Bullet Points: Champions (1997)
1997’s Champions could have easily been a “Holy Grail Movie”… It’s a movie that I was well aware of, but had never seen before… It’s a movie with some familiar faces and more importantly faces that I have enjoyed in other projects… but it’s a movie that I never saw on any of the streaming services I subscribe too.
These are all the characteristics that can turn a movie into a “Holy Grail Movie” …a movie I convince myself that I must see even if that means paying a little more for an out of print DVD or going old school and picking it up on VHS or Laserdisc if the OOP DVD is just too damn expensive… fortunately some kind soul uploaded Champions to YouTube, so my wallet was able to breathe a sigh of relief. And 99 minutes later I would find out just how fortunate it really was…
- The Champ: William Rockman (Louis Mandylor, The Debt Collector) WAS the invincible champion of the mixed martial arts league, Terminal Combat, but after Rockman accidentally kills an opponent he steps away from the sport he loved. Rockman starts a new life as a martial arts instructor for children, but there is more bad news for Terminal Combat in the years that followed… Congress bans Terminal Combat likening it to human cock fighting. But much like Prohibition in the 1920s opened the door for organized crime to capitalize on the illegal distribution of alcohol, the banishment of Terminal Combat opened the door for it to go underground and take the rules to the extreme. Fights are now to the death and these fights to death are making huge money via illegal gambling.
- The King: The new headliner for Terminal Combat is known as The King and who better to play a mixed martial arts king in the late 90s than “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” and legit Ultimate Fighting Championship legend, Ken Shamrock. The King may be on top of the Terminal Combat mountain, but he is under the thumb of the kingpin of Terminal Combat, Max Brito (played by a clean shaven Danny Trejo). Max not only has implanted an electronic shock device that allows him to control The King… he also has The King’s wife at his side! What an asshole!
- The Bait: It gets worse… Max Brito was also the promoter of Terminal Combat when it was legit and legal, but with the help of a crooked Senator, hatched the scheme to banish Terminal Combat so both men could profit. Max knows that the biggest money match up he could possibly promote is The King against William Rockman… but Max also knows Rockman isn’t going to come back voluntarily. So Max woos William’s younger brother Raymond into the world of Terminal Combat with promises of wealth beyond his wildest dreams. Now Raymond is nowhere near the level of fighter that his brother William is and that is exactly why Max fast tracks Raymond to a fight with The King resulting in the untimely demise of Raymond. That ends up being the perfect bait to bring William Rockman out of retirement! But it ends up being a be careful what you wish for type situation for Max Brito when Rockman manages to rally some of his fellow fighters and they take up arms against the crooked promoter, something Max was obviously not anticipating.
I was not anticipating how humdrum Champions was going to be… the most remarkable things about the movie was the fact that Ken Shamrock was in it and that it incorporated some of the UFC’s real life struggles with Congress into the story. And the fact that the movie managed to incorporate a gun battle at the end. Beyond that every aspect of the movie had been seen numerous times before and performed by more charismatic and talented individuals. I am not angry that I watched Champions, but I am damn sure glad I did not give it “Holy Grail” status and drop some serious coin on it.
Now let me drop some Bonus Bullet Points on you…
- Familiar Faces: If you are going to have gamblers from around the world engaging in some online wagering you better believe you are going to want a quality tech guy on your team, Max Brito knew this and he called upon the services of Sam the Technoid played by the one and only Larry B. Scott of Iron Eagle and Snake Eater II fame… George “Buck” Flower of Blood Games and They Live fame played Chip, an old fight trainer who was friends with William Rockman’s father…. Last but not least, Paco Christian Prieto of Only the Strong and Lionheart fame played one of the fighters that is competing in Max Brito’s big event.
- AKA: Champions was released in Germany as part of the ongoing Karate Tiger series, in fact it was Karate Tiger 10 … the final movie in the Karate Tiger series.
- Favorite Quote: “You’re not Bruce Lee. You’re not even Kathy Lee.” – William to Raymond
- Missed Opportunity: There is a mariachi band playing at the banquet Max Brito hosts for the fighters before the big event… but somehow the band managed NOT to play “Cielito Lindo”.
