Overkill (I) (1996) User Reviews

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[angelicardour · 4/10 · 25 July 2014]

First of all, I need to get this off my chest. The way "Norris" is printed on the cover makes me believe they wanted people to think that it was Chuck and not Aaron in the movie. Cheap move I think, but after actually watching it, kind of fitting. Overkill had all of the Norris, none of the Chuck.

Don't get me wrong, I like my share of B movies, but my favorite B movie is the kind that doesn't try to be anything else. This movie was certainly nothing else, but tried to be. Undoubtedly, they thought having a Norris in their movie would sell tickets. However, I expect an actor to react to a nice hard kick to the face. Not stand there for a few and then jump backwards in a very obvious way.

At the beginning of the movie, things are pretty much cut and dry. Uncontrollable cop screws up a raid and is told to get their sh*t together or resign. Cop goes on vacation and gets wrangled into helping out some nerdy tech guy who looked into the wrong computer file. That's the storyline. Not much more to it really…. Until you start hearing about the shadow people out in the jungle. That touch of the supernatural in a movie like this was definitely unexpected.

For the majority of the movie I found that added other-worldly plot just as corny and predictable as their dialog, but the ending really caught me off guard. I was actually really impressed with it and that's what saved this movie for me. In fact, it jumped it up from what would have been an overall opinion of one.

If you do decide to watch it, watch it with the knowledge that you are watching a B movie. Don't expect a blockbuster or you will be disappointed.

Overkill is "Hazard"ous to your health.

[tarbosh22000 · 3/10 · 10 July 2011]

Jack Hazard (Norris) is a cop on the edge who is sent down to San Carlos (actually Puerto Vallarta, Mexico), presumably because his name is too awesome for the LAPD. All Hazard wants to do is just relax and be shirtless for a while, but he runs into the nerdy Steiner (Moskow) who has, as seems to be very common in this time period, a computer disc. What's on the disc you ask? All the dirt on an unscrupulous, evil land developer named Lloyd Wheeler (Nouri), of course. Naturally, Wheeler sends Hazard and Steiner into the "Jungle of the Shadow People" so he can hunt them down and kill them. But Hazard has a few tricks up his sleeve for Wheeler and his gang of baddies.

Aaron Norris...yes...AARON Norris here makes his bid along with relatives Chuck and Mike to be another action hero. And just in time too, as I was starting to worry that the world was running short on Norrises. He's an odd-looking man, a sort of cross between David Heavener and Don Swayze. He's the perfect star for those who find the work of Lorenzo Lamas too intellectually challenging. His line readings are beyond wooden, they're petrified, much like the trees of the jungle the movie takes place in. He's yet another goofy meathead, perfect for this movie however, which is yet another "Most Dangerous Game" retread. By 1996 they really should have known better.

Perhaps that was the prevailing feeling on the set of Overkill, (which doesn't really live up to its name by the way, nor does the promise of the name "Jack Hazard" get fulfilled), as Michael Nouri was probably only involved so he could go to a warm, sunny location, sleepwalk through a one-dimensional role and get a nice check. You can't really blame him, but Aaron has even less energy than Chuck Norris, he doesn't talk much, and when he does, his performance can best be described as shirtless and mulleted. So he's not bringing the energy level up too high.

Of course, there are the classic clichés and silly lines as well. This was director Ferrandini's only directorial effort to date, and he's much more well known as a stuntman, having a long and rich career in that field. He's done stuntwork for Comeuppance classics such as Breakin' (1984), Zero Tolerance (1994), Hologram Man (1995), and Invasion USA (1985), among other Chuck vehicles. With time, his directorial abilities may have improved, but I guess we'll never know. Much of the movie is too dark to see, and needed more light. The plot is something we've all seen before and the audience must try way too hard to get invested, and at a certain point it's just a lost cause. The movie needed some pep. Interestingly, the plot is similar to another Norris vehicle, Mike's Death Ring (1992).

By 1996, the music for these movies was just not as good as it used to be, and the movie has no memorable song. There is a song, "Paradise", by the perplexingly-named "Food for Feet", but come on. The days of Steve Butler and "Always on my Mind" were clearly long gone by now.

Overkill is stupid and has an unbelievably lame ending. Our standards for movies like this are very low, but Overkill still did not meet those already rock-bottom standards. Overkill is "Hazard"ous to your health.

for more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Now HERE's a B-movie!

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 2 September 2015]

OVERKILL is a quite wonderful mid-'90s B-movie starring Aaron Norris, the brother of Chuck who nobody's head of. It's a complete travesty of a film, of course, and completely trashy in the best 1990s sense, and yet it's oddly enjoyable for fans of the genre. A predominance of the kind of hard-hitting fight scenes that '90s films are known for helps with the entertainment factor.

The plot is an uninspired retread of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, or perhaps HARD TARGET; Norris's loner hero is the prey of a rich huntsman and his team of mercenaries in some Central American country. He's saddled with irritating comedy relief and a typically beautiful love interest, but what follows will surprise nobody: this follows a tired plot line without any variance of deviation; the kind of thing we've seen dozens of times before.

Still, the action is just about acceptable and that's what makes this film just about watchable - if you're in a forgiving mood. Norris is an entirely wooden screen presence - not that he has anything in the way of actual PRESENCE - but physiccally he's not bad as a slower version of his brother. His end bout with villain David Rowe makes for goofy fun. Michael Nouri slums it as the chief bad guy of the piece, and there's even some mumbo jumbo nonsense involving jungle spirits thrown into the mix. The most outstanding thing? Norris's beautifully-tended hair...

Overly bad

[movieman_kev · 2/10 · 7 August 2012]

After a drug raid goes ridiculously bad, police officer Jack Hazard (Chuck's brother, Aaron Norris) takes a vacation to South America, but good ol' Jack can't stay out of trouble for long. He finds himself on the run from the local authorities after a fisticuff lands him in prison. Oh that Hazard, can't take that lovable scamp anywhere.

A truly awful film any way you slice it. Atrocious acting, extremely sub-par action scenes, bizarre characterization. Just pretty unwatchable stuff. Not so bad that it's good. Just so bad that it's bad. Chuck Norris should just punch this film out of existence and save his brother some embarrassment .

Damn! What a waste of...everything

[tbeekers · 1/10 · 2 March 2003]

This is the kind of movie that's so bad it's funny, and that almost makes it worth watching. Every move and every line is such an unrealistic clichè it will haunt you for days...

And the acting...Don't get me started.

Surviving the movie..

[fmarkland32 · 2/10 · 7 August 2006]

Aaron Norris stars as a martial artist/cop who goes down to some Caribbean island and is hunted by a sadistic Michael Nouri (In an embarrassing performance) in this Hard Target rip off which is of far lower grade. The main problem with this movie is the acting. Aaron Norris wasn't much of a director and he is an even worse actor. He makes his brother Chuck and even his nephew Mike seem like James Cagney and Spencer Tracy. Aaron Norris is severe in his humorless, charisma-less performance which asks why he even bothered acting if this was the best he could do. He obviously wants to ape Chuck Norris but Norris at least has a screen presence that makes up for his lack of skills. One other thing is that Norris looks exciting kicking ass (As do most action stars who are in this line of work, provided the movie is decent) however Norris looks slow, old and ugly. So do the fights and basically the hunt goes on forever without once indicating excitement. Overkill is appropriate title since the "Most Dangerous Game" premise has been done to overkill but aside from this the best thing about the movie are the previews before the movie.

* out of 4-(Bad)

this movie has to have at least one funny moment

[rowman2222 · 2/10 · 11 June 2007]

I can't say I know what it is but I can offer this. My friends and I were vacationing in Puerto Vallarta when one day we were approached by a woman on the beach. She was a casting director for a film they were shooting nearby and needed extras to be "Swat Cops." It paid 50 bucks and would make a great Spring Break story. So we showed up on the set and were told it was going to be a very exciting movie as it was starring Chuck Norris's brother, Aaron. So we get dressed in the wardrobe and show up on the set when the Director yelled at the casting director telling her that he didn't want any extras that were bigger and better looking than the Star. We didn't get paid but we got free food out of the deal and a lot of funny pictures behind the set. And we hung out the next day with Pamela Dickerson who said she was the female lead. Her name does appear in the credits but having never seen the film, who knows what part she had.

Aaron Norris is a one man wrecking crew.

[HarryLags · 8/10 · 31 October 2016]

Jack Hazard (Aaron Norris) is an L.A. cop who's wish is just to relax and stay out of trouble. Jack can't seem to relax after the department forces him to take some time off after a raid goes bad. In the end though, he's going to need another vacation.

Just like his real life brother Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris smashes, dashes, and clashes with the baddies in this film. Aaron is a one man wrecking crew.

IN THIS MOVIE AARON PROVES 3 THINGS: 1- He's every bit the martial artist his brother is. (After all Chuck is the one who trained him.)

2- He's a fairly okay actor and with time would have got better.

3- And if he had not gone into directing, he could have become an action star.

Don't pay attention to all the bad reviews about this movie, It's not that bad. I actually thought this film was pretty good, with some good fight scenes and action scenes too.

Conclusion - If you are a Chuck Norris fan, then you will like Aaron Norris in OVERKILL too. I really OVERJOYED OVERKILL..

Overkill... How can you go wrong with a movie called Overkill?

[wiz420 · 9/10 · 25 December 2006]

This movie has a special place in my heart. I suppose if you're looking for a good action flick or a story with any substance, this ain't the one for you. However, if you have a forgiving sense of humor, appreciate trite cinema clichés, bad over-acting, bad under-acting, shallow, vapid writing, ridiculous stunt work and slapstick-like choreography, you've come to the right place.

You can play a great drinking game with this movie. Every time a character uses a redundant line or explains what is happening for the viewer's sake, take a drink. You'll be smashed.

I think my favorite scene in the movie comes up early. There is a struggle in the hotel lobby. Lt. Jack Hazard starts to wreck shop, but the guy he is destined to reluctantly protect is being strangled under a water fountain in the plaza! He manages to survive for the minute or two it takes Jack to get everything under control, but by the pained look on his face you can clearly tell that he is having trouble breathing, the water is splashing all over his face! He makes very loud choking sounds so you can tell he's really suffocating!

This one should go down in history.