"Immortal Combat" (1994)

by Mike Imboden

Normally here at “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict”, both Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. However, here and there they will be taking the reins in a solo outing. For this installment, it’s Mike with a solo review of the Roddy Piper/Sonny Chiba action flick, Immortal Combat.

Synopsis

Two police officers discover an island laboratory where a madwoman is turning martial artists into super-powered killers. The officers must stop the madwoman and her army of immortal warriors before they can unleash their deadly force on the world.

The Good

Piper and Chiba have pretty good chemistry as partners in the police force - not quite a Murtaugh and Riggs (maybe Turner and Hooch) - who each have baggage and demons they need to get rid of.

Piper carries the majority of the movie, mainly because Chiba spends the entire second act sitting in a dark room with candles encircling him, as he heals from a gunshot wound, all while battling ghosts and slicing candles with a katana. Piper gets the majority of one-liners and even ends up getting the girl, but Chiba elicits a few chuckles essentially playing the straight man. The fights are fun to watch - on one hand you have Piper basically brawling with whomever he faces while Chiba, decked out in full-on Hollywood ninja gear, gets to have sword fights, throw shuriken at people, and even toss some grenades for good measure

The Bad

Immortal Combat is average at best - the plot is a bit hokey, the dialog is bad, and the acting is pretty tough to watch.

The Verdict

Don't expect anything groundbreaking here as Immortal Combat follows the 90s action movie template to a 'T'. Like I mentioned, it's probably average at best, but it's fun and it lives in my Pantheon of beloved movies because of my all time hero and spirit animal, Roddy Piper.

Immortal Combat, from Blue Ridge Entertainment, is not currently streaming but is available to purchase on a couple of different physical formats for a ridiculous price on eBay, Amazon, etc.

Immortal Combat