VividSimon Simply Perfect

Onlinewsma Absolutely Brilliant!

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Comeuppance Reviews Charles "Charlie" Prince (Daniels) is a Hong Kong cop who travels to L.A. in order to bring arch-criminal Chang (Mann) back to his home country to face justice. The tenacious Prince will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, because the arrest of Chang is personal to him. His "cowboy" attitude initially rubs his temporary partner Jenson (McLeod) the wrong way, but naturally they learn to work together. Naturally both men are Martial Arts masters, which surely is a coincidence. Somehow Prince finds time for romance with Diana Tang (Byun), but Chang and his army of goons are going to prove difficult to stop: their criminal network is vast and their firepower is huge. Will Prince and Jenson finally achieve their goal? While Deadly Target has all the hallmarks of mid-90's PM that we've come to know and love, such as constant Martial Arts fights, mindless shooting, car chases/cars flipping and blowing up in the middle of the street, exploding helicopters, and more mindless shooting, an element seems to be missing here. It's not in the top tier, with movies such as Rage, Last Man Standing, Recoil and The Sweeper, and it doesn't have the nutty/wacky factor of Wilding or Night Of The Kickfighters but it's a serviceable outing nonetheless, most likely, once again, because of the charm of Gary Daniels. While we've seen almost all of Ken McLeod's filmography, somehow Daniels always steals the show. The presence of Susan Byun as the love interest was basically pointless, but if not for her, there would be almost no women in the whole production. Max Gail as Captain Peters was the classic WYC (White Yelling Chief) - too bad they couldn't get his lookalike Peter Boyle to do the role. Ron Yuan, Aki Aleong, and Al Leong fill out the cast of familiar faces and names (well, if you watch a lot of 90's DTV action product).While that comfortable feeling of "dumbness" is achieved very quickly, what with Daniels beating up many people while wearing a leather jacket in an extended fight scene early in the film, during that same sequence, not only is there mindless shooting, but it looks like GENERIC shooting! It looks like footage of a guy shooting a machine gun that could have been taken from any source was spliced in to fire mis-matchedly at Gary Daniels. We're not saying that's the case, but director Driver should have taken more care to make sure it didn't look that way. But on the other hand, it's really funny and we laughed, so all's well that ends well. Interestingly, while Charla Driver has served in just about every capacity a person can while working on a film during her years with PM, this is the only movie she directed. Maybe that's why the vibe is a little different, while all the main elements of PM are present and accounted for.At least during the fight scenes, there appears to be some sort of baby powder on people's heads, so when they get kicked or punched, the light picks up the flying particles. Also, while many movies have the time-honored sax on the soundtrack, Deadly Target bests them all by having a live sax player. Not only did he provide the smooth jams, but we can actually see what he looks like. Additionally, Gary Daniels proves once and for all that you've achieved true awesomeness as a human being if you can wear a vest with no shirt underneath as casual, everyday wear. Your body, your muscles and your confidence level must be so unimaginably high, you can pull it off. See also: Lorenzo Lamas. Finally, there's an old Chinese gangster in the film named Mr. Zao. Presumably his first name is Po Po and he was named after the classic Kevin Federline song of the same name. Yes, the old man was named after the song. Not ridiculous at all. Think about it.In the end, Deadly Target does provide all the kicking, punching, shooting, Gary Daniels, and blow-ups that fans want, but lacks that little bit of extra something to tie it all together. It's still worth seeing though.

Wizard-8 "Deadly Target" is overall about as bland and generic as its uninspired title. To be fair, there are a few good things in it. The production values are pretty good; the movie looks glossy (thanks in part to photography by PM Entertainment honcho Richard Pepin), nothing looks particularly cheap, and the lighting gives the movie a moody feel. Also, some of the martial arts fights are not bad. Not up to fights in Hong Kong movies, but still fairly exciting. However, the movie's other action sequences (car chases, shootouts) come across as really flat and unexciting. Part of this is due to the really tight feeling of most of the movie, with the camera jammed up close instead of stepping back and letting us see everything. But the real problems come with Daniels' character. His character is kind of a pr*ck in several scenes, making it hard to warm up to him. Also, after the first twenty-five minutes, Daniels' character does next to nothing towards his pursuit of the bad guy for the next fifty minutes! The movie may not be totally free of merit, but it should only be seen during a boring weekend - make that an ESPECIALLY boring weekend.

joesephk I saw 'Deadly Target' in a hotel room in Zhuhai, China. Evidently, Cinemax Asia has no budget for films that have been made by anyone actually in the film business. 'Deadly Target' is an instant classic for those of us who are connoisseurs of terrible films. The name itself is a give-away as to what is in store: atrocious acting, directing, writing, fighting, etc. etc. 'Deadly Target' may be the actual nadir of film possibilities. I loved the train-wreck of it all. The best part is that the usual homoerotic undertones of buddy-cop movies are so misplaced in this film that the sexual chemistry is hotter between the mismatched police 'partners' (pun intended) than between the pseudo-Adonis Aussie and his unattractive female Asian lover. It would have made a great gay-friendly comedy. Sadly, we have one less good comedy and one more crappy Cinemax hotel offering.

aloep WARNING: Possible spoilersHaving been impressed with many movies from PM Entertainment and enjoyed the other 2 they did with Gary Daniels (Rage, Riot), I went out of my way to find a copy of this. I finally got a hold of a Dutch release Region 2 DVD as it currently doesn't seem to have any UK release, and the USA has only seen a VHS release.If we actually look at it and compare it to reality for a second, it all comes down that in reality Deadly Target is an absolutely idiotic movie. Both the bad guys and the Los Angeles police are dumber than a brick. The story that Gary Daniels gets saved from thugs in a dark alley by a pretty woman who he'll go on to form a relationship with is about as believable as the casting itself. Gary Daniels, is cast as a Hong Kong cop. Nothing explains why he looks and sounds like a Londoner. Oh yeah, and then there's the plot. A Hong Kong drug lord is in LA, and Gary Daniels's character has to extradite him back to Hong Kong. Of course, the incompetent Police let him escape. Halfway through, it is revealed that he killed Daniels's brother. And then there's the casting of Byron Mann as the druglord. While he does play the bad guy role fairly well, he'd be more suited to a sidekick as he is simply too young to be believable as such a powerful man.And yet, despite all of that, not for a second did I get remotely bored out of watching this. I'd almost place this alongside the likes of Commando and Death Wish 3 as one of the most ludicrously far fetched yet extremely entertaining movies. First of all, it moves at a very swift pace, with barely a dull moment. Director Charla Driver has thrown in so many fight scenes, gun battles and car chases that while the movie is on, we don't really have enough time to think, we just enjoy. The fight scenes are very impressive, I've always been impressed with Gary Daniels moves on screen and this is no exception. Ken McLeod, in the "buddy cop" role is also very impressive in his fight scenes. We are also treated to an excellent car chase scene through residential streets of LA and through a park. And then there's the fiery climax on the ship, which mixes both hand to hand combat and gunplay where again, the action scenes are very well staged, not wasting a camera angle and the death are suitably bloody. The cast also seem well aware of what they're getting into and luckily, don't take themselves completely seriously. The two leads seem to be having a lot of fun and seem well aware they're not in a movie that's to be taken seriously, and make the best of it. Which is refreshing, as too often DTV action movies take themselves completely seriously and it can really bring them down, such as Cynthia Rothrock's character in "Guardian Angel". The romantic subplot however, is completely useless and could never have added anything much to a movie like this anyway. Susan Byun as the pretty young woman who rescues Daniels from a bunch of thugs in a dark alley is useless in her role, as she does nothing other than romanticise with Daniels or get taken hostage. The second I saw her I predicted she'd be taken hostage at some point by the bad guys, and I wasn't particularly amazed to discover that my prediction was indeed correct!At the end of the day, nobody is going to claim this is any form of cinematic art as it clearly isn't. I know it, the producers know it and for that reason, it should be taken for what it is. A big dumb action flick. It looks like those involved enjoyed making the movie, and I did too. Watch it with some friends and some beers on a Friday night or as a warm up on the night prior to doing something big. If you're looking for any sense of plot or realism then your best bet is not to touch this with a long wooden pole. But if you want to see guns blazing, cars crashing, arms breaking, bad guys dying bloody deaths, it's all in here.Rating: 7.5/10 Not recommended for anyone looking for a movie with any depth, but if you like the big dumb fun of 80's action flicks, then this is something to throw in your collection!As for the DVD quality, it's pretty much what you'd expect from a straight to video movie from 10 years ago. Indoor scenes look grainy and the overall look is quite washed out. Night scenes have an odd blue filter which seems to be typical with older PM movies. Outdoor daytime scenes are a lot better, but still have a bland look. However, the picture is clean, without any flickers which at least make it better looking than VHS quality.