Time Burst: The Final Alliance (1989)

 

Time Burst: The Final Alliance (1989)- *1\2

Directed by: Peter Yuval

Starring: David Scott King, Michi McGee, Douglas Harter, Richard Rogers, Gerard Okamura, and Beano

A guy inexplicably named Urbane (he's not) (King) is on the run. One minute he's in a plane crash with a bigwig antiques dealer named Rush (Rogers), and then a woman named Jane English (McGee), who is from 'The Agency' picks him up. Then there's a samurai swordfight from hundreds of years ago between a Japanese man and a mustachioed white guy who they call "White Man". It seems that some gangsters and baddies want "The Tablets", which contain the secret to immortality. The Master (Okamura) is the keeper of said tablets. Confusion ensues. Will Urbane and English accomplish whatever it is they've set out to accomplish? And, better question, will you care?


Oh Highlander (1986), what hath you wrought? First it was The Swordsman (1992), then, without explanation or warning, Gladiator Cop: The Swordsman 2 (1995), and now this. Just because Highlander did it doesn't mean YOU have to have immortal people with swords too. It's not just that the Highlander films had budgets behind them and this doesn't. It's more that Time Burst: The Final Alliance has a confusing and messy plot structure, no likable characters or development, and a lackluster "meh" quality to it all. This leads to a less-than-satisfying viewing experience. By the 'time' it was over, it felt like four hours had passed.



What exactly is a "time burst" anyway? Did anything burst in this film? I'm trying to remember. After you watch it, all recollection of having done so drains down the memory hole of your brain. For that matter, was there a "final alliance"? This title is just a melange of random words meant to trick you into renting it at the video store in the late 80's or early 90's.


The one positive we can point to here is the presence of Gerald Okamura and his voice. Any time he talks, things pick up. But that's just not enough to save a 93-minute jumble. Oh, and Douglas Harter's cameo. That was good too. Of the Peter Yuval films we've seen, Dead End City (1988), Firehead (1991), and this, Time Burst is definitely the weakest. Unlike Firehead, there's not even a Special Operations Computer Bank on hand, never mind Chris Lemmon. If you're familiar with AIP, the whole thing has an Armed For Action (1992) vibe - but, yet again, no Joe Estevez or even Rocky Patterson to liven things up.



TB:TFA has serious pacing problems. It's rarely clear what's going on, and the characters don't hook you in enough for you to really care. There's no one, central baddie to hiss at. Someone like Eric Roberts would have breathed much more life into the Urbane role. They couldn't afford Eric Roberts, but they could afford Beano. So, there's that.


The only reason to watch this film is if YOU are immortal and have lots of time to kill. For everyone else, it may be wise to steer clear of this particular Burst.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

The Protector (1998)

 

The Protector (1998)- * * *

Directed by: Boon Collins

Starring: Frank Zagarino, Steven Nijjar, and Matthias Hues

Steven Fuller, not to be confused with Steven (Nijjar), has amnesia. We know this because he seems to be stuck inside some sort of an MRI machine and he's making a lot of funny faces and noises. He's having flashbacks. Or maybe they're flash FORWARDS. They could even be flash PRESENTS. But in any case, this dude's got something wrong with his brain. It also seems that a crime boss named Gunther (Hues) is after Fuller. He has a team of female assassins he sends out to try and kill him. The answers to why this could possibly be could lie in his flashbacks/forwards/presents. Thankfully, Fuller has a PROTECTOR. His name is John Cole (Zags). He's a monosyllabic meathead minus the machinations of emotion. Things really get real when the baddies kidnap Fuller's son. Because he has a son, apparently. Punchings and shootings ensue. Then we all get back to what we were planning to do that day.


The Protector is low budget, low rent, and low brow. But it IS funny. We have at least three other movies to date called The Protector on the website. The review you're currently reading is NOT for the one with Lee Majors, Ed Marinaro, and a talking computer named Gertrude. This one beat that one into video stores by a scant year.


Things get off to a bang-up start when first we see a super-serious Zagarino face staring out at us in a dramatic fashion, then we get a Hard Justice-esque action scene where Nijjar jumps across the tops of some cars as everything blows up around him. It may not be as slick and as masterfully done as Hard Justice, but they were clearly trying. Then we get to Fan Favorite Matthias Hues wearing an open-chested leopard print blouse of some sort, and he's never looked more Fabioey.


All the spoken dialogue sounds strange, and features dumb dialogue spoken dumbly. From there on out it's a Victoria Falls of stupid. Mind you, this is not an insult. We highly enjoyed the nonstop action and stupidity of The Protector (1998). You just have to be in the right mood and the right frame of mind. Imagine a cross between Nijjar's The Final Goal (1995) and Zags & Hues's Deadly Reckoning AKA The Company Man (1998), then subtract several thousand dollars in budget and a good amount of brain cells, and you might have some idea of what to expect here.


Nijjar's son in the film has a very odd voice. It sounds like a 47-year-old man putting on what he thinks is a "little kid voice". It's absolutely hilarious. From the front, Nijjar looks a lot like Michael Imperioli. From the side, he's a dead ringer for Eric Bana. Speaking of lookalikes, for the artwork for this film, front-and-center Zags looks disturbingly like Brigitte Nielsen. See above and tell us if you agree. Zags's extreme monotone is not explained. Our theory is that he thought that he might be playing one of those Project Shadowchaser robots and he got confused.


There's a very silly and extended fight in a strip club that is very Cormanesque. This was around the time that he was producing a lot of action and stripping movies, both separately and together. Maybe our two directors were trying to tap into that vein. Guaranteed, there is a lot more grunting here than maybe anywhere else. According to Google's "AI Overview", "Monica Seles and Jimmy Connors were also considered pioneers of grunting in tennis". According to MY overview, Frank Zagarino and all his opponents are considered pioneers of grunting in low-budget action films.


Gunther says "no more excuses", instead of the more standard "no more mistakes". Cole also says a variation on "we got company". This is the extent of screenwriting innovation on display. Of course, there is a "DISC" that everyone is looking for and is the key to everything. Gunther says, and I'm paraphrasing, that it's now 1998 and we live in a new era of information. He's going to hack into Fortune 500 companies. We're not exactly sure why. But in order to stop this, Cole has to punch a lot of people. It's brute force vs. CD-ROM force. Who will win?


For a brain-numbing dose of "Amnijjar", punch yourself several times in the face and watch The Protector (1998) today!

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, DTVC!