''Angelfist'' is a 1993 martial arts

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

starring Catya Sassoon, Michael Shaner, and Melissa Moore. Directed by

Cirio H. Santiago Cirio Hermoso Santiago (January 18, 1936 – September 26, 2008) was a prolific Filipino film producer, director and writer. He used the screen names Cirio Santiago, Cirio H. Santiago and Leonard Hermes. Life and career Santiago was born on Janu ...

, the film was produced by Santiago and

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

. The film has been described as a "reworking of '' T.N.T. Jackson''".

Premise

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, a United States colonel is killed by the Black Brigade, a terrorist group. A martial artist who witnesses the murder is also killed. Her sister, a Los Angeles detective, travels to Manila and fights in her stead in a martial arts tournament in order to find her killer and avenge her death.

Reception

In his book on martial arts in American cinema, M. Ray Lott said Catya Sassoon's role that in the "subgenre of the female martial artist", ''Angelfist'' was "much more interested in showing her as a sexual object" than would be the case in a film with

Cynthia Rothrock Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on Delos island. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbreviated to Cindy, Cyndi, Cynd ...

, the usual figure in that subgenre. Her nude appearance resulted in her being "almost launched as soft-porn action heroine". Lott called the film itself "a titillating exploitation vehicle for undiscriminating action audiences" and acknowledged that " knows its target audience".

References

External links

* * 1993 films 1993 action films American action films American martial arts films American films about revenge 1990s English-language films Taekwondo films Kickboxing films 1993 martial arts films Martial arts tournament films Films directed by Cirio H. Santiago 1990s American films English-language action films {{martialart-film-stub