Handsome, muscular Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas (as Jonathan Cabot) does a routine on the high bar. Meanwhile, a man dressed like he's escaped from a modern hospital runs from horsemen who appear to be from medieval times. The running man is hit by an arrow while Mr. Thomas does a routine on the parallel bars. Believe it or not, the modern Thomas exists in the same time period as the characters in the chase scene. The story takes place in the present, but it moves to a faraway land. Thomas is recruited to go to this "Most Dangerous Game" land and win a contest. He is given an extraordinarily beautiful female partner, Tetchie Agbayani (as Princess Rubali). Thomas flips for her and everyone else...
"Gymkata" is meant to combine Thomas's "Gymnastics" with "Karate" as a martial arts sub-genre movie. Thomas and his co-star are very attractive. The emphasis is on action, but the story is very weak. Most of the story involves Thomas being given contrived situations in which to show off his gymnastic feats...
The most absurd sequence occurs after the first hour...
Thomas is in what appears to be a crumbling old village. Mysterious clocked figures appear in windows and doorways. One male beckons Thomas and shows his firm, naked buttocks. Thomas declines the encounter, which may have been telegraphed by the gymnast's coolness, in an earlier scene, toward a fawning gay attendant. Thomas makes his way to a town center, finds a pummel horse and begins gymnastically taking down people. The crumbling town citizens look like they wandered in from a film hybrid directed by the love child of Frederico Fellini and George Romano. For these approximately 20 minutes, "Gymkata" director Robert Clouse makes this otherwise boring film quite visually arresting...
******* Gymkata (5/3/1985) Robert Clouse ~ Kurt Thomas (the bizarre, approximately 20-mintute old town section)
**** Gymkata (5/3/1985) Robert Clouse ~ Kurt Thomas, Tetchie Agbayani, Richard Norton, Edward Bell (whole film)
"Gymkata" is meant to combine Thomas's "Gymnastics" with "Karate" as a martial arts sub-genre movie. Thomas and his co-star are very attractive. The emphasis is on action, but the story is very weak. Most of the story involves Thomas being given contrived situations in which to show off his gymnastic feats...
The most absurd sequence occurs after the first hour...
Thomas is in what appears to be a crumbling old village. Mysterious clocked figures appear in windows and doorways. One male beckons Thomas and shows his firm, naked buttocks. Thomas declines the encounter, which may have been telegraphed by the gymnast's coolness, in an earlier scene, toward a fawning gay attendant. Thomas makes his way to a town center, finds a pummel horse and begins gymnastically taking down people. The crumbling town citizens look like they wandered in from a film hybrid directed by the love child of Frederico Fellini and George Romano. For these approximately 20 minutes, "Gymkata" director Robert Clouse makes this otherwise boring film quite visually arresting...
******* Gymkata (5/3/1985) Robert Clouse ~ Kurt Thomas (the bizarre, approximately 20-mintute old town section)
**** Gymkata (5/3/1985) Robert Clouse ~ Kurt Thomas, Tetchie Agbayani, Richard Norton, Edward Bell (whole film)