DEADRINGER (Philippines, 1985)

aka LASER FORCE / KOMMANDO DOBBELGÄNGER

Directed by Teddy Page


Guest reviewer: Kurt Nyfors
 
I decided to dig out this old tape and have a look at some Filipino action. It stars a Max Thayer, that hasn't been to the gym for a while, and whole lot of Filipino action regulars like Mike Monty, Nick Nicholson, Mike Cohen etc. My absolute favourite character is the karate hotel clerk played by Willy Schober.

Right from the start it's evident that Max Thayer isn't liked in the Philippines, they try to shoot him, they try to knife him, they try to beat him, run him over - you name it.

This movie feels a bit like Teddy Page made it during lunch breaks and weekends. We get a lot of fights that imo looks quite goofy, almost like the guys are tired. Don't get me wrong, the movie is a hoot and highly entertaining.

The gangsters and henchmen also seem to be quite dumb. Just hide behind a bush and you're safe. Though our heroine underestimates them a little and gets caught. She stops her boat and crouches down behind the seats and hope they won't see her. Ok, they might be dumb but not t-h-a-t dumb.
The boat chase leading up to all this is a classic. It looks quite slow for starters. Then the gangsters take another route in order to cut her off, which doesn't work but after that they seem to be able to catch her anyway. So then they naturally start shooting at her with a grenade launcher. But now she's able to shake them off...

There's plenty of awkward moments. Like when Max Thayer walks in and wakes up Max Thayer. No, that's not a typo.
And when Max Thayer's laser (?) weapon suddenly appears. I also have to mention the waitress (owner?) that says she likes to see customers in her restaurant. And that she used to have a burger stand (or something like that), but her husband was so jealous that she started to work in a restaurant. Thanks for letting us know...

I occasionally got the feeling they weren't always using the same script, if there was one. Perhaps it was suppose to be about a super weapon. But then changed their minds, but decided to keep the laser(?) in the movie. Page has often super weapons in his movies, Harrison had a awesome weapon in Blood Debts, Robert Marius had one in War Without End etc.

Did they dub at least some of the guys? It sounds like Mike Monty has a sore throat. And did he dub some of Thayer's dialogue?

I can't help but wonder why this movie isn't better known. How could you not love it, it's just so entertaining.

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Jack's comment: I'm not aware of any DVD or blu-ray release of this film but there's a laserdisc form Hong Kong! (English lingo, Chinese subs). Also on VHS in Japan (pictured) and there are versions dubbed into French and German and possibly other funny languages. My own VHS (in English) comes courtesy of Holland.

ALSO, check this highly entertaining interview with NICK NICHOLSON about the shooting of DEADRINGER on ANDREW LEAVOLD's blog. It's amazing that half of the actors didn't die on the set!!!