Perfect Target

Rating:
Summary: Saturday Afternoon Matinee
Review: As B-movie action flicks go, Perfect Target, is pretty good. Most everyone knows who Robert Englund is. And even if you don't know Brian Thompson's name, you will definitely recognize him. But, the story centers around a dispossessed ex-Green Beret (Bernhardt) living in a small South American country. He is recruited by Englund to join a team of mercernaries hired to protect the country's president. He butts heads with a local Federale (Jim Pirri) and things heat up even more when he begins to fall in love with the Federale's sister. She is the leader of a band of freedom fighting guerrillas. It's a world where power is fleeting, loyalties are constantly changing, and trust is hard to come by.

There are some good action sequences with the actors doing most of their own stunts. (Watch for the soldier falling off the garden wall. That stunt alone cost the movie one star in my rating.) Englund proves he can be frightening even without Freddie make-up. Bernhardt is believable as the cynical, world-weary Benson.

The real treat here is Jim Pirri as Miguel Ramirez. He not only turns in a rock-solid acting performance, but slow motion playback on his fight sequences reveal he is also a skilled stunt performer. That, his athleticism, and his smoky good looks make a winning combination.

Rating:
Summary: better than expected from a Van Damme wannabe
Review: I bought this movie for [$$$] bran-new so I guess for that price it's worth the money. It's basically a story that's been done a million times before. You know the assassination of a political leader, the cover-up, framing the good guy, the whole sha-bang. Daniel Bernhardt's acting is exactly what I expected. As Good as Jean Claude Van Damme's, which is not excellent. He probably didn't get an academy award for best actor in this move. I think this movie is better than some of his other ones that I've seen, though. The real reason I think to see this movie is for the villians. There's Robert Englund, who everyone knows him...that's right, he was in Urban Legend. Then there's that psychotic-looking Brian Thompson. You may recognize him from movies like Cobra, Hired To Kill, Lionheart, and in his younger days, one of the punks in Terminator. (he's the other punk besides Bill Paxton) If you were to pick on Daniel Bernhardt movie to watch just because there's absolutely nothing else to watch, then I'd recommend this one.