![]() ![]() I'm also a big fan of Jackie Chan's movies, too. When I saw Martial Law for the first time when it aired, I was immediately hooked! And I made it my Saturday night ritual! Sammo, Terrel, Grace, and Amy are all very provocative, coloful, and cool characters in their own way. If you DO get the chance to see the show, watch it until Arsenio Hall appears. (And around this time, to Arsenio Hall's credit, he admitted that the show was terrible.) Since this series only ran two seasons, it is highly unlikely that the show will be seen in syndication, at least in North America. Fortunately, the show was cancelled after the second season had played out. This organization was treated with the same goofiness of the evil secret organization in the "Inspector Gadget" animated series. Suddenly Kelly Hu's character had a COMPLETELY different background, and the show suddenly had the characters fighting with a secret organization that threatened the city each week. After some time, the producers tinkered with the show again. They also ignored or quickly wrote out the plot threads that had been going along in the previous season. First, the producers had fired several cast members, despite these fired actors and their characters being a very likable bunch. The next misstep was when the second season of the show premiered. The producers must have thought "Hey! What this show needs is an obnoxious, hip, and streetwise partner for Sammo Hung!" Shortly afterwards, Arsenio Hall became a cast member, and his character was EXTREMELY annoying. The first misstep happened shortly after the theatrical movie "Rush Hour" became a hit. But then bit by bit, the producers tinkered with the show, and with each adjustment, the show became worse. ![]() Sure, it wasn't great art or fabulous writing on display, but the show was goofy fun. When "Martial Law" premiered, I was hooked. Good acting, decent plots, and plenty of kick-butt action, as well as many comedic moments (Sammo playing "Smoke On The Water" on the guitar.) make this a show to watch. And, just as with Jackie Chan's movies, at the end of every episode they have a brief "outtakes" section, showing some of the goofs that occured during the filming of the episode. Winship") is a former stuntman, and does his own stunts in the show as well. All of the martial arts used on the set are real - Sammo, obviously, is an expert, and Louis Mandylor ("Louis") is trained in "muy thai" (Thai kickboxing), while Tammy Lauren ("Dana") is a black belt in Karate, and Kellu Hu ("Grace / Pei Pei") is a brown belt in Karate. Lots of comedy in this show - they don't (usually) go for the cheap "Chinaman in America" jokes, and they actually seem to remember what they've done from one show to the next. The entire cast works well together, and they can all actually *act* - unlike a certain 'Texas Ranger' who comes on after this show. ![]() Just like Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat, Sammo trained at the Peking Opera School, which makes for a unique - and often funny - style of martial arts. What makes this show worth watching is the incredible martial arts prowess of the cast - especially Sammo Hung. Its formulaic story aside, Martial Law is an interesting film for its blending of the early-'90s hysteria around serial killers with the equally prevalent hysteria around gangs and urban youth."Martial Law" is your standard cop show in one way - the actual "cop stuff" is the usual nonsense you can see anywhere on TV, the "same old same old" which makes real cops wince. The film runs a predictable course as the two close in on the killer, rescue the little brother, defeat the evil henchmen, and finally capture the bad guy. Things get personal when Sean realizes his little brother has fallen under the killer's sway, and hot when Sean realizes the feisty Billie might be falling for him. ![]() The bad guy, played by David Carradine, also runs a number of illicit businesses, including trafficking in drugs. Buddy cop duo Sean Thompson and Billie Black are on the trail of a killer whose signature weapon is a punch that stops the heart. Martial Law is a no-brainer action flick starring Steven McQueen, the son of the late, great Steve McQueen. ![]()
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