Apatros Review Ep-0077: The Final Showdown [1993] ("The Fighter")

AR-0077: A low-budget [either DTV (direct-to-video) or intended as a telepic - I haven't been able to obtain accurate information on this aspect as this film is as obscure as it comes] drama with martial arts elements starring Vinny Lee as a Vietnamese immigrant to the USA who strikes up a relationship with his female employer [he tends her garden] and after finding out the scum who murdered his sister back in Nam is in the area, decides to avenge her. In order to get some extra money, he joins an underground fighting tournament.

Most people are not going to have the stomach to watch movies that look this particularly cheap [it looks frightfully threadbare, even compared to some of the other early generation DTV movies of the era], but the story is surprisingly engaging and interesting enough to elevate it to functional mediocrity. Sort of a "Hallmark Channel" grade drama feature for Bad Movie Masochists, if you will.

That being said, good luck finding a copy of this on DVD...

My Grade: D+ [Disappointing]

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