Olivier Gruner’s straight to video no rules fisticuffs franchise that takes ‘Fight Club’ away from the masses and goes for the bargain bin brawlers market. Gruner plays Dirk Longstreet , a self retired unbeaten champion of the underground fight circuit , now a high school athletics coach. His younger brother is drawn into the dark and dangerous world of big bucks for being human punch bags , and so Gruner has to get him out by getting back into a past he had hoped he had forever left behind. The name and reputation of Longstreet , beyond perhaps the homage even to that of the Seventies named TV show of the same name that the late great Bruce Lee guest appeared in , brings Gruner to the money making attentions of kingpin of the circuit. They have history and the latest champion wants to prove he is the ultimate competitor in the life crippling fight arena. The flimsy plot is actually benefited by a good supporting cast that includes the attractive Gail Harris as Gruner’s love interest , in the role of investigative reporter , who along with one time high kicking Action star Loren Avedon assist in infiltrating the structure of The Circuit. Bad boy Billy Drago more than compliments proceedings as a reformed character who is compromised into bringing Longstreet back into the blood sport , but in an interesting against type role dominates his on screen time as he trains his one time protégé for his comeback. The fight sequences are competent but mostly uninspiring as the outcome is telegraphed , but the overall experience is not unholy bereft of redeeming qualities. The ninety minutes passes harmlessly by till the end credits , in time to bring a closing smile at the appearance of the one time helicopter scene attributed to Gruner Helicopters. Nice to see that at least some part of Gruner’s career is still taking off.

With the inception of a prison ‘Fight Club’ hinted at in the first movie it comes then as no surprise to see the fruition of hell in a cell playing out as Olivier Gruner returns for ‘The Circuit 2’. Longstreet’s girlfriend , once again played by the bodylicious Gail Harris , has uncovered an illegal rich people’s gladiatorial pastime at a penitentiary. Her night time video and noting assignment is near completion to expose the racket as she is discovered , beaten and raped to within an inch of her life. Dirk Longstreet must once again infiltrate ‘The Circuit’ and enter the world of this prison fight to survive environment run by a corrupt warden and his nasty chief prison officer , played with malicious relish by Gary Hudson. Comeback co-star this time out is Lorenzo Lamas who gets to kick a few butts along the way in assisting Gruner to get into the state penitentiary , and then break out from the system as the fight highlight reel plays out to a beach front finale. This is the more satisfying movie of the two as Gruner looks in better shape and the fights are better staged and more realistic. Gruner shaves his head to look the part of the hardened convict and enters the penal colony like the Ultimate Warrior himself Yul Brynner. There are many clashes with inmates throughout as Dirk Longstreet seeks to bring down not only the warden and his henchman , but also square off against the prison champion who is a man mountain at his fighting peek.

The storylines for both films is ‘B’ movie formula that has been done better , and particularly so by the European likes of Director Fabrizio De Angelis under his pseudonym of Larry Ludman , but for budget buy titles you still get value for money for a beer and friends evening around the television. Add the intrinsic likes of a Henry Silva and Bo Svenson as antagonists , from the glory days of Italian Eighties styled Actioner’s , and you can’t help but believe the anti would have taken this series to the re-watch able highs of past glories. Olivier Gruner looks good in a brace of bare knuckled fight flicks but for his ultimate comeback he’ll need to go off circuit.

Director : Jalal Merhi
Scripted : Glen G. Doyle
Starring : Olivier Gruner , Bryan Genesse , Billy Drago , Gail Harris ,
Loren Avedon , Michael Blanks & The Tiger Twins

Presentation : Fullscreen 4:3
Release : Amsell Entertainment Inc
Coding : NTSC Region 1
Sound : Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0
Extras : Trailer

Film: 2.5 BITCH SLAPS
Picture: 3.5 BITCH SLAPS
Sound: 3.5 BITCH SLAPS
Extras: 0.5 BITCH SLAPS
Overall: 3.0 BITCH SLAPS

Director : Jalal Merhi
Scripted : Glen G. Doyle
Starring : Olivier Gruner , Lorenzo Lamas , Gail Harris ,
Michael Blanks , Jim Schagen & Gary Hudson

Presentation : Fullscreen 4:3
Release : Amsell Entertainment Inc
Coding : NTSC Region 1
Sound : Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0
Extras : Trailer

Film: 3.0 BITCH SLAPS
Picture: 3.5 BITCH SLAPS
Sound: 3.5 BITCH SLAPS
Extras: 0.5 BITCH SLAPS
Overall: 3.0 BITCH SLAPS