Welcome to another episode of "I Roll It, I Review It," where films are chosen at random for review. Today, I ended up selecting a film on Amazon that was supposedly under the 'arthouse' genre. However, it turned out to be "Final Impact," a 1992 action film directed by Joseph Mary and Steven Smoke, starring Lorenzo Llamas.
"Final Impact" revolves around Nick Taylor, a former kickboxing champion who opens a fight club. In this club, men engage in kickboxing fights while women participate in hot oil wrestling. The film's plot thickens when Nick, who was once defeated by an opponent named Joe and underwent grueling rehabilitation, takes a promising kickboxer named Danny under his guidance. Joined by Nick's love interest Maggie, portrayed by Kathleen Kinmont, they embark on a journey for Danny to become the new world champion.
Known for action films, PM Entertainment surprisingly includes a lot of drama in this offering. Llamas steps outside of his comfort zone, portraying a character who displays vulnerability, far removed from his usual 'cool' persona. The film focuses significantly on character development and personal growth, which was a pleasant deviation from typical Lorenzo Llamas roles.
Despite its classification, "Final Impact" was filled with dramatic elements, and although it has many fight scenes, it lacked the typical explosive action expected from PM Entertainment, leaning more towards character training.
This review highlighted "Final Impact" as an intriguing attempt to merge drama with action and kickboxing, granting it a mild thumbs up for exploring the genre differently.