An Eye for an Eye

An Eye for an Eye is a typically bad Chuck Norris martial arts film. Chuck resigns from the San Francisco PD after his partner is killed, ruining months of undercover narcotics work. When his partner's girlfriend is also killed after uncovering evidence, the Chuckster kicks and punches his way to the truth. The transfer was third rate, the plot is thin and trite, and Norris is positively wooden in the role. He looks like he pauses for direction between every punch, and has less change of facial expression than a corpse. The fight sequences are rather uninspired. In one, a bad guy gets up too soon, and throws himself back to the ground.

NUDITY REPORT

none. The film is supposed to have a long shower scene with Maggie Cooper. This scene is not to be found on the DVD, though the running time has not changed.

DVD info from Amazon.

no widescreen version
no features

Scoop's comments: Is there any genre with worse acting than martial arts films? Although Norris never really developed into the Olivier of his generation, he eventually got so he could deliver his lines with some credibility. You need to see some of his early work to see just how much he improved. Tuna is spot-on. In comparison, Norris made Van Damme seem as animated and literate as Peter O'Toole. Van Damme may not understand what all the words mean, or how to pronounce them, but is at least able to bring a certain stamp of characterization to a role. Norris sounded like he was reading lines from cue cards.

This film also stars such genre-film icons as Christopher Lee and Richard Roundtree. Shaft and Dracula, together at last, in a martial arts film.

The Critics Vote

Maltin 2/4.

The People Vote ...

With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it 5.0

IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a C-, maybe less. A weak genre film, with no nudity, or even close calls, and a must-avoid if you don't like the genre..