bkoganbing
Chuck Norris fans and martial art film fans in general will love The Octagon. He
seems to be going for a record number of casualties in dispensing bad guys in
this one.As seems to be usual for occidental actors in these films Norris was adopted by a
ninja master who raised him as his own and after his blood kin disgraced him in
competition with young Norris kicked him out.Now the ninja school is being used to train mercenaries and terrorists and the
rules there are mighty strict. Counter terrorism honcho Lee Van Cleef wants
to put them out of business. But Norris has to have and gets a personal reason for getting the job done.A little bit of Eugene O'Neill's self analysis and introspection dialog is done by
Norris in voice overs. Believe me it worked a lot better in Strange Interlude.Enough action for any martial arts fan here.
callanvass
Ah, ninjas. A big part of my childhood, so naturally I love a good movie involving Ninjas, but sadly this is not a good movie. If you don't know what to expect when it comes to early Norris movies, I don't know what to tell you. They're cheap, often very dull, and poorly acted. The Octagon falls under this category as well. I actually don't mind Chuck Norris. He's never been the most gifted of actors, but he is responsible for a few action movies of the 80's that I grew up on. Here is an example, Code of Silence, Delta Force, and Lone Wolf McQuade, but he made some rotten stinkers when he first started out. The Octagon actually has untapped potential. It had a great chance to deliver some powerful family drama, between Seikura (Tadashi Yamashita) and Scott James (Chuck Norris) Instead, we get some cheap flashbacks of the two with little thought or care, and I didn't care one iota about it. Chuck also does this annoying inner monologue throughout the movie, and it made me wanna mute my T.V after a while. The worst part about it, is that it's an exaggerated whisper, and it came across as laughable. I also had a problem with Chuck Norris's character himself. He is rather self righteous, and a know it all. His smug performance tested my patience, and the fact that he performed his role as Scott James very poorly, didn't help matters. His character is more complex than most of his characters, and Norris failed to live up to the daunting task for him He delivers in the action, of course. I won't deny the man has some major moves. Art Hindle is decent as the cocky best friend of Norris's. It was hard to feel sympathy for him as well, because he was such a stubborn idiot at times. Lee Van Cleef is absolutely wasted in his role, and I wondered why he was in this film to begin with. Carol Bagdasarian was my saving grace as Aura. Her gorgeous looks captivated me. Ernie Hudson also has a brief cameo, before he became famous. The finale pours on the action, and it's actually pretty exciting stuff. But the endlessly talky dialogue for most of the film really prevents the impact the finale has. Final Thoughts: It beats watching Breaker, Breaker, but what doesn't? This is a low-budget cheapie, with too much talk, and not enough action. Rent Norris's later stuff, in lieu of this4.2/10
Frank Markland
Chuck Norris stars as the only martial artist alive who can take down a ninja clan, (led by his adopted brother) in this very dull ninja movie which earns a couple points for the inspired performance of Lee Van Cleef. Chuck Norris made only one ninja movie in his career (I think because I don't remember any others) but somehow The Octagon is a surprisingly plot driven ninja movie which isn't a very good thing since well ninja movies need to be swift. When it comes to ninja movies, it remains vastly inferior to American Ninja (And it's first sequel) and Revenge Of The Ninja which could quite possibly be the birth of the genre. The Octagon has a few moments but generally Norris' voice-overs and complete lack of action make this for Norris enthusiasts only.*1/2 out of 4-(Poor)
infocyde
...You have to take it in the context of when it was written and the age group that it appealed most to. If you some fat goofy ten year old growing up in the early 80ies, seeing Chuck Norris fighting evil ninjas was just brilliant. It didn't get any better. I remember a few years later sneaking up at night just to watch it on HBO. I give it a 10 for being sort of a cult early 80 martial arts classic, not for its production quality or the talent of the actors. On those merits I would give it a solid 4, but screw that, it is a 10 because it is what it is, a cheesy Ninja vs Chuck Norris movie that if you were a little kid at the time seeing it you would have been in complete awe.
