Perhaps I allowed my elevated expectations for this movie, written by James Coburn and Bruce Lee, who catered to the talents of David (Kung Fu") Carradine, to influence my "3" rating of this poorly acted, badly written and barely directed movie. It probably deserved less. This is the sort of effort that you hope was the result of too much recreational drug use, and not a total lack of talent by the participants.
Jeff Cooper, an unconvincing wild man, seems totally miscast and clueless as the outsider who attempts to be the next seeker chosen to attempt to win the "Book", presumably a font of wisdom and knowledge, that is held on a distant island. Carradine has several roles with cryptic comments and, by today's standards, weak martial arts displays. Many of the fight scenes are filmed with close-up, double head shots and quick cuts to hide the lack of realism or believability. Christopher Lee, at least, was in the same movie as Carradine in tone and pace. Cooper's every expression and gesture just didn't belong. The naive and simpleminded "surprise" ending drags this movie down from the possible heights of mediocrity to a disappointing end.
Jeff Cooper, an unconvincing wild man, seems totally miscast and clueless as the outsider who attempts to be the next seeker chosen to attempt to win the "Book", presumably a font of wisdom and knowledge, that is held on a distant island. Carradine has several roles with cryptic comments and, by today's standards, weak martial arts displays. Many of the fight scenes are filmed with close-up, double head shots and quick cuts to hide the lack of realism or believability. Christopher Lee, at least, was in the same movie as Carradine in tone and pace. Cooper's every expression and gesture just didn't belong. The naive and simpleminded "surprise" ending drags this movie down from the possible heights of mediocrity to a disappointing end.
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