I don't know why Don Wilson, record man in martial titles, has so many problems with his movies. He has talent to defeat any person in the real life, but even when he is involved in the script, the production, and starring a movie, all is B class. Is incredible. The action director, Art Camacho, made a work that any bad Asian movie can superate. The good point is the casting. Fred Williamson is fantastic, Dice Clay is also great, and the irony and the humour is always present. A good question is if somebody can do a good movie with Don Wilson. But if you want a movie and kill the time, this movie works, and works fine.
11 Reviews
Good old fashioned action...
paul_haakonsen1 September 2021
When I stumbled upon the 1998 action movie "Whatever It Takes" here in 2021, I must admit that I found the movie to have some appeal. Why? Well, the movie had Don Wilson and also Fred Williamson on the cast list.
And with "Whatever It Takes" being a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I sat down to watch it.
It turns out that this 1998 action movie from writers Jack Capece and Raymond Obstfeld was actually a rather enjoyable movie. Sure, this was a typical cheesy late 1990s action movie, for better or worse. But that was definitely something that, in my opinion, added to the overall appeal of the movie.
The storyline told in "Whatever It Takes" was pretty straight forward. Sure, this was not a movie that revolutionized the action genre, nor did it bring anything new to the genre, but director Brady MacKenzie managed to deliver a wholesome action movie that was driven by a good enough storyline, interesting characters and some good old fashioned hard-hitting action.
While the movie was starring Don Wilson and co-starring Andrew Clay and Fred Williamson, then this movie was first and foremost made enjoyable by Fred Williamson in the role of a drug lord. He was so nicely cast for that particular role and character, and his performance was just spot on. This guys' charisma and appearance definitely added so much to the character.
Personally I am not interested in bodybuilding and such, so I found very little appeal in all the displaying of workout sessions and both men and women with so many muscles that it started to look monstrously bad. But hey, to each their own. But of course, with the movie's storyline, this was a needed ingredient for the movie.
If you enjoy a good old fashioned action movie, then "Whatever It Takes" is a good bet. I found it to be a rather enjoyable and entertaining movie.
My rating of "Whatever It Takes" lands on a well-deserved six out of ten stars.
And with "Whatever It Takes" being a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I sat down to watch it.
It turns out that this 1998 action movie from writers Jack Capece and Raymond Obstfeld was actually a rather enjoyable movie. Sure, this was a typical cheesy late 1990s action movie, for better or worse. But that was definitely something that, in my opinion, added to the overall appeal of the movie.
The storyline told in "Whatever It Takes" was pretty straight forward. Sure, this was not a movie that revolutionized the action genre, nor did it bring anything new to the genre, but director Brady MacKenzie managed to deliver a wholesome action movie that was driven by a good enough storyline, interesting characters and some good old fashioned hard-hitting action.
While the movie was starring Don Wilson and co-starring Andrew Clay and Fred Williamson, then this movie was first and foremost made enjoyable by Fred Williamson in the role of a drug lord. He was so nicely cast for that particular role and character, and his performance was just spot on. This guys' charisma and appearance definitely added so much to the character.
Personally I am not interested in bodybuilding and such, so I found very little appeal in all the displaying of workout sessions and both men and women with so many muscles that it started to look monstrously bad. But hey, to each their own. But of course, with the movie's storyline, this was a needed ingredient for the movie.
If you enjoy a good old fashioned action movie, then "Whatever It Takes" is a good bet. I found it to be a rather enjoyable and entertaining movie.
My rating of "Whatever It Takes" lands on a well-deserved six out of ten stars.
Only one lens
JerbusF26 December 2021
Could be better
cg70715 August 1999
"Whatever it takes" was not quite as entertaining as previous Don "The Dragon" Wilson movies. Don Wilson is beginning to show his age, and it appeared that it was more difficult for him to perform some of the stunts. The showing was running a "6" until the end, when Andrew Dice Clay had to come in with his moronic farmer jokes, which didn't add anything to the show, actually detracted from it, and was not normal for Wilson's productions.
Horrible Movie
LebowskiT100031 July 2002
Let me just say that the only good thing about this film is the beautiful women in it. Other than that, the movie is just a waste of time. It's not often that I would say something like that about a film, most movies have some redeeming value, but this is one does not.
The story isn't too terribly bad, I mean it's relatively interesting, but the acting and the dialogue is just god-awful! Just about all the fight scenes were just terrible! I thought this guy Don "The Dragon" Wilson (I can't believe this guy actually gets credited on film as "The Dragon") was a terrible fighter. Apparently he is some kick-boxing champion, well...I wasn't really impressed. In his defense, it could have been the choreographer that made the fighting less than impressive, but I don't know for sure. Andrew Dice Clay had a few funny lines in the movie, but most of the time he was just useless. The rest of the cast was bad too, but I won't get into it.
Anyhow, I would never recommend watching this film unless you have NOTHING better to do with 2 hours of your life. If by some miracle you do happen to watch this film, I hope you enjoy it a lot more than I did. Thanks for reading,
-Chris
The story isn't too terribly bad, I mean it's relatively interesting, but the acting and the dialogue is just god-awful! Just about all the fight scenes were just terrible! I thought this guy Don "The Dragon" Wilson (I can't believe this guy actually gets credited on film as "The Dragon") was a terrible fighter. Apparently he is some kick-boxing champion, well...I wasn't really impressed. In his defense, it could have been the choreographer that made the fighting less than impressive, but I don't know for sure. Andrew Dice Clay had a few funny lines in the movie, but most of the time he was just useless. The rest of the cast was bad too, but I won't get into it.
Anyhow, I would never recommend watching this film unless you have NOTHING better to do with 2 hours of your life. If by some miracle you do happen to watch this film, I hope you enjoy it a lot more than I did. Thanks for reading,
-Chris
Whatever it Takes was ahead of its time.
tarbosh2200013 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Neil DeMarco (Wilson) and Dave Menardi (Clay) are dedicated undercover officers on the L. A. beat. After their last mission goes wrong, Neil takes it hard and hits the bottle. But, thanks to Menardi's encouragement, and the urgency of the matter, DeMarco pulls himself together for their latest assignment. It finds them tackling one of the world's greatest evils - steroid use.
Working with some DEA agents, our heroes must infiltrate the world of meatheads. The latest 'roids on the street are said to bulk you up three times faster than any product ever before. But it's not all gyms, fitness instructors, and muscleman contests for DeMarco and Menardi - the big boss of them all is evil gangster Paulie Salano (Williamson), and his hulking sidekick Kevin (Smith) is always ready to do his bidding. Will our heroes finally stop the flow of Human Growth Hormone once and for all?
Much like the color wheel, there are many gradations of stupid. We've tackled this subject many times before, but it always seems to keep cropping up again and again. Thankfully for any and all viewers of Whatever it Takes, it's a very fun, funny, ridiculous shade of stupid that will entertain you thoroughly.
With the opening credits over close-ups of muscles as people work out, then leading into a classic 'drug shipment gone wrong' scenario - in a warehouse, no less - you know Whatever it Takes is going to deliver the goods, in that mindlessly 90's sort of way that we all love and enjoy.
Andrew "Dice" Clay doesn't exactly look the part of a cop, which is all part of the fun. Also Andrew "Dice" Clay gets to shoot guns and kill people. If that's not worth the price of admission, what would be? Oddly, Nils Allen Stewart, here in a cameo, plays a guy named "Andrew Clay". Coincidence? Clay makes his wisecracking cop role seem completely effortless, and he even includes a bizarre rant about farmers, of all people, at the tail end of the movie, as if it were an outtake from one of his comedy specials. Of course, he's no stranger to contests, as he was in No Contest (1995), of course.
Matching The Diceman's charisma is Fred Williamson, here in a rare badguy role. He has a great speech in the garden at his home towards the end of the movie. His sidekick Kevin looks like a 'roided up Shep Smith.
As far as The Dragon is concerned, he's involved in a very silly barfight, and has two dialogue scenes that include people flexing in the background. As if what they were saying wasn't interesting enough, and every possible frame of film had to be filled with meatheads at all times. We get to see a fight between The Dragon and The Hammer, and clearly director Brady MacKenzie (in his one and only credit) must have realized this was something fans have wanted to see, so he doesn't skimp. The fight is long and dragged-out, in a good way.
Whatever it Takes was ahead of its time. Not only did this pre-date the "juicing" scandals of Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, it also beat The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All (1999), which had a steroid sub-plot, to the punch. Not to mention the James Franco comedy Whatever it Takes (2000). The existence of that film made it even trickier to procure this one from online retailers. Adding to that frustration, the tape was put out on the Pioneer label, which didn't get a lot of distribution here.
With our three favorite nicknames all together in one movie - The Dragon, The Diceman, and The Hammer, how could we refuse Whatever it Takes?
Working with some DEA agents, our heroes must infiltrate the world of meatheads. The latest 'roids on the street are said to bulk you up three times faster than any product ever before. But it's not all gyms, fitness instructors, and muscleman contests for DeMarco and Menardi - the big boss of them all is evil gangster Paulie Salano (Williamson), and his hulking sidekick Kevin (Smith) is always ready to do his bidding. Will our heroes finally stop the flow of Human Growth Hormone once and for all?
Much like the color wheel, there are many gradations of stupid. We've tackled this subject many times before, but it always seems to keep cropping up again and again. Thankfully for any and all viewers of Whatever it Takes, it's a very fun, funny, ridiculous shade of stupid that will entertain you thoroughly.
With the opening credits over close-ups of muscles as people work out, then leading into a classic 'drug shipment gone wrong' scenario - in a warehouse, no less - you know Whatever it Takes is going to deliver the goods, in that mindlessly 90's sort of way that we all love and enjoy.
Andrew "Dice" Clay doesn't exactly look the part of a cop, which is all part of the fun. Also Andrew "Dice" Clay gets to shoot guns and kill people. If that's not worth the price of admission, what would be? Oddly, Nils Allen Stewart, here in a cameo, plays a guy named "Andrew Clay". Coincidence? Clay makes his wisecracking cop role seem completely effortless, and he even includes a bizarre rant about farmers, of all people, at the tail end of the movie, as if it were an outtake from one of his comedy specials. Of course, he's no stranger to contests, as he was in No Contest (1995), of course.
Matching The Diceman's charisma is Fred Williamson, here in a rare badguy role. He has a great speech in the garden at his home towards the end of the movie. His sidekick Kevin looks like a 'roided up Shep Smith.
As far as The Dragon is concerned, he's involved in a very silly barfight, and has two dialogue scenes that include people flexing in the background. As if what they were saying wasn't interesting enough, and every possible frame of film had to be filled with meatheads at all times. We get to see a fight between The Dragon and The Hammer, and clearly director Brady MacKenzie (in his one and only credit) must have realized this was something fans have wanted to see, so he doesn't skimp. The fight is long and dragged-out, in a good way.
Whatever it Takes was ahead of its time. Not only did this pre-date the "juicing" scandals of Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, it also beat The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All (1999), which had a steroid sub-plot, to the punch. Not to mention the James Franco comedy Whatever it Takes (2000). The existence of that film made it even trickier to procure this one from online retailers. Adding to that frustration, the tape was put out on the Pioneer label, which didn't get a lot of distribution here.
With our three favorite nicknames all together in one movie - The Dragon, The Diceman, and The Hammer, how could we refuse Whatever it Takes?
Don't waste your time...
mcslime20 August 1999
I'm a big fan of B action movies, but this dog was pitiful. Don "The Dragon" Wilson's martial arts choreography was so slow-moving it paled in comparison to even the lowliest "Power Rangers" TV episode. The Diceman looked paunchy, aged, and was unfunny (and I LIKE his humor!).
The lone bright spot of this flop was Leslie Danon. Caught my eye enough to look up her other credits on IMDb. Would like to see more of her (figuratively AND literally!).
The lone bright spot of this flop was Leslie Danon. Caught my eye enough to look up her other credits on IMDb. Would like to see more of her (figuratively AND literally!).
Great Cops and Robbers Movie
d_rhino31 August 1999
An awesome Cops and Robbers genre movie! The stunts were great! The "Dragon" was amazing "Dice" was hysterical. Lots and lots of FUN! Hope to see more just like it! The women were beautiful and very sexy! Fred Williamson was especially good as the bad
The Hammer is one of his very few villainous roles.
DrunkenMaster20003 August 2004
I picked up this film because I am a huge Fred "The Hammer" Williamson fan. I was shocked to see him play the villain in this surprisingly entertaining film. Fred Williamson never plays a villain - I think it's written into his contract. How Brady MacKenzie got Fred William to play the villain beats me?! Brady MacKenzie (the director) never made a film before this, or after - what gives? He handles the action scenes very well - he's no John Woo, but hey - he's got Michael Bay beat! And Fred's good as the antagonist, hard-ass and funny as always. This also marks my first Don "The Dragon" Wilson film; who's no Jackie Chan, but he's got Van Damn beat! I will admit I am a fan of Andrew "Dice" Clay, not as a comedian but as an actor. The Dice runs around for most of the action scenes blazing two guns - ala Chow Yun-Fat. The Killer the Diceman isn't, but I'll take Whatever It Takes over any Lethal Weapon film any day of the week. Whatever It Takes hits the mark, keeping in mind this is a straight-to-video release.
Victoria Pratt fans may want this in their collection.
richgei29 July 2003
I agree with the reviewers that this movie is not good. I enjoy low budget movies if they have a certain charm that makes them interesting and unique. This is too "formula" to be low-budget and charming and not strong enough to be a main stream "formula" action film. However, I bought this because I'm a big Victoria Pratt fan and wanted all of her movies and TV shows. If you like her too, you may want to pick this up. She's in about 7 scenes, mostly wearing hot workout outfits at the gym and hot "night out" outfits in other scenes. She's even topless in another. She looks buff and wonderful as always! I suggest buying the DVD so that you can select her scenes without having to fast forward through a tape and being forced to watch the movie itself more than once. Used copies are a little cheaper too.
Victoria Pratt not credited
drapp7 June 2003
Basically a low B-level action movie with Andrew Dice Clay doing a lot of talking; but providing little action. You wouldn't miss much by never seeing it. Although, I'm a big fan of Victoria Pratt and am mystified at the lack of crediting of her in this movie; or in her list of credits on this site. She had a number of speaking parts, plenty of on-screen time, and the lone "revealing" scene. Probably the only one she has ever done.
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