Angel of Fury (1990/1992): Passion! Energy! Footwork!

Now his head has finally stopped spinning, Matty reckons that, if it’s mindless brawling you’re after, you’ll be well served by this lively Rapi/Rothrock romp.

Shot in 1989 and originally titled — and issued in certain territories as — ‘Triple Cross’, ANGEL OF FURY was christened as such by distributor Imperial Entertainment who also re-edited and re-dubbed the film ahead of its eventual U.S. video release in 1994, when star Cynthia Rothrock’s pulling power was at its peak among renters. To confuse matters, Angel of Fury’s producers, Indonesian exploitation icons Rapi Films, had already unleashed the similar sounding Double Crosser (1989), and one of their subsequent Rothrock flicks, the ace Lady Dragon 2 (1993), appeared on U.K. shelves as — yep — ‘Angel of Fury’.

With Imperial’s tinkering in mind, it’s hard to tell if Angel of Fury’s choppier moments are the result of them or shoddiness on the part of journeyman helmer Ackyl Anwari (Leech Wizard (1981), Forceful Impact (1987)). Either way, they don’t hamper the enjoyment factor too much. Though some of Anwari’s bigger set pieces — a boat chase, a bunch of gun fights, a brilliantly berserk dirt bike/jeep square-off, and more car flips than a destruction derby — are a little ramshackle, they’re imbued with an intoxicating air of kamikaze craziness, and the martial arts are splendidly staged, energetically captured, and, best of all, virtually endless.

From the second Rothrock elbows an overly handsy creep in the gonads in her big introduction, barely five minutes go by without her beating the proverbial out of a barrage of rent-a-goons. Having teamed on the equally potty biker chick epic, Virgins From Hell (1987), Rapi were clearly happy with Anwari’s relentless and absurdist approach to spectacle: they’d hire him again for auxiliary director work on Lady Dragon (1990) and Lady Dragon 2, and Rothrock herself would utilise his expertise as an action unit helmer on Rage and Honor II (1993).

Then boasting the unusual distinction of being both a vice president of the Screen Actors Guild and a huge draw for Indonesian cinemagoers (he’d previously toplined Rapi caper American Hunter (1988)), Angel of Fury was written by Christopher ‘Son of Robert’ Mitchum. The dialogue is chronic and, despite its simple chase footing, the plot — in which security specialist Rothrock has to stave off Rapi regular/kitsch favourite Peter O’Brian (American Hunter, Double Crosser, legendary Rambo riff The Intruder (1985)) and his gang while delivering a supercomputer — is messy and almost incomprehensible. Whether that is actually Mitchum’s fault, however, is another matter:

“[The producers] really didn’t understand any of the subtleties and character development scenes I put into the script,” he claimed in Psychotronic. “Any time they came to a scene they didn’t understand, they’d just cut it and stick another fight in. When I finally saw the movie, I said, ‘Jesus, this doesn’t look like my script at all. It makes no sense. I wrote it and I can’t even follow it!’.” [1]

Incidentally, Mitchum and Rothrock would subsequently appear on screen together in Santa’s Summer House (2012): a typically eccentric David DeCoteau family flick featuring several additional cult action heroes among its cast (Gary Daniels, Daniel Bernhardt and Kathy Long).

Indonesia ● 1990/1992 ● Action ● 77mins

Cynthia Rothrock, Chris Barnes, Peter O’Brian ● Dir. Ackyl Anwari ● Wri. Christopher Mitchum, story by Deddy Armand