FIREWALKER (1986)

FIREWALKER (1986)

Tagline : A pair of down-and-out fortune hunters cash in on high adventure!

(Comedy, Adventure, Action) [PG] 

The only bottle of water for two hundred miles and you had to break it.

So when I was growing up this is one of those movies I probably saw the preview for and heard about but never actually saw until yesterday. It also reminded me that Chuck Norris isn’t just the punch line, but he’s a real person born in 1940, who is still very active to this day. 

In this thing, Max Donigan (played by Chuck Norris) reluctantly decides to go with Patricia Goodwin (played by Melody Anderson best known for being in FLASH GORDON), a woman he’s just met, to find the treasure at the end of a map she’s secured. Leo (played by Louis Gossett Jr) is Max’s partner in crime and “real friend” and he decides to go as well. It’s a good freakin thing too because Leo is the brains of the two. They encounter kidnappings, snakes, almost getting stabbed, and some dangers laced in Aztec, Mayan, Egyptian, and Apache lore. Will they find this treasure before the Firewalker (played by Sonny Landham best known for being Billy in PREDATOR) obtains the power of his ancestors? 

When you think of watching this movie (if you do), kind of go into it expecting a bit of SAHARA (1983) and KING SOLOMON’S MINES (1985) both done by the same studio. This movie is not taking itself seriously at all and comes across as more of an adventure comedy than anything else. Max provides most of the one-liners some of which land and some which don’t. Leo is the more serious character but he provides this movie with heart and that goes a lot way towards my enjoyment of this thing. 

Yes, I actually liked this little romp into the past. It was not only cool seeing Norris kick stuff, but it was also pretty cool seeing Melody Anderson in a role aside from her appearance in FLASH GORDON. She did very few actual movies. She also had to learn Spanish for the role. Some of the acting is pretty rough but any time you put John Rhys-Davies in anything, the quality of your movie has a chance of holding its own. He plays an arrogant but kind leader in this one named Corky Taylor. It’s a bit of a departure from his role in the INDIANA JONES series. 

The score in this is bland as well as the effects but somehow this movie finds ways to be not only enjoyable but also not a “so bad it’s good” movie. The action sequences are also not terrible for the time, but still maintains a sense of the whimsical.  

I have to give FIREWALKER a 4 out of 7. It’s not amazing, but it’s fun and that is enough for me to not mind checking it out again sometime.
 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF CANON GROUP AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.  

Please check out the link below by clicking on the picture. Because no one should die buttonless. Until next time.