Getting Our Kicks

My brother and I liked watching karate movies after HBO and Cinemax came into our house. This 1981 film from South Africa got played a lot on cable, and I remember seeing it at least two or three times.

A look at the films
that have left a mark on my life.

The premise is a mash-up of James Bond, Bruce Lee and The A-Team -- which wasn't on the air yet. I wonder if show creator Stephen J. Cannell saw this film and ripped off the formula. A team of mercenaries has to save a good scientist from an evil man who's using him to create a mind-control drug so he can form "New Babylonia," a world full of mind-numbed karate-fighting slaves.

I remember reading the film had limited budget, even with all its action, so the crew had to come up with inventive frugality for some non-action shots -- including putting smoke from a lit cigarette down the barrel of a gun to simulate a shot in slow motion.

What my brother and I liked the most, though, was the film's cheesily memorable lines.

"You should have stayed with the lady, Poopsy!"

"Popsicle! Popsicle!"
"Don't call me Popsicle!"