Before I begin, let me make it clear that I am a serious film critic. I take cinema very, very serious. It is my only passion, and for that reason alone it is my whole life. Like any normal film fan, I appreciate a good action thriller once in a while. Of course, I don't stand for any old witless piece of celluloid: I'm talking solid, well directed action pieces. And so it is that I recomend the 1986 techno-thriller 'The Intruder', directed by action maestro Jopi Burnama. This is his 'Citizen Kane'. It is a action masterpiece of such adept style and class, I am bewildered that it never recieved a) critical acclaim b)recognition c) public adulation or e)a wide theatrical release. Let me tell you more... We begin with the leading man, Peter O'Brian a.k.a Rambu. Peter is an actor of such subtle craftsmanship and charasmatic magnitude that he literally blows the screen apart. You find yourself unable to take your eyes of his stunning phyique and unable to process his acting chops. He is magnificent in this, his first leading role. Brian is ably supported by the great Craig Gavin (as the evil John Smith) and the sultry Dana Christina. The opening pre-credit set piece is quite simply explosive (when was the last time you saw gangster befowled by a flying outspan orange?). Rambu has the uncanny and envious ability to turn your average citrus fruit into a boomerang-like killing device. It is a credit to actor Brian that he did all his own orange throwing, no double was employed. The glorious mid section set-piece when Rambu takes on the entire Columbian drugs cartel using only a three wheeled golf cart is astounding. Never before has one man made 6 miles-per-hour seem so hair-raising. And so to the dynamic climax, where Rambu wears a belt. He also hits a filing cabinet with a lamp, then proceeds to kiss the wall. It is a show stopper that brings to mind the climax from Joseph Lai's 1988 opus Platoon Warriors, starring Mike Abbott and Mark Watson. Although this film lacks the pace of Godfrey Ho's masterpiece, it passes the time perfectly. If you can track this underated gem down, watch it. It could change your life*.
*Probably won't. At all.
