The Movie:

Directed in 1981 by Ivan Hall, how just a few years before had cast leading man James Ryan in his 1976 picture Karate Killer (also known as Kill Or Be Killed), Kill And Kill Again sees Ryan this time around playing a man named Steve Chase. He's the best of the best, the finest martial arts expert in the land and his abilities are known far and wide - so when Dr. Horatio Kane (John Ramsbottom) is kidnapped by a super villain named Marduk (Michael Mayer) and his daughter, Kandy Kane (Anneline Kriel - who won the Miss World pageant in 1974), wants him back, who does she turn to? Chase, of course.

There's more to this quest than just heading into Marduk's lair, saving Kane and busting a few heads though - see, Marduk has gotten his greedy hands on a serum that has turned oodles and oodles of innocent townspeople into deadly kung fu warriors, all under his control who he intends to use to take over the world! Chase enlists the aid of a few of his highly skilled martial arts pals - The Fly (Stan Schmidt), Gypsy Billy (Norman Robinson), Gorilla (Ken Gampu) and Hot Dog (Bill Flynn) - and, with Kandy's help, he makes his way towards the location where Dr. Kane is being held. It won't be easy though, as along the way he'll encounter giant rednecks who want to fight him, guys with parachutes and lots of other tough guys who will do whatever they can to ensure he leaves Marduk and Dr. Kane alone!

Kill And Kill Again is the type of movie that knows exactly what it wants to do, and that's to keep the audience entertained. If that requires characters with pink hair and a hero who can levitate, then so be it but the film succeeds on that level. Yes, it's ridiculous and yes, there are plenty of times where the movie defies logic or common sense but there's such an element of 'going for it' that you can't help but have a good time here. The script from screenwriter John Crowthar has a great rhythm to it which, thanks to Hall's solid direction, keeps the movie moving quickly and ensures that it's never dull (you can say a lot of things about this movie but you can't say it's boring) and the action scenes are handled quite well. In addition to Ryan, many of the other supporting players came from martial arts backgrounds and it shows in the fight choreography and hand to hand combat scenes, making the movie all the better for their participation.

James Ryan makes for a pretty solid leading man here. His shirt comes off a lot, often for now reason other than to flaunt the fact that he's in much better shape than pretty much anyone else on the planet, but he's likeable enough to carry the film. He seems confident in front of the camera and has a lot of great (and surprisingly agile) acrobatic moves on hand to keep the fight scenes very animated. He gives his character enough personality to make it work and his interactions with the four karate pals and especially with the lovely (though horribly named) Kandy Kane turn out to be a lot of fun. As for Anneline Kriel's acting skills, she's nothing to write home about in that department but once you get a good look at her all questions as to the validity of her casting are set aside (those who keep track of such things might be interested in knowing that she appeared in the South African edition of Playboy in 1994).

Also worth mentioning is Michael Mayer as the sinster Marduk. Obviously inspired by the most over the top of the James Bond villains, he looks insanely resplendent in his fake beard and colorful costumes. He hangs out with a foxy punk chick for some reason (though really, do you need a reason for foxy punk chicks? Let's be honest here...) who has a lot of horrible dialogue that just adds to the madness of it all. Yes, the movie very obviously borrows from both Enter The Dragon and The Seven Samurai but it has enough of its own inspired lunacy going for it that, as horrible as it all is, you can't help but not only watch, but really enjoy this one.

Video:

Kill And Kill Again looks really good on Blu-ray from Scorpion Releasing presented here in 1.78.1 widescreen in an AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer taken a new scan of elements that were obviously in excellent shape. Color reproduction is impressive here, more natural and better defined than it was on DVD, and detail and texture both get noticeable boosts when compared to the previously released standard definition version. The disc is nicely authored, it's free of obvious compression artifacts. Film grain is present, it resolves naturally enough and looks fine, but there's little in the way of noticeable print damage. Edge enhancement and noise reduction are non-issues. This is a nice, film-like presentation.