I never thought I'd see the day where I would be reviewing a film by Albert Pyun and recommending it! Yes, the man who has given the world such "classics" as Alien From L.A. and Captain America (the one that was delayed for all those years and proved itself to be worse than The Punisher and on par with Brenda Starr) has returned to his glorious Sword and the Sorcerer days of making a film that I can watch over and over again.
Teri Hatcher stars as a fashion model who hooks up with a bouncer (Andrew Dice Clay) who are on the run from some dangerous Shaolin Monks who, of course, want to conquer the world and, also of course, only the misunderstood model and bouncer can save it. This is a very silly film and could be a groaner if taken with too much cynicism. In fact, I can't really recommend it since I can see where even I could have not liked it if I had been in a bad mood the first time I saw it, but I wasn't, and now I watch it every time it's conveniently on cable.
A great supporting cast and there are actually some moments of good direction. Pyun's trademark visual style is to have no style at all—not in that laid-back Monte Hellman no-frills method but in that "I just kind of set up the camera and let things kind of happen" way that makes his oeuvre so easily forgettable. But Pyun actually does a stand-up job in Brainsmasher and I'm disappointed that it never got the notice it deserved. It again just goes to show that Andrew Dice Clay makes some damn fine films (The Adventures of Ford Fairlane) and has even made me tune in to "Lois & Clark" to see more of Teri Hatcher, who I hope to star in some bigger roles in some bigger budget films. By the way, Hatcher is a direct link from Sylvester Stallone to Kevin Bacon (Tango & Cash and The Big Picture).
It's good fun!