Directed By: Written By: Starring: Year: Language: Runtime: Region Coding: Distributor: Retail Price:

Alvin Ecarma Alvin Ecarma Frank Prather, Pat Williams, Cash Flagg Jr. 2001 English 70 min NTSC Region 1 Unearthed Films $19.98

A gangster’s son is kidnapped, forcing him to betray his best friend and fellow gangster in hopes of saving his son. A brutal action satire about the true meaning of family.

Lethal Force is the type of film that meets past any preconceived notions you may have about its quality. Especially in regards to its satire, the action film, or more specifically the Hong Kong John Woo action film. After studying film at a University I soon realized many film students were obsessed with recreating, parodying, and/or satirizing John Woo, Quentin Tarantino, and Sergio Leone action films. Seeing these banal trends at school, I immediately became disgusted with anything related to the action film. Researching Lethal Force I could only find favorable reviews and credible references. After finding out that Unearthed Films distributed the film, I decided that I needed to see it. With their wide variety of notable films, I felt that I could trust their decision to distribute such a film. Fortunately, they were right with their decision. Writer and director Alvin Ecarma was able to create a film that has as much laughs as it does brutal violence. This is especially apparent in a scene where a gangster with a not so pretty smile and set of choppers, gets them straightened with a blow to the face. He then loses his teeth after an unfavorable second blow to the face. These types of scenarios happen throughout the rest of the film. Using many of the plot themes and scenarios in John Woo Films (The Killer, Hardboiled, A Better Tomorrow), Lethal Force feels all too familiar to fans of the Hong Kong master. Adding attempted pedophilia, assumed homo-erotic brotherly love, and a Pam Grier look-a-like, undercover cop, strengthened the storyline. Having a paraplegic blonde-haired beast made for a great villain. The black sunglasses he wore over his eyes made for the ultimate foreshadowing blackout. The dialogue in Lethal Force is both random and at some points even absurd. From the evils of people from Minnesota to the status of being only American (as opposed to Chinese American) are discussed. Never knowing what you are going to hear next is a very favorable characteristic for this fun ride of film. The generic tone of the voices in Lethal Force only adds to the dialogue. You will be quoting this film in no time. Unearthed Films was kind enough to include interesting extra features such as a audio commentary with Director Alvin D. Ecarma, Director’s shorts, production photos, action figure gallery, art gallery and trailers. The director’s shorts will guarantee a couple laughs as it seems Ecarma is incapable of producing something boring. Basically the disc features what you would expect from Unearthed, some extra features but nothing extravagant like Criterion. Lethal Force is the type of flick that you can put on anytime and enjoy it. Undeniably full of replay value, you won’t be wasting your money if you decide to pick this up. Expect a very interesting sequel. It looks like Alvin D. Ecarma is a name to look out for. For more info checkout: www.divergentthinking.net

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