A Force Of One
A Force Of One (Anchor Bay)
Do you know why it’s taken so long for Chuck Norris to appear on Blu-Ray? Because up until now the technology needed to compress the might of Chuck on to a disc hasn’t existed and was only recently developed and invented by Chuck Norris who made it work using a ZX-81, a box of matches, an M-16 and a stylophone. Given Chuck’s pioneering use of Norris household utensils to deliver a disc system capable of harnessing his films, it’s a tad disappointing that the first film to come kicking, screaming and charging out of the concrete reinforced stables of Norris is ‘A Force Of One’. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great film, but it’s not one of Chuck’s best, as the central theme, revolving around drug dealers and their use of martial arts enforcer to kill narcotics officers, feels a little over-played and preachy at times. Maybe it’s just that the whole ‘Just-Say-No-Grange-Hill-Touchy-Feely’ anti drugs message has been rammed home so many times that it’s lost all significance and meaning during the three decades since ‘A Force Of One’ was made, but for some reason, the story does feel dated, preaching to an audience for whom any hope of winning the war against chemicals has long since disappeared in a cloud of political and legal corruption and vice. That said, the pace and tone change about two thirds of the way through the film, as Chuck becomes hell-bent on vengeance and dispensing his own brand of justice to the street dealers and scum who peddle their filth in his town, and the final showdown between Chuck and the Martial Arts Enforcer is worth the price of admission alone. Besides, everyone knows that if Western Governments had ever really been serious about winning the war against drugs, they’d have just sent Chuck Norris into South America, and after six months, the only coca coming out of there would have been of the Cola variety… Tim Mass Movement
