Martial arts, terrorists, and a flashy finale

Press, 13 March 1987, Page 15

Martial arts, terrorists, and a flashy finale

There is a special genre of feature film to which “The Octagon,” screening at 10 p.m. on One belongs. Innocent person — defenceless child or beautiful woman — gets brutally murdered by evil person or, more commonly, powerful organisation. Ex-cop/Vietnam vet-eran/self-defence expert becomes an avenger for the Public Good, stalking

and systematically wiping out this evil, against all odds.

Of course, the traditional keepers of the peace are either apathetic to our hero’s cause, or totally corrupt and ready to wage their own war on the avenger. Thus, our hero finds himself fighting against both sides in a veritable action bloodbath.

“The Octagon” is a variation on this theme. Kung Fu whiz Chuck Norris (one of this type of film’s most popular exponents) comes out of retirement to put down a cult of international terrorists, after his adopted black child is brutally murdered.

The book “Rating The Movies” says, “Chopsocky fans won’t be

disappointed by the flashy finale when Norris dispatches a small army of bad ’guys in a blaze of martial arts action.”

Described as having the best action sequences of all Norris’s films, “The Octagon” also stars Karen Carlson, Art Hingle and Lee Van Cleef, under the direction of Eric Karson.