Last to Surrender (1998) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski)

This movie is fundamentally a "B" remake of Red Heat.

In Red Heat, muscular Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a Russian policeman sent after a Russian drug dealer who has escaped to the United States, and Jim Belushi is the sloppy, sarcastic tough-talkin' maverick cop assigned to aid him. Both think they are in charge, they squabble, but eventually bond to make the film a "buddy cop" flick played for equal parts of comedy and straight cop action.

NUDITY REPORT

Ong Soo Han shows his buns briefly when he is attacked by a tiger while at stool.

That was made in 1988.

It's 1998 for Last to Surrender, and China is now the Big Kahuna of commie countries, so muscular Ong Soo Han plays a Chinese policeman sent after a Chinese drug dealer who is operating in the United States, and Roddy Piper is the sloppy, sarcastic tough-talkin' maverick cop assigned to aid him. Both think they are in charge, they squabble, but eventually bond to make the film a "buddy cop" flick played for equal parts of comedy and straight cop action.

This film is rated an execrable 2.9 at IMDb but, in my estimation, the first half is actually pretty good. Part of it takes place in Seattle with Roddy in his element, and part of it takes place in Rangoon, with Ong more in his element. With each of them taking a turn as the bull in the cultural china shop, and with some funny bantering between the partners, that 50 minutes passed quickly.

Roddy: (calls his partner aside) Don't you know how to play "good cop, bad cop"?

Ong: In China, all cops are good. (Piper rolls his eyes)

Roddy: (so prisoner can hear) Well in that case, let me just cut his nuts off, because he'll never talk unless we do.
The second half, however is terrible. Roddy and Ong end up lost and alone in the jungle with only a handgun for protection. Despite that, they find their way to the lair of the evil drug dealer, and subsequently manage to defeat him an his army of 1000 heavily-armed men. I didn't make up one word of that. On their way, Piper even takes time out to woo a native girl in a forgotten jungle village. Conveniently enough, she speaks English, as do the people of many lost tribes these days. 

The Critics Vote

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The People Vote ...

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-. It was Ok for a comedy-drama buddy cop flick. Much better than I expected.

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