Karate Cop (1991) Reviews

• Only for those who like Hilariously Awful Movies

  popularloserx2004-10-20

  With a name like "Karate Cop", what are you really expecting? This movie is a perfect example of a brainless, bizarre, early 90s action movie. It has terrible acting, has a plot with as many holes as swiss cheese, and stars a third-rate Chuck Norris clone (ouch!) and David Carradine (who is only in one scene and gets killed). That said, my circle of friends enjoyed this movie because we have a soft spot for god-awful movies. So if you enjoy MST3K, frequent the IMDb's Bottom 100, and love to make fun of Norris, Segal, Van Damme, and Stallone than this movie is worth a look on a Sunday night, possibly after a few too many beers. Otherwise, avoid like the plague.

• Karate time!

  AwesomeWolf2005-06-09

  If you ever want to make a direct-to-video martial-arts movie, just watch 'Karate Cop' and take some notes. You will be well on your way to creating your very own direct-to-video karate video. Awesome. John Travis (Ron Marchini) is the last cop on Earth. What exactly happened to the rest of the police or what caused this post-apocalyptic vision of Earth is never quite revealed. At all. In fact, it was only viewing 'Karate Cop' and looking it up on IMDb that it was a sequel to something called 'Omega Cop'. Anyway, John's a pretty busy guy, being the last cop on Earth and everything. He saves Rachel (Carrie Chambers) who turns out to be a scientist AND the leader of the 'Freebies', a group of freedom fighters who resemble Peter Pan's lost boys more than fighting rebels. Offered hot food, Travis offers to do some errands for Rachel, including karate-ing the local gang led by Lincoln (D.W. Landingham). Did I mention that David Carradine makes an appearance? I guess that was just assumed. 'Karate Cop' reeks of being straight-to-video. Most of the dialog is irrelevant, and generally consists of Travis talking to himself. As for acting... Well. Here's what I think happened: Every time one of the actors made an attempt at acting, that actor was beaten until they learned to stand there remembering lines instead of actually acting. That is the most logical explanation I can think of. With the exception of Lincoln and Lincoln's champion (Michael M. Foley), the bad guys strike me as being 'inspired' by '1990: The Bronx Warriors', an obscure Italian movie which was itself 'inspired' by 'Escape From New York'. It may be a stretch to make these comparisons, but hey, I call them as I see them. As for Lincoln, he reminds me of Mojo from 'X-Men' and the Champion is nothing but a Bolo Yeung clone. Awesome. As an action movie, it is VERY cheap. Ron Marchini spends most of his on-screen time anti-acting, beating people up or hiding from bullets and explosions. 'Karate Cop' is definitely one of those movies that will entertain if you enjoy mindless b-movies. None of the action scenes are of any mentionable quality, but hey, what do you expect? 'Karate Cop' is just a b-grade action movie. If that's your thing, check it out. It is a poor movie, but sure to entertain some - 3/10

• So bad that is's good..... not here

  CountJonnie2006-07-23

  This is a real bad movie. I can live with bad movies, but when it's a bad sequel to a bad original, than apparently the makers choose not to learn. Even when it's your own movie and you're proud of it, you just have to admit that the original was a bad film. I gave this movie a 3, instead of a 1, but only because they got this movie made and released with practically no budget, which I respect. But this collection of bad acting, bad fighting, no story etc. on tape deserves no better point. The only enjoyable thing is Michael M. Foley (Lincoln's champion) who seems to enjoy his part (bad as it is) and someone who enjoys his role is fun to watch. But for fans of sci-fi, there is none. For fans of martial arts, there are no good fights. You may skip this.

• underrated ..........

  mu11cw2004-02-10

  I thought that this film was AMAZING! While I realise that this will not be everyone's cup of tea, my friends and I rented it expecting exactly what it was. The name "Karate Cop" sums it up to be honest. You can't expect the film to be that serious. ******************* SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER ***************** Anyway, I found the film to be highly enjoyable. There's some good action. There's a child's neck being broken. What more could you want? ******************* SPOILER END SPOILER END ************************* It's an action film, not a documentary so don't expect anything clever or witty. Just expect some good action and some very cheesy lines and you'll be happy as Larry.

• "Karate Cop" is the creme de la creme of crud.

  tarbosh220002010-05-14

  "Martial Law At Its Most Lethal!" "Karate Cop" is the creme de la creme of crud. It is so incredibly bad, it is hard to fathom. You gotta love it! (or do you?) This is a sequel to the previous year's "Omega Cop" also featuring Marchini as John Travis, the last cop on earth. There must have been a public outcry for more "Marchini Madness". Thankfully he answered the call. When this installment begins, some baddies are chasing two women. Right when they are closing in, John Travis appears and says a classic introductory line: (Read in the most flat monotonous tone you can) "Can I help you guys?" You hear people at fast food joints deliver that line with more passion and conviction. It appears Travis is the last cop in a post-apocalyptic world. You can tell because his homemade (?) hat proudly announces he is "Special Police". Special indeed. He's hiding out in an abandoned warehouse of course. He's there with a woman named Rachel and a gaggle of children. In the future innocent tots are called "Freebies" and the baddies are called "Scavs" (not to be confused with "Neon City" where the baddies are called "Skins".) The head of the Scavs is a portly man named Lincoln who resembles a sillier version of Accept's Udo Dirkschneider, and his right-hand man is named "Snaker" who has a very irritating and loud voice. It already grates on your nerves the moment you hear him. Just imagine "Jar-Jar Binks" yelling into 5 megaphones. In order to save the Freebies, Travis must find a magic crystal that powers a Star Trek-like teleporting device. The plan is to teleport them to Oregon because apparently the apocalypse hasn't yet reached Oregon. Before that can happen, Travis has to battle through "Trade Town" and fight the Scavs. We don't know how far "Trade Town" is from Oregon. But it must be pretty far. Luckily, "If anyone can make it, it's John Travis!" Along his magical journey, he has to defuse a bomb that doesn't go off and stops at a roadside diner run by "Dad" played by David Carradine. The only thing they serve there is something called "Jacky Rabbit Stew". "Dad" gives Travis a big bowl of it, and he refuses to choke it down, and a fight ensues. Meanwhile, Rachel is kidnapped and held captive by Lincoln. Lincoln passes the time watching cage fighting matches. Whoever wins the cage fight gets Rachel as the prize. Travis has to rescue her from the clutches of the biggest meanest scav in town who wins all the cage fighting matches. Unfortunately Lincoln's compound is guarded by guys in used sporting equipment with spray-painted football helmets. Travis invades the compound and more fights ensue. Will Travis put the crystal in the teleporter in order to ship the freebies to Oregon, or will Lincoln win out? One of the most annoying aspects about the movie is that Travis is very unlikable. He whines and complains about every single task he has to do, most of end with "she said". For example, "It will be easy she said, diffuse the bomb she said" etc. Thusly the audience never gets behind as a hero we can believe in. He comes off as a jerk. Also, he seems a bit old to be capering around in "Trade Town". He looks like he is in his fifties. His "Special Police" cap is probably there to hide his balding head. Maybe that explains all the complaining. His acting makes Chuck Norris look like a master thespian. His delivery is more wooden than a lumber yard. It must be hard to make a futuristic sci-fi epic with no budget. They spent it all on Carradine and the hat. His best moment is when he jumps off a building and goes "AAAAhhh!!!!!" After all this ridiculousness, the end credits feature an R&B slow jam extolling the virtues of The Karate Cop. Ron Marchini is a national treasure and so is this VHS tape. Find it today!