, pops up in Futurekick as the doctor who repairs Walker after one of his many dust ups.
- If You Ever: …wanted to hear Meg Foster ask Don “The Dragon” Wilson to hold her and then see Wilson fulfill said request, then Futurekick is the movie for you.
- Familiar Face #2: Al Ruscio plays Captain Kraner of the New Los Angeles Police Department. I remember Ruscio most from his supporting role in the Wings Hauser flick, Deadly Force.
- Commercial Break: A commercial for New Body airs that felt like it could have been featured in a RoboCop film.
- Familiar Face #3: Chris Penn (Best of the Best) plays Bang, Hynes partner in crime … but I don’t believe Bang ever uttered a word. Was he supposed to be a mute?
- Connected: Special effects footage from two other Roger Corman productions, Forbidden World and Galaxy of Terror, were repurposed for Futurekick.
- Familiar Face #4: Dana Lee plays Dr. Sado, the CEO of New Body. You may remember Lee from such films as Cage, Rambo: First Blood Part II and Mask of the Ninja.
