John Barrett Movies

A kickboxer decides he would like to retire, but tragically, his wife is killed in an explosion which sends him back into the ring. Soon he is involved in an unnaturally violent and crooked tournament. After finding out who is responsible for his wife's death he is intent upon revenge. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

This futuristic drama offers the classic story of Shane seved up with a few Mad Max moments and some interesting twists. The tale is set in the smouldering, decimated post-World War III town of Meridian, where locals scrabble to keep their meager farms watered in the midst of a desert wasteland. Bad-guys - a powerful landowner and his cronies - try to monopolize the precious local water supplies by bullying, kidnapping and even murdering citizens. To this beleaguered place comes the enigmatic swordsman/ warrior Nomad who has come in search of his mentor's killer. The town takes him on as their "Peacemaker" and he is able to end their problems and get his revenge to boot. The story was filmed on location in the deserts of South Africa. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This is a very macho action film in which the good guys are just that "guys". Col. Cooper (David Carridine) has been captured by the North Vietnamese and wheels and deals his way out of this predicament with the sleazy Vietnamese commandant, Capt. Vinh (Mako). Vinh agrees to let Cooper and the other P.O.W.s leave if Cooper will take Vinh and his ill-gotten gains back with them to the United States. Cooper agrees, and then has to struggle with the ever-frustrating Sparks (Charles R. Floyd), who thinks he knows better than anyone else about how to escape from the camp. The motley crew set off into the jungle, encountering the enemy and a very uncooperative Mother Nature along the way. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this Spaghetti-western-like martial arts actioner, Texas Ranger J. J. McQuade (Chuck Norris) is up against the weapons-dealer Rawley Wilkes (David Carradine) after Wilkes kidnaps McQuade's partner and daughter and takes them to Mexico. McQuade's personal vendetta is encouraged by the government because Wilkes is hijacking U.S. arms shipments for his illicit weapons deals and the government wants him stopped. After the kidnapping incident, McQuade is assigned Kayo (Robert Beltran) a rookie patrolman, to accompany him in his fight, and he is also joined by FBI-agent Jackson (Leon Isaac Kennedy). Jackson and McQuade track down Wilkes' secret airstrip -- and that is when the fireworks begin. Every weapon known to human technology is brought into the picture as McQuade, also armed with his lethal hands and feet, goes ballistic. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Karate champ Chuck Norris returns for another chop-socky vigilante flick in The Octagon, one of a handful of undistinguished Ninja pictures released during the early '80s. Norris appropriately plays a retired karate champ hired as a bodyguard for a wealthy woman (Karen Carlson) plagued by a gang of vicious ninjas. Reluctant at first to take the job, he reconsiders when he learns the gang is headed by his longtime arch rival Tadashi Yamashita (Lee Van Cleef). The script -- as is the case in nearly every Ninja film -- has holes bigger than Okinawa, and the acting is downright atrocious, particularly that of Norris, who, thankfully, improved with time. However, the production values are fair, as is the direction, and the action sequences are often exciting and comparatively realistic. Recommended for genre fans only. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi