Director – Eric Karson (Lionhheart, The Octagon)
Starring – Olivier Gruner (Nemesis, Savage), Peter Kwong (Big Trouble in Little China, The Golden Child), Theresa Saldana (The Evil That Men Do, Tales from the Darkside)
Release Date – 1990
Rating – 3/5
Blu Release – 4/5
Tagline – “His justice…is one on one”
I grew up on a diet of action and westerns. My dad was obsessed with westerns and when he couldn’t find one to watch he would find an action flick to toss in. I watched enough westerns to last me a lifetime but I always have time to check out a cheap or cheesy action flick from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
Sometime ago MVD announced the release of the 1990 Olivier Gruner film Angel Town. I had never seen the film prior to this release but I had seen a few tapes pop up in the collector groups on Facebook. After watching the trailer I knew I would enjoy this one so I reached out to MVD and they were kind enough to send a copy my way. Thanks guys!
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows a martial arts master who is attending grad school to push himself further when he is unable to find an apartment to rent. He eventually finds one in a bad part of town owned by an elderly lady, her daughter, and her grandson. The grandson is being harassed by the local gang to join and he steps in to stop the violence which kicks off a war. Now he has to stop it before someone dies. **Spoiler Alert**
I went into Angel Town expecting to see some corny dialogue mixed with a half ass story and some horrible fight sequences but what I was given was pretty much that except the fight scenes were actually pretty well done. I actually enjoyed Angel Town and I can see myself tossing it again when I was some mindless action.
The acting in this one is a little on the rough side. I wasn’t expecting a lot but what I did get was some unintentionally funny scenes some insanely cheesy dialogue. That was exactly what I was looking for and I’m glad I found. Cheesy one liners make the action even more entertaining.
The story for this one works for the film we get. The story doesn’t try to over complicate things. Instead, it knows viewers are after action and we are given plenty of it. Almost all the scenes we get have some sort of fighting in them and for the most part the fight scenes were great. The simple story and drama works and the viewer will keep their attention to the screen to see what happens next.
Finally, the fight scenes in this one are highly entertaining. Star Olivier Gruner is a very talented martial artist and he makes his fights look easy. His co-stars struggle for the most part but he is able to carry the fights through. Overall, Angel Town is that rough around the edges action flick that many would rent in the late 80s and early 90s. The story is nothing special but it works if you are looking for some mindless fun. Check it out now on blu from MVD.
Special Features:
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) of the main feature
Original 2.0 Uncompressed PCM Stereo Audio
Archival Audio Commentary from Director / Producer Eric Karson
NEW 2018 Interview with Director / Producer Eric Karson
NEW 2018 Interview with Frank Aragon (”Martin”)
NEW 2018 Interview with Cinematographer John LeBlanc
Archival ”Making of” Featurette
Archival Interview with Director Eric Karson
Archival Interview with Director Olivier Gruner
Original Theatrical Trailer (SD)
Collectible Mini-Poster
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hTPqVxKSwgg
