Blind Fury
1989
Cast: Rutger Hauer, Terry O' Quinn, Brandon Call, Meg Foster, Nick Cassavetes, Randall ''Tex'' Cobb
Genre: Martial Arts Action Comedy
U.S Box Office Gross: over $2.6 million
Plot: A blind Vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, comes to America and helps to rescue his son of a fellow soldier
'What The Eyes Don't See, He Comes To His ''Senses''....'
Dutch actor Rutger Hauer has had a strange film career. He first started doing Dutch movies such as Paul Verhoeven's M-rated medieval T&A fetish, Flesh & Blood, debuted in his first American effort in Nighthawks alongside Sylvester Stallone, and then the next year he finally made his breakthrough on Ridley Scott's original Blade Runner opposite Harrison Ford. From there onwards, it seemed as though major Hollywood success would beckon for Hauer, but since then he has been in so-called B-movies and obscure affairs that went straight-to-DVD. These days, he appears in supporting roles in such efforts like Batman Begins and Sin City.
Following on from his first major starring action vehicle, Wanted: Dead or Alive of 1987, 2 years after, Rutger Hauer secured another starring gig in Blind Fury and much like with the former, is a low-budget, action-based B-movie.
I had heard of Blind Fury before and saw the cool poster, but - and much like with 80-85% of movies I have passed up on as a teenager and child that I now enjoy as an adult - for years I held back from watching it as I thought it would be something that wouldn't adow to me. It's supposedly a modern retelling of the Japanese samurai film, Zatoichi Challenged, which I have never come across before.
Hauer is Vietnam vet Nick Parker, who is left visually impaired during a battle. After being rescued by a tribe, he has now honed his skills as a swordsman and relies on his other senses such as smell, touch and feel to help him get by. These are also heightened to a degree that he can still beat up the bad guys. As they say 'never judge a book by its cover' and Nick is not as helpless and vulnerable as people assume he would be. Nick heads back to the South.
Just as Nick pays a visit to meet up with his war buddy, Frank and bumps into his wife, no sooner is she then killed. Frank meanwhile finds himself on the run. Nick then goes out to search for his son, Billy, who is determined to see his dad and who Nick has to protect and guard, whilst beating up anyone who gets in his way.
Blind Fury wasn't as gratuitous and serious as I'd anticipated; there is very little blood being shed; rather it takes on a more of a lighter tone but it's the type of film that as long as you don't take it too seriously and you have fun with it, it becomes enjoyable in parts. The action was rather good, whilst the humour was subtle and not overly comical and still, it suited the tone it was trying to evoke. It put a smile on my face to see Nick fool people that he is ''disabled'' and that because he can't see, it gives off the impression he is helpless - only to surprise them and they see him chop down the baddies, like a superhero character.
With regards to the low points, the little boy was irritating and he brought this film down, whilst the villains were rednecks who lacked charisma and they weren't anything of substance. The fight between Sho Kosugi and Rutger Hauer was all right and I expected a lot more out of it. Kosugi is severely underutilised and thus it was a shame he didn't appear until right towards the end of the movie.
The film's set-up bears some similarities to the (unmemorable) Daredevil superhero movie with Ben Affleck, Colin Farrell and Jennifer Garner, but Blind Fury is a tad better than that film.
Final Verdict:
Fans of action movies and action B-movies cannot do worse than settle for this B-movie effort and much like with Wanted: Dead or Alive, I enjoy Rutger Hauer as the good guy and Blind Fury is a bit of a rarity as a movie, as there is nothing quite like this that has been attempted, right after. It's also a light action movie and nothing too heavy that non-fans of action movies cannot sink their teeth into themselves.
Not a great movie, but as a film of its own making, as unique in its execution, it still gets more right that is good.
Overall:
1989
Cast: Rutger Hauer, Terry O' Quinn, Brandon Call, Meg Foster, Nick Cassavetes, Randall ''Tex'' Cobb
Genre: Martial Arts Action Comedy
U.S Box Office Gross: over $2.6 million
Plot: A blind Vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, comes to America and helps to rescue his son of a fellow soldier
'What The Eyes Don't See, He Comes To His ''Senses''....'
Dutch actor Rutger Hauer has had a strange film career. He first started doing Dutch movies such as Paul Verhoeven's M-rated medieval T&A fetish, Flesh & Blood, debuted in his first American effort in Nighthawks alongside Sylvester Stallone, and then the next year he finally made his breakthrough on Ridley Scott's original Blade Runner opposite Harrison Ford. From there onwards, it seemed as though major Hollywood success would beckon for Hauer, but since then he has been in so-called B-movies and obscure affairs that went straight-to-DVD. These days, he appears in supporting roles in such efforts like Batman Begins and Sin City.
Following on from his first major starring action vehicle, Wanted: Dead or Alive of 1987, 2 years after, Rutger Hauer secured another starring gig in Blind Fury and much like with the former, is a low-budget, action-based B-movie.
I had heard of Blind Fury before and saw the cool poster, but - and much like with 80-85% of movies I have passed up on as a teenager and child that I now enjoy as an adult - for years I held back from watching it as I thought it would be something that wouldn't adow to me. It's supposedly a modern retelling of the Japanese samurai film, Zatoichi Challenged, which I have never come across before.
Hauer is Vietnam vet Nick Parker, who is left visually impaired during a battle. After being rescued by a tribe, he has now honed his skills as a swordsman and relies on his other senses such as smell, touch and feel to help him get by. These are also heightened to a degree that he can still beat up the bad guys. As they say 'never judge a book by its cover' and Nick is not as helpless and vulnerable as people assume he would be. Nick heads back to the South.
Just as Nick pays a visit to meet up with his war buddy, Frank and bumps into his wife, no sooner is she then killed. Frank meanwhile finds himself on the run. Nick then goes out to search for his son, Billy, who is determined to see his dad and who Nick has to protect and guard, whilst beating up anyone who gets in his way.
Blind Fury wasn't as gratuitous and serious as I'd anticipated; there is very little blood being shed; rather it takes on a more of a lighter tone but it's the type of film that as long as you don't take it too seriously and you have fun with it, it becomes enjoyable in parts. The action was rather good, whilst the humour was subtle and not overly comical and still, it suited the tone it was trying to evoke. It put a smile on my face to see Nick fool people that he is ''disabled'' and that because he can't see, it gives off the impression he is helpless - only to surprise them and they see him chop down the baddies, like a superhero character.
With regards to the low points, the little boy was irritating and he brought this film down, whilst the villains were rednecks who lacked charisma and they weren't anything of substance. The fight between Sho Kosugi and Rutger Hauer was all right and I expected a lot more out of it. Kosugi is severely underutilised and thus it was a shame he didn't appear until right towards the end of the movie.
The film's set-up bears some similarities to the (unmemorable) Daredevil superhero movie with Ben Affleck, Colin Farrell and Jennifer Garner, but Blind Fury is a tad better than that film.
Final Verdict:
Fans of action movies and action B-movies cannot do worse than settle for this B-movie effort and much like with Wanted: Dead or Alive, I enjoy Rutger Hauer as the good guy and Blind Fury is a bit of a rarity as a movie, as there is nothing quite like this that has been attempted, right after. It's also a light action movie and nothing too heavy that non-fans of action movies cannot sink their teeth into themselves.
Not a great movie, but as a film of its own making, as unique in its execution, it still gets more right that is good.
Overall:
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