Movie
Double Impact (1991)
When I put together my initial list, Cory Everson’s muscular henchwoman Kara – one of two “enforcer” roles she played – was an obvious choice. On reflection, Kara did drop down the rankings quite a bit, but still does more than enough to be considered legendary. Amazingly, Kara barely features until the latter half of the movie, but then comes into her own with three great scenes to savour.
Before that there’s the setup with two loving parents murdered by Chinese criminals in Hong Kong, leaving their bodyguard / security man Frank (Geoffrey Lewis) to look after their twin infant boys Chad and Alex. Actually, he only manages to escape with Chad, and it’s left to the family maid to deal with the other boy. She gives up on the idea quite early, dropping Alex off at the local orphanage.
Chad grows up in relative luxury in California and twenty-five years later now “works” as a fitness instructor. Since both grown up brothers are played by Jean Claude Van Damme, this is an excuse to show off his trademark leg split. Frank persuades Chad to go with him to Hong Kong, and they soon run into Alex who’s not too friendly, especially after he catches Chad with his girlfriend Danielle (Alonna Shaw). There’s simmering friction between the twin brothers that’s continually brought up, but eventually they work together. Van Damme times two? The villains really ought to have killed these boys when they were babies.
Quite a few action set pieces follow. Alex – now a criminal smuggler – gets into a shootout on his boat following a deal gone bad. Chad – who gets mistaken for Alex – has a run in with the gang leader who killed his parents. That would be Zhang (Philip Chan), who has a brutal bodyguard named Moon (bad guy regular Bolo Yeung). Moon gets the better of Chad in a very one sided fight, but Zhang decides to leave the hero alive (yes, that mistake again) so inevitably there will be a rematch later on.
Meanwhile Danielle searches her office for clues, because it just so happens she works for the other main villain Nigel Griffith (Alan Scarfe). Both the actor and character are British, naturally. This is where Danielle has her first run in with Kara (finally!), who works security for Griffith. Only a brief question this time, but it’s their second office encounter viewers tend to remember.
Villainess
Kara (Cory Everson)
Things heat up after the brothers raid a drugs shipment (thanks to information Zhang gave Chad earlier!) and cause a lot of damage and destruction. This is typical action hero stuff with lots of gunfire and near-death moments, and since there are two heroes – plus Frank as backup – it’s no surprise the place goes up in literal smoke.
Griffith isn’t too happy with his employees for screwing up, so that’s Kara’s cue to stick a knife in some poor guy’s chest. She flexes her muscles here, and her skimpy outfit means we get to see Kara’s poweful legs as she kneels over her terrified victim (who’d been previously kicked from his chair by another henchman). Anybody who thought this woman was just there for show should think again, and it’s little wonder the men at the table look scared as Kara returns to Griffith with her bloody knife.
The brothers then crash the party, but get seen together for the first time. It’s then Zhang and Griffith now they’re up against a double dose of the Muscles from Brussels, and they’ll need to up their game. So Kara gets the job – and satisfaction – of searching Danielle in the office. This involves more than a customary pat down and is closer to sexual assault. A leather-clad strong woman frisking a terrified assistant – the imagery is pretty clear, and Kara clearly enjoys it. After that, Danielle does the expected thing and calls Alex while the villains and their henchwoman listen in.
Kara is strictly the enforcer from that point. She leads a group of thugs on a hunt for Chad. The action shifts from a restaurant (and secret back room) to the streets of Hong Kong, and moored sampans. Kara’s action is limited to kicking a civilian and long-distance shots of her in pursuit. After that, she takes to the skies in a helicopter to search for Chad and Danielle, who are now taking a boat trip back to their island hideout. Don’t expect her to be involved in the raid after that, though – that’s left to Zhang and his henchmen.
Alex and Chad fall out over… what else? Danielle. We get Alex imagining her having sex with his brother, though they never did in reaility (pretty much an excuse to show Alonna Shaw naked). Of course the twins put aside their differences to rescue Frank and Danielle from the cargo ship they’re being held on. This final sequence is a long string of fight scenes. Alex and Chad waste the mooks pretty easily, then come the big battles against a spur-heeled killer and Moon. The last one ends with an obvious death by electrocution (the junction box was in shot for a good half minute beforehand).
Eventually both Zhang and Griffith get taken out. Not much fighting compared to what came earlier (though Zhang at least tries with a concealed sword), but their ends are suitably brutal considering the pain they’ve inflicted. From a villainess perspective the main highlight is Alex against Kara. The muscle woman has changed into an all-black outfit and leather gloves now – which suit her – and enjoys steaming Frank and threatening Danielle at Griffith’s request.
Knowing one of the heroes is coming for her, Kara leaves Danielle alone with a henchman who takes the opportunity to molest her. His reward is a headbutt from Alex, but then Kara gets the drop on him, trapping his neck between her thighs. Somehow he gets out of that, leading to Kara drawing her blade in anger. She manages to cut Alex – while Danielle watches helplessly – and grabs her opponent by the crotch. This is probably both to inflict pain and simply because Kara likes the idea of groping Alex’s private parts.
Alex punches her in the face. It’s then (disappointingly) that Kara loses her cool and kicks out in anger, only damaging a steam pipe. It’s then a straight test of strength, but no female – even an Amazon like Kara – is a match for Van Damme. She does (briefly) gain the advantage thanks to supporting fire from Zhang, but Alex quickly turn Kara’s own knife against her and finishes off the villainess with a belly stab. Overall the fight is about a minute and a half long. Not great, but better than many other efforts.
Video Review
Honourable Mention (Unranked)
Ballistic (1995) (aka Fist of Justice) – Claudia (Cory Everson)
This post could be considered a Cory tribute, as her other notable film Ballistic (aka Fist of Justice) gets an honourable mention to go alongside the superior Double Impact. Her climatic fight scene in this direct-to-video actioner is her best overall, but still doesn’t better Kara when everything is taken into account.
I’d been debating whether to cover this movie as I only had a terrible VHS copy and poor quality, low resolution online clips. Then a DVD was released in Germany weeks before I did this review (talk about a blessing!) and even better it came with an English language soundtrack, which was unexpected. So the henchwoman Claudia gets an extended honourable mention.
Good thing Cory chose to put in appearance, because the movie is bland otherwise. Detective Jesse Gavin (Marjean Holden) – the statuesque martial arts heroine – is out to prove her father (Richard Roundtree) was framed by corrupt cops. There’s a lot of dirt in the department, right from the rookies on the take to the Captain at the top. Gavin’s only allies are another female on the force called Lynn and her boyfriend (who’s a handy fighter himself).
The villain is some guy named Braden (Sam J. Jones) who deals in drugs and illegal weapons, and arranges rigged fights for money. All the generic bad guy motives rolled into one, which makes the story feel tired. There’s also a witness who gets silenced while Gavin is protecting him, and a busty assistant for Braden to have sex with, in case more overused plot elements are required. Michael Jai White plays a henchman named Quint, but his fights aren’t really that impressive – which can be said for most of the action. So it’s all down to Cory to save the show, which she does admirably.
Besides playing the silent glaring type whenever Jesse shows up and Braden shows more interest than he probably should, Claudia is the villain’s chief henchwoman for eliminating problems. She has little trouble besting a corrupt cop who knows too much, and knees the guy in the groin just to show her superiority. Then Claudia tosses the guy around his apartment and breaks his neck, leaving a dead body for Jesse to explain. The charges don’t stick (though she is supended) and the heroine is able to prove her father was set up.
This all leads to a climax at Braden’s warehouse hideout. Once again the main villains are easily taken care of – albeit with a big explosion – and it’s Claudia who provides Jesse’s only real test. Holden and Everson get a rewarding and lengthy fight scene, with Claudia in red spandex and Jesse in black. It’s an even contest with the women trading blows and insults. Boxes get used as makeshift weapons and Jesse’s father shows up with a gun. Fortunately he stays out of it, and it’s down to his daughter to defeat the henchwoman. Jesse gets her opponent in a chokehold, then Claudia regains the advantage with an overhead kick.
The overconfident villainess puts her arm around Jesse’s neck, ready to snap it, but lets her guard down and allows Jesse to turn the tables once more. After a struggle, Jesse inverts the hold and snaps Claudia’s neck. Not many scenes in the movie of note, but this makes up for it.
Action Woman Fan 