A MOVIE A DAY CHALLENGE #006: Deadly Outbreak (1995)

Deadly Outbreak (1995)
Director: Rick Avery
Stars: Jeff Speakman, Ron Silver and Rochelle Swanson

"A terrorist group lead by Colonel Baron has taken over an Israeli biochemical weapon laboratory. Colonel Baron wants to get his hands on a new secret weapon developed by Dr. Allie Levin. Dutton Hatfield from the U.S. embassy must help Dr. Levin keep her invention away from the bad guys."
From: IMDB

What a fun movie! Really this embodies all that I love about schlock cinema. Unbelievable plot: check, unnecessary explosions: check, gun battles, karate fights, ridiculous romance angle: check, check, and check!

Jeff (The Perfect Weapon) Speakman is a poor man’s Chuck Norris. He had a really big action movie debut that garnered a lot of press. But soon fizzled out into a b-movie headliner.

This mid-nineties direct to video release shows how much fun Speakman can be. Sure his performance isn’t Oscar worthy, but neither is any of Norris’s. It’s just mindless fun at its best.

Our hero kicks, punches, and shoots his way through an array of heavies like there not much of a problem. One thing I did notice quite a bit throughout the film is how often Speakman kicks, punches, and in one case blasts with a shotgun a guy in the balls. This seemed to be central to the movies action sequences as even his on screen 10 year old son does it to a baddy at the end.

Don’t know a whole lot about the style of Kenpo Karate Speakman is a black belt in but genital punishment might play an important role, don’t know for sure.

The rest of the cast does well at the level of acting to be expected with a direct to video release. Rochelle Swanson is looking fantastic if not very scientific, and Ron Silver plays the same evil soft spoken villain he usually does with great effect.

My dear friend Brandy once told me “action stars, shouldn’t act.” I have a feeling she would be cringing at this one, but as for me I give it a near damn perfect rating for being a great actioner.