Double Blast Reviews

Although broadly played and sloppily directed, DOUBLE BLAST may prove diverting for would-be karate kids. Teens and adults will need to check their brains next to their VCRs as this amiable but unremarkable adventure film unreels. Ten-year-old Jimmy (Lorne Berfield) and 13-year-old sister Lisa (Crystal Summer) are feisty but adorable youngsters who've learned kickboxing from their dad, Greg (Dale "Apollo" Cook), a prizefighter. Jimmy accidentally witnesses the kidnapping of archaeology professor Claudia Whyle (Linda Blair). Master criminal Blade (Ron Hall) has stolen an ancient Utayo Indian tablet; its inscription supposedly leads to a Native American treasure chamber. He orders his crime partner Nadir (Joe Estevez) to inveigle Whyle into translating the stone. The kids are captured while tracking Nadir's henchmen and are forced to watch as Nadir hypnotizes Whyle. The hypnosis backfires and causes the professor to regress to childhood. Meanwhile, Greg discovers that his offspring have vanished and follows their trail. Chips off the old block, Jimmy and Lisa outsmart Nadir's doofus gunsels at every turn. After Blade arrives at the Utayo cave to collect his golden bounty, he forces Greg and Whyle to lead the treasure hunters through a booby-trapped cavern. Blade's gang can't find anything of value and is easily out-maneuvered by Greg and his children, who help out by posing as the legendary ghost who guards the gold. By the time Jimmy accidentally stumbles upon the well-hidden booty, the cave reseals itself--hiding its secrets from plunderers forever. Recognizing that the real treasure is family bliss, Jimmy and Lisa renew their sibling bonds as Greg and Claudia fall into each other's arms. If viewers approach DOUBLE BLAST as a sort of kung-fu sideshow for youngsters, they won't be disappointed--it's mildly enjoyable on the level of an old Saturday morning live-action adventure series. The movie is hobbled, however, by pedestrian direction and visual awkwardness, particularly in slapstick scenes. Still, DOUBLE BLAST offers an exuberant cast enjoying themselves immensely; that playfulness communicates itself to the audience and helps juice up the film. Best of all is Blair, whose hypnosis-induced monologues detailing her life from infancy to adulthood are riotously funny. Professionally edited for vigorous thrills, the martial arts sequences deliver for action buffs of all ages. DOUBLE BLAST emerges as suitable baby-sitting fodder for young boys and girls who daydream about kickboxing their way to glory. And only in kung-fu escapism do frustrated kids get to strike back at grown-ups with impunity. (Violence, profanity.)