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Overall Rating : 7.5/10
Directed By : Kenn Scott
Matthew Twining
Chris Yen
Matt Mullins
Kelly Perine (Under One Roof (TV) )
Supplied By : MTI Home Video
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : July. 22, 2008
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| PLOT A Kung Fu Fable... Johnny Dow struggles to make a living at his small town gas station by charging motorists to see the electric guitar used by his late father, a one-hit-rock and roll wonder. Legend has it that the Guitar, carved in the shape of a dragon's head, was made in part from an ancient spear his father found in the crater of a shooting star. When Johnny's friend, Eddie, stumbles upon the other half of the spear he releases an ancient demon that takes over his body, hungry for power and destruction. Mika, a beautiful Chinese warrior who holds the secret to fighting Eddie and his army of kung-fu, sugar-craving warriors, reveals to Johnny that the only way to stop the evil spirit is to use the first half of the spear - the dragon on Johnny's guitar! Together, Johnny and Mika set out to fight Eddie and his army, reunite the two halves of the spear, restore peace to the town, and - of course - save the world! |
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| THE REVIEW Johnny Dow owns and operates a small town Gas station while living alone with no one except for his best friend Eddie. The small town hasn't been providing enough service for the gas station, so as a last attempt to make a little money, he pawns his Father's old career on the few customers, whom will listen. John's Father, Jimmy, who died in a plane crash was once a "One Hit Wonder" in the musical genre of 'Rock-A-Billy. Johnny shamelessly charges customers a dollar, to take s look st the mini museum Johnny has set up for his father in the back. Among the many trinkets included in the museum, is his Father's most prized guitar - one whose neck, takes the shape of a dragon head. Little did Johnny know, but the one thing he loves to show of, or at least part of it, is part of ancient history. The dragon head neck of the guitar is actually a part of the spear used by they Ninja 900 years prior to defeat a powerful demon. To continue - always the treasure hunter, Eddie, while out looking, comes across a glowing fallen star. When he touches, what appears to be a crater containing the second part of the spear, he unleashes an evil spirit....one that takes over his body. Possessed by an obvious demon Eddie now has mind control over others, and with this power, he creates an army that are a spawn of what he has become. It isn't long before the town is taken over by Eddie and his hungry brood. Arriving to help out is a beautiful warrior named Mika, and together along with Johnny, they must combat against the apparently unstoppable force, before it destroys the town and how everyone knows it What do you get when you combine Martial Arts, Rock-A- Billy music and hungry demons? You get a fun film, and it's name is ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY TAO! I have reviewed and seen my fair share of MTI VIDEO releases in the last few years, and I do have to say that ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY TAO, has to be one of their best releases in a long time! Writer/Director Kenn Scott(He played Ninja Turtle "Raphael" in TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES II : THE SECRET OF THE OOZE, as well as choreographed the original TURTLES film), manages to do the seemingly impossible here, and that is to combine Kung Fu, Rock-A-Billy and Horror and actually make it work. When thinking about this combo, more than likely, the element that would spoil it would be the Rock-A-Billy music, I mean it doesn't actually blend will with the other two - but Scott has done it here, and the ending results are great! The film's plot moves along smoothly and quickly like a saga. or more appropriately, an "adventure", as the title surely suggests. This is a story of a dreamer, whom comes up from nothing, then when given this special ability, he suddenly has the opportunity to create dreams for the ones around him, as well as the ones he will find along in his journey. The late 1970s and early 80s had a number of these feel good quest movies, but in this, the "day of the remake", so to speak, we rarely get them anymore. One film that ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY TAO reminds me in some way of, is THE LAST STARFIGHTER. No, STARFIGHTER didn't have Kung Fu, but what it did have was a dreamer. The main character in that film was really good at the "Starfighter' arcade game, and as fate would have it, he is later in the film asked to report to space to perform a real mission. In JOHNNY TAO, it is more or less the same scenario. All his life, Johnny has idolized the art of Kung Fu and his idols, but little did he know that he would have to become one of those fighting heroes when his small town is overturned by "hungry for anything" demons. Johnny's adventure as told here, is all things; funny, musically driven and action packed with fast paced martial arts! The story tells itself nicely through the great acting achieved by the cast members, all of them did a great job of making the characters likable and and fun, None of the performances were over-the-top as they easily could've been due to the film's subject matter. the film is more or less a serious Asian comic book come to life, as it does have all of the fast paced fighting and special effects found in one. It will surely make a fan of any Martial Art happy. Overall. ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY TAO, is essentially a "common man's Kung Fu story", I say this because although we do have a small mythological back-story, it's not the film's one and only focal point, as the film is built around it's strong character development. |
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| GORE
METER NA - I don't remember seeing any, nor was it necessary in my opinion, this film would be appropriate for everyone |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 5.5/10 Since one of it's characters was once a Rock-A-Billy singer, we appropriately have some Rock-A-Billy sprinkled throughout the film. At first, I didn't think it would work, but it turns out that, yes, Rock-A-Billy and Kung Fu can work surprisingly well with one another! |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY TAO, was surprisingly good. As a fan of Martail Arts flicks, I found myself really wanting to like this, and it turns out I did! If you are a fan of a film with a great story, fast paced fight scenes, and a little bit of comedy thrown in, check this out.....it's a great film! This DVD will be released on July 22, 2008 |
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