First is one I reviewed here way back twelve years ago, but this new take on 1974's Golden Needles is better:
In the first of the two movies I’ll review here today (both directed by Robert Clouse) this was a revisit of something I saw way back in 2012 on Netflix-remember when they mainly had niche movies that were of interest to people like me?-and what I wrote on Letterboxd soon after I joined the site ELEVEN years ago was a short blurb. Now, the description on Wikipedia is different from the one on Letterboxd. Wiki says:
“A legendary statue has seven gold needles inserted in it, and an adult man will become a sexual superman when the needles are placed in the same position in his body. A colorful group of characters is all in on the hunt for the mysterious statue.”
Technically that’s true, although the main benefits of the statue and needles are an improvement in vim and vigor; this is why Burgess Meredith (!) paid Elizabeth Ashley for a Hong Kong trek in order to acquire the statue, although the thought of senior citizen Meredith as “a sexual Superman” is incredible. The opening is Roy Chiao’s henchmen stealing the statue (which the local government also wants as a priceless artifact) via FLAMETHROWERS, so clearly he wants an extraordinary sum to give that up. This is when Joe Don Baker enters the picture so he can steal the statue that’s already been stolen.
The film is quite uneven at times, with at least one lull and a kind of pointless romance between Baker & Ashley. Yet, I was still amused by this lark. Except for about 25 minutes in Los Angeles-which is the only time the viewer sees Meredith, along with Jim Kelly-the rest of the movie is filmed in Hong Kong and that provided interesting scenery, whether it be outdoors or indoors at a small casino (which housed an action setpiece) ran by Ann Sothern where mahjong is played.
Indeed, the government sends someone who assists the leads in this quest. This person is among the sources for the martial arts seen on celluloid. No, Joe Don doesn’t do any himself! Rather, he is like a bull in a China shop as he punches or otherwise tosses aside his much smaller foes yet somewhat convincingly runs away from them when necessary. Golden Needles is kind of a mess as a movie yet for me that is part of its charm. Meredith wears the largest and gaudiest bow-ties in recorded history, a brawl happens in a health club, giant shrimp are eaten… even if Kelly does precious little fighting, I didn’t mind watching this oddity a second time.
Now, my opinion of 1980's The Big Brawl, i.e. Battle Creek Brawl:
Runtime: 95 minutes
Directed by: Robert Clouse
Starring: Jackie Chan, Mako, Kristine DeBell, Jose Ferrer, Chao Li-Chi
From: Golden Harvest
In my second review of the day, why did no one ever tell me that this movie was a darn hoot? Of course, I’ve known of it for years as the first film during the initial attempt to make Jackie Chan a star in North America; that initial attempt failed so I was glad he got a second chance and this time knocked it out of the park. Appearing in the two Cannonball Run movies as a JAPANESE man is unfortunate by today’s standards, plus he wasn’t able to do much in all-star ensemble pictures. Finally, I took a chance on this and turns out, I should have had more faith in something directed by Robert Clouse.
It earned good will right away with the badass intro of Jackie and an AWESOME jazz track w/ heavy bass then the entrance of someone whistling. A minute later I saw the credit that stated the great Lalo Schifrin did the score; it was indeed pretty sweet. Jackie plays a badass in 1930’s Chicago (as long as you ignore a few anachronistic moments that pop up throughout) who runs afoul of some gangsters so they force him to fight in a big tournament down in Battle Creek, Texas-sometimes this film is known as Battle Creek Brawl-so he needs the help of both his uncle Mako (who trains him) and his white girlfriend Nancy to prepare. I certainly can nitpick about some of the plotting and dropped subplots, but I still had fun. Plus, as others have noted, it isn’t a big deal that Chan’s character Jerry is dating a white woman.
Note that there are still racist characters who spout phrases that won’t be repeated here. It’s just not a big deal that there’s this interracial romance in 1930’s Chicago. The titular brawls throughout aren’t as incredible as you’d get in Jackie’s Hong Kong run or in some later Hollywood efforts yet are still delightful and the sort of action you’d hope to see from him. There are also the laughs that you’d expect from Chan; the humor usually landed.
It is quite the silly movie; after all, the Battle Creek brawls are literally street fights outside in the middle of town, surrounded by all the town folk who all love this mayhem. Furthermore, some are literally dressed like pro wrestlers. That is fitting for a movie full of current or former wrestlers at the time. Lenny Montana portrayed-get this-a mob enforcer, there was Earl Maynard, Gene Le Bell, the guy who wrestled as El Mongol, and the lead fighter was played by Hard Boiled Haggerty, whose name was BILLY KISS and appropriately, kissed his opponents on the mouth right as he defeated them!
I didn’t even mention the utterly preposterous “roller race” which is a relay race both in and out of a warehouse where people shoot firehoses at you and the other male in Jackie’s trio is only referred to as JUG. For certain I can carp about Rosalind Chao having a less than thankless role, or other quibbles. At the same time, various elements appealed to my tastes (& it was delightful seeing old veterans like Jose Ferrer & Mako) so Battle Creek Brawl was quite a bit of fun for me.
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