''Pentathlon'' is a 1994 American

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Bruce Malmuth Bruce Malmuth (February 4, 1934 – June 29, 2005) was an American film director, best known for his work in the action and thriller genres and for his acting role in ''The Karate Kid'' film franchise. Biography Early life Malmuth was the bro ...

, who also wrote the screenplay with

Gary DeVore Gary Martin DeVore (September 17, 1941 – June 28, 1997) was a Hollywood screenwriter, best known for witty action films and for his own bizarre death in 1997. Early career DeVore began his writing career in the late 1960s on shows like Chuck B ...

and William Stadiem. The film stars

Dolph Lundgren Hans Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957), better known as Dolph Lundgren, is a Swedish actor, filmmaker and martial artist. His breakthrough came in 1985, when he starred in ''Rocky IV'' as the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Since then, Lu ...

as an

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medalist A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

pentathlete A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

on the run from a lethal coach (

David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943) is an American-British actor and singer. He is known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television series ''Starsky & Hutch'' from 1975 to 1979; Joshua Bolt on ' ...

). This was the final feature film of director Bruce Malmuth before his death on June 29, 2005. The film was marketed with the tagline: "Play to win. If you lose, you die".

Plot

The film opens in Leipzig,

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. Sixteen years later (1988), After winning a gold medal for

in the

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

in the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, athlete Eric Brogar (

) flees from his abusive trainer, Heinrich Mueller (

) and the Olympic team. Two months later (November 1988),

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

is a capital of

. One years later (30 November 1989), Eric after post moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

includes

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

closed to destroying rid crashes his collapsed. Four years later (1 February 1993) , Eric became first year opening new of this year so Mueller is no longer a trainer. He has become a neo-Nazi terrorist, responsible for a series of attacks on German government officials, and Mueller has discovered that Eric is in

. Brogar had become a self-pitying boozehound until his talents were spotted by his diner-owning boss John Creese (

Roger E. Mosley Roger Earl Mosley (; December 18, 1938 – August 7, 2022) was an American actor, director, and writer best known for his role as the helicopter pilot Theodore "T.C." Calvin in the CBS television series '' Magnum, P.I.'', which originally aired ...

). Still smarting over Eric's defection, Mueller beats Eric's father Rudolph Brogar (Erik Holland) to death before flying to

. While Eric reunites with his former girlfriend Julia Davis ( Renee Coleman), who hones his endurance skills at her dad's woodland retreat, Mueller joins forces with neo-Nazi sympathizers including Eric's former rival Rhinehardt (

Daniel Riordan Daniel Riordan is an American actor. He is best known for providing the voice of Alduin, the main antagonist of ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim''. Filmography Film Television Video games References External links

* * {{DEFAUL ...

). At a peace rally, Mueller and his thugs plot to assassinate a rabbi and an ambassador while spreading a hate message on German Vision Network (GVN) outside broadcasting together with US Cable News satellite news gathering. After viciously beating up Julia's father Vic Davis (

Philip Bruns Philip Bruns (May 2, 1931 – February 8, 2012) was an American television and movie actor and writer. He portrayed George Shumway, the father of Mary Hartman on the 1970s comedic series '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,'' and Morty Seinfeld, the f ...

) and shooting Creese with destroyed collapse US Cable News outside broadcasting collapse earthquake to electrical sockets collapse at US Cable News satellite news gathering crash collapse antenna analogue danger destroyed, Mueller and his thugs kidnap Eric, who retaliates by wiping out most of the neo-Nazis when Eric arrested criminal to police station or police department policeman at police patrol car vigilante hand arm on handcuff. Three weeks later (25 November 1993), United States Olympic pentathlon finals, Eric not only triumphs, but he also ends up shooting Mueller dead in self-defense at the end when Mueller tries to kill him at the finish line with shooting Mueller kill to dead corpse the end screen fades to black and the movie ends, movie closes, film ends to film closes with closing credits begin to roll. COPYRIGHT © 1994 PENTATHLON PRODUCTIONS INC AND ORM PRODUCTIONS INC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED International Release Through PFG ENTERTAINMENT INC.

Cast

as Eric Brogar *

as Mueller *

as Creese *

Renée Coleman Renée Coleman (born January 8, 1962) is a Canadian actress who has appeared in several TV shows and movies. Acting She is best known for her role in the NBC TV series ''Quantum Leap'', in which she played the role of Alia, the "evil leaper." ...

as Julia *Evan James as Offerman *David Drummond as Hundt *

* * {{DEFAUL ...

as Rhinehardt *

as Vic *Gerald Hopkins as Christian *Erik Holland as Rudolph Brogar *

as Erhardt *

Mel Stewart Milton "Mel" Stewart (September 19, 1929 – February 24, 2002) was an American character actor, television director, and musician who appeared in numerous films and television shows from the 1960s to the 1990s. He is best known for playing Hen ...

as Olympic Athlete *Anthony T. Pennello as Cop #1 *

Barry Lynch Barry J. Lynch (born June 10, 1951, in Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-m ...

as Horst *Andreas Reinl as Schubert

Release

Theatrical

''Pentathlon'' was officially released in the Singapore on New Year's Day 1994, was officially released in the United States on July 8, 1994 and was officially launched in Indonesia on tenth day of Ramadhan

1425 Year 1425 ( MCDXXV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * November 9 – Kale Kye-Taung Nyo becomes King of Ava by having his lover, Queen Shin Bo-Me, assassinate h ...

Hijriah (24 October) 2004 by

RCTI RCTI (''Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia'') is a West Jakarta-based Indonesian free-to-air television network. It is best known for its soap operas, celebrity bulletins, news, and sports programmes. It was first launched in 1989, origina ...

Reception

Critical response

Eoin Friel from ''The Action Elite'' gave ''Pentathlon'' 3.5 out of five stars. He praised for its originality, concluding: "Overall, If it’s wall to wall action you’re looking for then Pentathlon isn’t for you but if you’re willing to watch Dolph try something very different then it’s definitely worth a look." David Brook from ''Blue Print: Review'' gave the film three out of five stars, stating: "So, if you're a fan of cheesy 80's/90's action curios you'll probably find yourself buying into this film like I did, but if your mind ever stops to think about what you're watching you will see it for the ridiculous trash that it is." Anthony Nield from ''The Digital Fix'' gave "Pentathlon" 5 out 10, saying: "Pentathlon is an awful piece of filmmaking but that’s not to say it doesn’t entertain."

References

External links

* * {{Bruce Malmuth 1994 films 1994 action thriller films 1990s sports films American films about revenge American action thriller films American sports drama films Films about the 1988 Summer Olympics Films about the 1996 Summer Olympics Films directed by Bruce Malmuth Films set in 1972 Films set in 1988 Films set in 1996 Films set in Berlin Films set in East Germany Films set in Germany Films set in Leipzig Films set in Los Angeles Films set in Seoul Films with screenplays by Gary DeVore Modern pentathlon 1990s English-language films 1990s American films