Cheapo DVD Review: Ring Of Steel (1994)

Reviewing the best cheapest DVDs that CEX and Charity Shops have to offer. 

  Champion fencer Alex Freyer (Robert Chapin) seems to have everything going his way.  Not only is he one match away from a guaranteed place on the US Oympic team but he's just met a cute blonde that has a thing for fencers with mullets. 

  But after an unfortunate accident leaves an opponent with a big hole in his face,  Alex is now persona non grata in the fencing world.  

 Luckily a mysterious old guy with a cane offers Alex a job at his exclusive underground swordfighting club. 

 What could possibly go wrong?  

  At one point it seemed like ever film that wasn't about renegade cops was about muscular young men with Hair Metal barnets fighting illegally for the entertainment of rich folk. 

This makes me wonder if producers know something I don't.  Then again, in a world where people paid tramps to batter each other, modern day gladiators aren't so unlikely.

  "Ring Of Steel" is pretty formulaic, to be fair. The story goes exactly the way you expect it to go right down to the "shocking" developments at key points. If you've seen any other movies in this sub-genre, you know what's coming twenty minutes before Alex does. 

  But once "Ring Of Steel" gets up to speed I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. 

  The acting is OK for the most part, with veteran Joe Don Baker turning in the best performance as the genial but increasingly sinister Man In Black. You just know he'd be smiling warmly as he slid the knife into your ribs. 

  What definitely gives "Ring of Steel" the edge over the likes of "Gladiator Cop" is the fight scenes. By 1990s standards the swordplay is pretty good and the best fight is a playful homage to the classic Hollywood days of Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone. Then for the climax the producers pull out all the stops and really ramp up the peril. It works quite well. 

  

 It would have been nice to see Alex's girlfriend Elena (Darlene Vogel) get a bit more active. Considering she's introduced as a fencer herself, it seems a waste to drop Elena into the role of Damsel in Distress. She does manage to rescue herself however, so that's something. 

Alex and Elena are both easy to like as is Alex's newfound mate and comic relief Brian (Jim Pirri). On the other side, big, burly Jack (Gary Kasper) might as well have "I'm a psycho" tattooed on his face and Tanya (Carol Alt) slinks about being all femme fatale-y and stuff. 

 It's not subtle but if you wanted subtle, maybe you shouldn't have picked up a DVD with a half-naked man holding a sword.

How much did I pay for this?  £1.50. 

Was it worth it: A firm Yes.  

 "Ring Of Steel" might not stray too far from the Modern Day Gladiator template but it does what it does  pretty well and if you like films where 80s rockers fight to the death, you're quite likely to enjoy "Ring Of Steel" 

 Here's the trailer: 

 That's all folks.