TOTAL FORCE (1996)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *cosmological*

It's a terrible injustice that IMDB reviewers compared Steven Kaman, the writer-director of TOTAL FORCE, with Ed Wood-- an injustice, that is, to Ed Wood.

Wood had a long list of failings, without a doubt. But one thing I like about Wood is that in most (though not all) of his cinematic efforts, I can keep track of his major characters. I may not care that much about them, but watching PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, I'm never in doubt as to which character is the pilot who witnesses a UFO, and which one is the balmy cop who scratches his own head with his service revolver.

TOTAL FORCE presents the viewer with an extremely standard adventure-scenario: a mad scientist (Richard Lynch) invents a laser beam that can turn enemy soldiers into rampaging zombies that, in theory, will attack their own allies. When the scientist turns his weapon to the purpose of blackmail, it's logical enough that the government unleashes some special-forces group to take out the threat. And all that a moderately competent filmmaker has to do is to introduce the roster of heroes with whom the audience is supposed to identify.

But who are the good guys in the paramilitary group "Total Force?" Well, I THINK the characters played by Timothy Bottoms and Calista (daughter of David) Carradine are in the main group. But for some obscure reason, Kanam also introduces some other "terrorist" group headed by Frank Stallone, with whom Total Force has to collaborate. There's some vague past relationship between the Bottoms and Stallone characters, but Kanam shows zero ability to make this background even halfway interesting. Predictably, Carradine is there to provide some of the kung-fu action for which her dad became famous. But there are also three other kung-fu girls running around, billed on IMDB as "fighting hostesses" 1.2, and 3. Who do they work for, the mad scientist? Or for the Stallone character? Kanam can't be bothered to spell things out, for he's too busy setting up a lot of boring battle-scenes in some static warehouse locale.

One or two fight scenes are all that keep FORCE from being totally worthless.