Day of the Panther
Only three westerners have ever been initiated into the sacred Panther group. Senior member William, his daughter Linda, and Jason Blade. A feared and respected man in China, Blade is a renowned kung fu practitioner, and together with his partner he investigates a local drug ring. Tragedy strikes when Linda is killed investigating Damien Zukor. Now on his own, Jason must avenge his partner's death. He goes undercover in Zukor's gang, gathering all the evidence he needs to crush this drug ring for good. But can his luck hold forever, or will he be found out, and forced into the gladiatorial ring?...
Day of the Panther is Australia's answer to the Arnold Schwarzenegger, JCVD, Dolph Lundgren, etc. action vehicles we got so much of in the 80s. With some kung fu in the mix too, there's a lot to enjoy here!
The plot is pretty basic and cliched stuff, but never in a really obvious or groanworthy way, and it's enough to keep you entertained. There are a decent amount of content, though the story maybe gets a little thin in the middle. There's also a greater focus on crime than ancient Chinese kung fu, which may disappoint some after the prologue.
A
problem with films made back to back is that they're often incomplete
halves. Thankfully this isn't the case with Day of the Panther, or its sequel Strike. The only indication we'd even get a
sequel is the teaser at the end. Speaking of, more films should end with a 'So-and-so will return, in...!' promises! I know it's asking for trouble if the sequel never gets made, but who doesn't enjoy fun credits like that.
Everything comes together well for the climax. It's a little disappointing we never get to see the promised prize fight, but at least we see a smaller confrontation. It's a nice fight, with some extra action courtesy of the other heroes (including a showcase of Australia's 'friendly' wildlife!). We also get a hilarious one-liner, that I am so using if someone ever tries to bribe me!
The ending
is quick, but satisfying. The only problem is the narration over the top, which speaks of doom and gloom, possibly of the corruption of
Jason Blade. First of all, it kinda dampens the mood, and secondly, I
have no idea what the hell he's talking about, considering none of this
happens in the sequel!
The amazingly named Jason Blade is your typical 80s action hero. He's a musclebound badass, who kicks ass and takes names. He's a serious-minded guy, but also knows how to let his hair down and fun fun, charm the ladies, and crack a few one-liners. He also has great fashion sense, and knows how to look cool with little effort. His mentor William is a likeable guy, with good drama and character moments. He can also still throw down with the best.
Love interest Gemma is a spunky girl, and plenty of fun. She also gifts the movie with some of its best moments, perfectly encapsulating the decade as she decks out in aerobic gear and does a sexy dance during Jason's gym workout. The clothing, the music, the dance moves, it's all so 80s it's a joy!
The villains are simple but fun. Zukor is a smarmy sonovabitch, not to mention sleazy! Baxter meanwhile is the brawn to his brains, a rough, tough, and sadistic bastard. He's the one responsible for Linda's fate, and is the main physical opponent Jason must fight in the end. The two villains have a well-portrayed relationship, where a resentful Baxter thinks he may have been only the muscle, but he's the muscle that put Zukor where he is.
The direction here is by Australian stalwart Brian Trenchard-Smith, who does a good job! Another director was originally
slated until dropping out at the last minute, and Brian was brought in, promptly
shitting himself when he realised he had to shoot two films in only a few weeks! But hey, if there's anyone who could do it, it's him, and it's to
his credit that the movies work as well as they do! He apparently script
doctored a couple of sequences too, namely adding the prologue with the Panthers, which makes a
lot of sense given how disconnected that is with the rest of the movie!
On another note, do you know where in Australia this was filmed and set? Perth! Do you know how uncommon that is?! Usually Aussie shows are set in the eastern sates, but Perth is only an hour and a half drive from where I live! It's so neat seeing it caught on camera like this, and us West Aussies can be proud.
The cast is a good one. Edward Stazak's deliveries sometimes show he's not an experienced actor, but he still does a good job, and looks the part perfectly. John Stanton is fine in the mentor role, and Michael Carman is delightfully evil. James Richards is a suitably grouchy villain, with a strong physicality. Paris Jefferson is cute and sexy, Zale Daniel and Matthew Quartermaine are decent comic relief, and Linda Megier is good in her small role as Linda, looking like a character straight out of Murder, She Wrote!
And lastly, Day of the Panther excels on the action front! There's good fight choreography, and the actors and stuntman perform very well as the fists fly. If they needed a foot in the door of the industry, this should have earned them the spot!
Day
of the Panther is a great slice of 80s action. Low-budget, cheesy in
the best ways, genuinely good, and showcasing some homegrown talent from
places you never see!...
Strike of the Panther
Soon after the events of the previous film, Jason Blade is teaching police
graduates lung fu self defence classes, including Gemma. He's reluctant to fully commit to
their relationship when he's worried about her safety, as well as his
own. But these concerns soon become secondary when his old enemy Baxter
breaks out of prison to exact revenge. He kidnaps Gemma and wires an industrial factory with enough explosives to poison the city, and Jason must fight his way through a deadly karate gauntlet to save the day...
Strike of the Panther, shot back-to-back with Day and released in the same year, is a good follow-up. It continues the story and develops its characters further, while retaining enough elements from the previous entry.
The film opens with a 12 minute recap. It's not bad, and covers a lot of ground, but it began to test my patience. If you're in a pinch, you could always skip past it, and bam, suddenly it's a 78 minute film! But then again, if you did that you'd miss out on some golden lines from narrator William, like the weirdly random "There was nothing romantic between Jason Blade and my daughter", or the amusing "Luckily for us, Zukor was the kind of man who
could resist anything...but temptation.". He does natter on a bit!
After this, we get a fun action sequence to truly open the film. Jason Blade must rescue the drug addicted daughter of a politician from a sleazy brothel, which involves a lot of ass-kicking, and men in chicken costumes!
It's half an hour in when Gemma is kidnapped, and the course of the film changes. It becomes a race against the clock hostage situation, with a much more decompressed story.
As Strike went it, it began to feel like a feature length addendum. The
conflict between Jason and Baxter doesn't feel strong enough to warrant a whole other movie, and
it really doesn't help that they only share the screen in the last 10
minutes.
As for tone, Day of the Panther felt like an episode of Miami Vice with a bit
more fun and humour. While still enjoyable of course, Strike just seems
less...fun in a way. I think the biggest hurdle is that Gemma is captive,
meaning the heroes can't really let their hair down and crack a few
jokes.
Jason is a good lead once again, working more directly with the police. Making me question what exactly it is the Panthers even do. He's more serious this time round, but for understandable reasons, and the movie doesn't harp on this too much. Gemma is captive for most of the movie, but still manages to get stuff to do, and doesn't take captivity lightly
William doesn't get as much to do this time, taken out of commission by a car attack (You're supposed to dodge, not stop them with your mind, mate!). While recuperating in the hospital, he suddenly develops psychic powers! This is an out-of-nowhere bit of the supernatural, and never really effects anything. Jason can't seem to hear him. It's like there was no other way they could think to have the guy in a hospital bed the whole movie still be involved.
A newcomer to the cast is police psychologist Sgt. Andrews, who just so happens to come in handy during this crisis. She tries all the cliches in the book, suggesting she and Baxter go by first names, says she understands he's under a lot of pressure, and asks if he had an unhappy childhood! It's no wonder Baxter just hangs up!
Baxter has graduated to being the main villain, and does an alright job, even if he was just the muscle last time round. Not only do he and Jason barely share screentime though, the whole movie building up to a fight with a guy Jason has
already beaten. More interesting are his hired ninjas! Clad in hockey masks, we never see their faces or hear them speak, and they strike with gory precision! They make the last act almost resemble a horror movie!
The action here is good once again. There's neat choreography, and hits have real power to them. Plenty of talent on display.
The cast here do well. Stazak is improved after last performance, and is at ease in the action hero role. Paris Jefferson is still a spunky sheila, while Stanton has a reduced role, as do Zale and Quartermaine, but they all do alright. James Richards is a fine villain once again, but doesn't really get enough time to really cut loose and have fun. And lastly, there's the army of stuntmen who deserve credit.
The
score here is predominately recycled from the last film, which is good
since that was a darn great soundtrack! There are some new additions, which are mixed, like a
sharp stabbing 'dun dun dun', that's used over and over.
Strike of the Panther isn't as good as the first film, but still an entertaining watch, and a minor gem of Aussie action!
Overall
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