Angel of Destruction

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victor o @RT45890256 09/24/2020 I saw this movie to check out Maria Ford and I was more than happy to do so but I got even more than I bargained for. Not many performers can surprise their audience but Maria Ford surprised me. Not a great actress but as it turns out a she is a spectacular action star. If only she focused more on that she would have a better career. Brit Alwood, a former cop turned private investigator gets hired to do a job that ends up getting her killed. As Jo, her younger sister also a cop, discovers her dead body and takes it upon herself to take on the case and avenger her murder. A music producer is promoting a singer who has her way of doing things, but she is resistant, and he uses mercenaries to do his bidding. Things do not look as bad as they seem until it is discovered that one of the mercenaries has a terrible secret leading to an epic confrontation. I thought the premise of the movie seemed fine, but not entirely original. In many ways a Basic Instinct knockoff but also, from what I hear, a remake of an action film called Blackbelt with a couple of changes. One of those changes being a gorgeous female cop character as the lead. I also heard that Maria Ford was not meant to be the lead but the other actress who plays her sister was supposed to be it. Still, I was more than surprised but pleased with Maria Ford, not a great actress but she worked hard, and it shows. From how she handled herself with the stunts, weapons, and martial arts. She should have done more movies like this instead of the other kind. Not the best movie, but Maria Ford is so good in this that I cannot rate it any lower than great. See more 03/04/2017 I was able to catch this during a group viewing online courtesy of a film group to which I belong, and while the action film side of this is corny as hell and leaves a lot to be desired, there's a decent smattering of nudity to be had and I found it passable as casual entertainment for an afternoon while chatting with folks online. Rental? Maybe? See more 10/27/2012 A police woman becomes a bodyguard for a declining pop star who is being stalked by an obsessive fan. Maria Ford carries the film in the lead role and all cops here correctly sport moustaches. See more 06/13/2011 A cop avenges her sister's death against a crazed mercenary while protecting a provacative rock star who is next on his hit list. Maria Ford excels in this quality piece of 90s exploitation. Packs a lot of action in 80 minutes. See more 06/21/2009 A police woman becomes a bodyguard for a declining pop star who is being stalked by an obsessive fan. Maria Ford carries the film in the lead role and all cops here correctly sport moustaches. See more 03/28/2009 Every fan of B T&A Exploitation flicks like 'Naked Killer' should have 'Angel of Destruction' in their collection. A remake of Roger Corman's own Don "the Dragon" Wilson movie "Black Belt', 'Angel of Destruction' casts Maria Ford as tough-as-nails policewoman Jo Alwood, a chick who dresses more like a stripper than a cop, complete with skimpy tank tops, shorts, and skin tight pants. After her sister Brit (Charlie Spradling) is murdered by a mercenary-turned serial killer who apparently also has very shitty taste in music (and whose hobbies include severing the fingers of Filippina prostitutes and fighting in Angola), Jo takes over her sister's job of protecting pop star Delilah (Jessica Mark). Delilah has to deal not only with the creepy mercenary, but also her record producer, who is trying to have her offed and drop her from his label. As I said, this is a straight up remake of the 1992 Don Wilson flick 'Blackbelt,' and some of the dialog and scenes are the same, word-for-word ("your father ever rape you?" the entire scene on the set of the video shoot; the mercenary's thing for severing fingers of hookers). This is something that Roger Corman is notorious for. He would often remake his movies within months of each other- he did the same thing with another Don "the Dragon" Wilson movie 'Bloodfist III: Forced to Fight,' which he remade into the equally entertaining Jerry Trimble/George Takei tour de force 'Live by the Fist.' This movie will not win any awards, but it's probably one of the best in the sub genre of trashy T&A ass kickin' grrl power. Maria Ford was a very natural beauty early in her career, and she didn't have all the plastic surgery and fun bags that many similar actresses did back then. She gets to showcase her au natural B cups, and they are very gorgeous indeed, especially in the strip scene she has, which makes me wish the Maria Ford from 1993 was available somewhere for bachelor parties. As Jo, she gets to vamp it up, beating up guys twice her size, hump a stripper pole (and I can only guess this is the type of stuff Ford did for a living before meeting Corman), and even have a hilariously over-the-top sex scene with her partner. There is also an brilliantly stupid and classic scene where she dispenses of several bad guys in nothing but her thong. The sight of Maria Ford spin kicking Phillipino extras with close ups of her butt cheeks is truly something to behold. According to trivia, this was the scene that the original lead Charlie Spradling (Jo's sister Brit) refused to do, and was promptly written out of the script by Corman and Ford given the lead. One can only wonder how different it would've turned out with Spradling in the lead, but Ford does such a great job, you don't really worry about it. This movie doesn't take itself too seriously, and the campy dialog reflects that tone (it's hard to take Ford seriously as a cop who chews nails with her Wheaties for breakfast, but the movie is so entertaining, it's all part of the fun). I especially liked the scene where Jo tells the bartender that she's "having a bad hair day." It wasn't made to change the world or to create awareness of the plight of Filippina prostitutes having their fingers severed, it was made to showcase T&A in spades. I don't know what bizarro world this movie took place in, but I don't know of too many mainstream pop stars who shoot music videos topless and have concerts... Wait, we're getting there anyway. Maybe this was supposed to take place in the future. The baddie, Robert Kell (played by Jimmy Broome) is okay, but I think they should've just had Matthias Hues come back as the head baddie again, since they were remaking 'Black Belt' anyway. I think a showdown between Hues and Ford would've pwned, but I don't have Corman's green. This is one of my favorite "so bad it's good" B movies; everyone who's a fan of crappy exploitation cinema should consider it essential viewing. It has the right trashy balance of gratuitous nudity, violence, bad rock music, and Ford's B cups to keep viewers enthralled through many sittings. 'Angel of Destruction' defines what T&A action exploitation is about. I also recommend 'Naked Killer,' which is, to date, Hong Kong cinema's best contribution to the subgenre. See more Read all reviews

Angel of Destruction

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