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For those who enjoy old-school, B-grade action movies, 1989's Blind Fury is a hidden gem that is absolutely worth checking out. The Hollywood debut for Australian director Phillip Noyce (Dead Calm, Patriot Games), this is an American appropriation of the long-running Japanese film series Zatoichi, executed with the same type of cinematic tendencies that we have come to expect from simplistic action pictures. Thus, it's excessively violent, contains a fair few action set-pieces, isn't overly interested in smarts or thematic relevance, and is backed by a cheesy electronica soundtrack. If this type of thing is your jam, have at it. But if not, there's no talking to you. It's an outright guilty pleasure, though it's one of the better movies of its kind.
Blinded during combat, Vietnam veteran Nick Parker (Rutger Hauer) is taken under the care of local villagers who nurse him back to health. In addition, they teach Parker how to use his other senses more effectively, and he perfects the art of sword fighting. Returning to America, Parker keeps his trusty blade well-hidden in his walking cane as he sets off to visit his old army friend, Frank Devereaux (Terry O'Quinn). However, his buddy is missing, and during Parker's visit, Frank's wife Lynn (Meg Foster) is killed by a group of men looking to kidnap Frank's young son Billy (Brandon Call). Choosing to protect Billy, Parker begins travelling to Reno seeking to save Frank, and every step of the way they're relentlessly pursued by henchmen working for a certain MacCready (Noble Willingham), who holds Frank captive.
Scripted by Charles Robert Carner, who also wrote the '80s martial arts actioner Gymkata, Blind Fury is brisk enough at a mere 86 minutes, and there's plenty of humour to keep the flick light and enjoyable from start to finish. The storyline is well-executed, with enough chatter and character beats to keep the enterprise coherent, while pacing is frequently agreeable, and the film certainly delivers in terms of action. To be sure, the set-pieces aren't revolutionary, but Noyce goes through the motions with sufficient panache, and there are thrills to be had. There's even a cameo by Japanese stunt performer Shô Kosugi, who also featured in a number of ninja flicks during the 1980s. Hauer trained quite extensively for his role of Nick Parker, and he's believable as a blind samurai warrior on top of being a charismatic hero. Blind Fury is certainly campy, but it's hard to resist the movie's charming mix of comedy and action.
Although it cannot be seriously defended beyond the level of guilty pleasure, Blind Fury is a good fun fight flick that will almost certainly please fans of the genre, or simply fans of Hauer. There were talks of a sequel around the time of the movie's release, but the poor box office results squashed any plans for future instalments. And that's a tremendous shame, as the movie is solid fodder for a fun action franchise not unlike the Zatoichi series, and Hauer could have done a fair bit more with this role. Blind Fury is mindless fun, nothing more and nothing less.
6.8/10
