THE PLOT THUS FAR
WHAT WE THOUGHT
Joe Don Baker is a retired detective slumming it out in Hong Kong who is hired by an enterprising ‘cowgirl’ (Elizabeth Ashley) to look for the titular commodities on behalf of her mysterious employer. Baker comes in possession of the statue early on in the game but it is subsequently stolen from the house of an old Asian teacher of his who is murdered; consequently, he teams up with his colored partner Jim Kelly in L.A. to go after the bad guys – with a little help from a butt-kicking Asian policewoman and her colleagues.
Every trick in the book is used to obtain the statue, including inexplicable teams of guys in gold protective suits with flamethrowers torching where they think it is. Will Dan and Jeff prevail? Man, we’re really getting tired of these PG-rated actioners. Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with that rating, but you can’t really pull out all the stops. While there are some fights and some intrigue, and even some mild torture towards Ann Sothern.
The DVD comes with no special features. But, you still get the same level of commitment from the MGM Archive towards preserving original aspect ratio on DVD-R discs. The audio is supportive, but it keeps in the grindhouse vibe of the feature. I just wish we could’ve gotten something else in terms of supplemental material. I love this stuff and I wanted to watch more. This is a must-buy.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!
