This is the third movie collaboration of Billy Blanks and Jalal Merhi that I have watched, and it is the weakest of the three. The other two ("TC 2000", "Expect No Mercy") had futuristic angles that gave them at least a hint of creativity; on the other hand, "Talons Of The Eagle" is about as generic as a low-budget action flick can get. And it doesn't deliver on its promise of a martial arts tournament, either: there are three matches and then it's all forgotten. The fight scenes are also not as good as they were in the aforementioned two flicks: the editing is sometimes poor, and the lack of contact in some hits too obvious. Also, having the 60+ years old James Hong going against Jalal Merhi at the end does not really work. And I wonder why Kelly Gallant, who is a quite proficient martial artist, didn't get the starring female role instead of Priscilla Barnes. All in all, "Talons Of The Eagle" is worth a look for fans of the genre, but only if they've seen "TC 2000" and "Expect No Mercy" first. ** out of 4.
Review of Talons of the Eagle
