20 Reasons Why You Rock: Final Impact
After his recent appearance on Scott Adkins’ The Art of Action podcast, I realized I was way overdue for a revisit of Michael Worth’s contributions to the action game in the glory days of the 1990s.
So I decided to start at the beginning with Michael Worth’s first film, 1992’s Final Impact… a movie that absolutely rocks!
#1. The first thing that Final Impact has going for it, is the fact that it is a PM Entertainment film. PM Entertainment had a helluva track record so more often than not when that logo pops up at the beginning of a movie, you know you are in for a good time.
#2. I can think of several movies that have featured mud wrestling in them, but Final Impact is the only movie that comes to mind that features female oil wrestling. In classic PM fashion, the curvy competitors are featured during the opening credits sequence, oiling themselves up for their pending match and titillating the juices of the viewers in the process.
#3. Who better to play a young fighter on the rise chasing his world championship dream than the fresh faced Michael Worth?! Worth plays Danny Davis a young man who travels across the country in hopes of training with his kickboxing hero, Nick Taylor. Danny’s story is reminiscent of Michael’s actual story of leaving home to pursue his dreams. Bonus points for Danny Davis being from my home state of Ohio!
#4. Lorenzo Lamas plays Danny’s kickboxing hero Nick Taylor. Nick’s life was turned upside down when he lost his championship and his wife to Jake Gerrard. Even though Nick found a new life after kickboxing, running a successful multi-purpose nightclub, he never really got over what Gerrard did to him and he harbors a lot of resentment. He also hits the bottle a little bit more than he probably should. The Nick Taylor character is perfect for a redemption arc and it was easy to emotionally invest in his character, flaws and all.
#5. Nick wants to see what Danny is capable of inside the ring so he arranges a fight with one of his club fighters played by the one and only Gary Daniels! It is always fun seeing Gary in action and it was also fun seeing Daniels in one of his early PM roles before he became the poster boy for the company a few years later.
#6. We meet one more important character at Nick’s club, one of the club’s waitresses, Maggie. Maggie was played by Kathleen Kinmont, who I have heard described as a wonderful friend, wonderful classmate, wonderful coach and an all-around wonderful human being. Kinmont was also a wonderful addition to the cast. It quickly becomes clear that Maggie is more than a waitress at Nick’s club. Maggie and Nick have an on again/off again romantic relationship and there’s no denying the on-screen chemistry between Kinmont and Lamas, who at the time were an actual couple.
#7. After seeing Danny in action, Nick agrees to train Danny for an eventual fight with Jake Gerrard… in Nick’s mind training Danny to beat Jake would kill two birds with one stone, Danny’s championship dreams would come true and Nick would get some sweet revenge. But the viewers win first because we get multiple training sequences and training montages!
#8. The championship fight that Danny desires takes place in Las Vegas at Eric Lee’s Kickboxing Championships. Eric Lee (Fists of Iron) didn’t just get his name on the marquee at the Sands, the decorated martial artist was also the fight choreographer for the movie.
#9. En route to Vegas, Nick plans a stop along the way where Danny will have a chance to take on a fighter that is being trained by his old friend Steve Olivares (Frank Rivera, Recoil). Steve is the Lando Calrissian to Nick Taylor’s Han Solo and the banter between the two is entertaining. Steve proves to be a likable character and he steps up when needed later in the film.
#10. I have talked about all the “good guys” in the movie, but they really serve no purpose without a “bad guy” to overcome and Danny and Nick both get that in the form of Jolting Jake Gerrard. Jake is not only easy to dislike, he is easy to loathe! Gerrard was played by Jeff Langton, who has an impressive list of minor character credits in movies like Lionheart, Rocky V and Die Hard 2.
#11. Jake has an entourage that includes his trainer Joe (Mike Toney, To Be the Best) and his main squeeze, Roxy. The aforementioned ex-wife of Nick Taylor, Roxy is a real gold digger and was played by one of my favorite female wrestlers of the 1980s, “Magnificent” Mimi Lesseos! Mimi also had an eye opening role in the PM Entertainment film, The Last Riders… sadly the Mimi/PM relationship didn’t expand beyond 1992.
#12. Danny has some preliminary fights in Las Vegas before he can get to his match with Jolting Jake and his first opponent was played by none other than Art Camacho!
#13. Final Impact takes advantage of its Las Vegas setting with a gambling montage, featuring Danny (wearing some cool ass suspenders) and Nick playing some blackjack, while Maggie tries her luck at the slot machines.
#14. Let’s talk about the dessert cart guy at the restaurant where Nick and Maggie are enjoying a night out. The dessert cart guy is the absolute WORST part of Final Impact, so he does not rock. But that moment when he leaves the screen and I never had to see him for the remainder of the movie was a moment of relief and a moment that rocked!
#15. Danny Davis proves what kind of friend he truly is to Nick, the man who has prepared him for the biggest fight of his life, because when a drunk, lonely (and horny) Maggie shows up at his hotel room door after a fight with Nick, Danny does not take advantage of Maggie and adheres to The Bro Code.
#16. Three Words: The Neon Graveyard
#17. The Neon Graveyard was the unique setting for the unsanctioned fight to the finish between Jake and Nick… a fight that Nick loses in a major way. Nick ends up hospitalized and clinging to life. And that’s when it happens, after saying his goodbyes to Danny and Maggie, Nick dies! A bold move killing off the star of the movie before the end and I remember being caught off guard the first time I saw the movie.
#18. If Danny already didn’t have enough motivation to defeat Jolting Jake Gerard he sure does now, but before we can get to the fight, Danny has to get to the ring and that’s when we see Danny Davis get the “Goldberg entrance” years before Goldberg did.
#19. It is main event time with Danny Davis challenging Jolting Jake for the world championship as both Michael Worth and Jeff Langton got to show off their legit martial arts skills in the most important fight of the movie… PM Entertainment really loved kickboxing!
#20. Dreams come true and Final Impact gets its happy ending with Danny Davis besting Jake Gerard (much to the dismay of Roxy) and becoming the new world champion (much to the delight of the crowd on hand)!
