What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

FIREPOWER is a cheesy and fun action flick from the guys at PM Entertainment. The story sees Chad McQueen and Gary Daniels teaming up as a couple of renegade cops in the near future, doing their best to take down a sinister mastermind who spends his time arranging violent battles to the death inside a brutal high-tech arena. Inevitably they end up going undercover and fighting in said arena.Fans of 1990s action will know what to expect here and FIREPOWER delivers in spades. It's straightforward action throughout, mixing the usual shoot outs and explosions with plenty of one-on-one combat arena side. McQueen is pretty wooden and disappointing here, it has to be said, but the supple Daniels is on form and delivers some find roundhouse kicks, captured in loving slow motion. There's also a great twist towards the end you won't see coming, rounding off the production nicely.

Strange title for a film that's mostly full of kickboxing, but there you go. It's (kind of) post-apocalyptica time again! This time we've got Gary Daniels and a guy that looks like Adam Richman from Man Vs Food as two cops who go undercover as kickboxers in the death ring, which is situated in some sort of lawless zone where anything can happen for some reason. They're either there to track down some huge criminal(played by the Ultimate Warrior) or find the location of some sort of medicine, or maybe both. Really, when you're watching a Gary Daniels film, do you really care about the plot? When starting out in the Death Ring most of the matches aren't that deadly, but the further up the ladder you go, the more serious it becomes until you fight the big criminal guy, who usually has some remote computer guy rig the matches just in case he loses. It's believable enough when Daniels is in the ring because the guy is that supple he could probably fold himself into a suitcase if he felt like it, but the other guy looks like he would have trouble lifting his leg to fart let alone kick someone's teeth out of their heads.There's a twist or two along the way and a couple of firefights at the beginning there, plus a bit of drama here and there. It's good when Daniels is around because he's basically playing an over-violent super confident cop but I have to admit the end seemed a wee bit on the rushed side. Still worth your time if you see it cheap enough.

Imagine if certain parts of a city, called the Hell Zone, were set aside for criminal activity. Every bad guy could set up shop and rape, murder and steal to his heart's content. The frustrated cops could only stand and watch. If that weren't enough, inside the Zone is the Death Ring, where the baddest bad boys fight to the death while the crowd screams for blood. That's the future in L.A.(2007!) the way this movie sees it and the Hell Zone is where all the action takes place. Into this brutal world comes Chad McQueen (son of the great Steve McQueen) and martial arts muscleman Gary Daniels, as two undercover cops that have to infiltrate the Death Ring and fight their way out.Like his father, McQueen has a hard bodied physicality and genuine star quality. Playing a cop and a fighter in the ring, he sports the athletic build and macho ink that makes him a believable badass. His fights are exciting and realistic. He is the movie's focal point and, along with showcasing his lethal talents, he's featured in some steamy love scenes with Alisha Dal. In the sack, he's a chip off the old block and that smoldering McQueen sexuality has Ms. Dal purring.Gary Daniels is a reliable component of any action flick and in this one he plays the crazy sidekick and frustrated cop who relishes the freedom to snuff out criminals at will once he's in the Hell Zone. After dispatching one hulking loser, Daniels gives a bloodthirsty grin to McQueen, saying "I wish we could do this in the real world." Though he's not the star, the bare-chested Daniels really shines in every fight he has. He's in superb shape – almost competition quality – and his rock hard physique is on display throughout the movie.Two other fighters standout in the casting of this movie. Art Camacho plays a strong young latino fighter trying to feed his family and make a name for himself. He befriends the two cops and together they take out their share of goons. The real bad guy is the Swordsman, played by pro wrestling's Ultimate Warrior. Unbelievably buff - but given no lines to deliver - the Swordsman is left to do his communicating in the ring where he slays grungy lowlifes in some awesome action scenes. Between Daniels and the Swordsman, both of whom take turns flexing and strutting around shirtless in the ring, it begins to resemble a Mr. Olympia contest, with the chiseled Camacho and McQueen not far behind.There are a few surprises along the way, and it's fun seeing cops suddenly free to make criminals pay the ultimate price for their misdeeds. Even the good guys get off on a little payback when they slash and burn some tough outlaw in the Death Ring. The movie rips off everything from "Escape from New York" to "Thunderdome," but it doesn't matter since the plot exists only to let guys battle it out in front of a screaming crowd. When those guys are prime muscle like Daniels and the Swordsman, or young lions like McQueen and Camacho, this movie rocks.

Chad McQueen and Gary Daniels star as 21st century cops (This was obviously made in the 20th century) who fight a giant lummox who is the king of cage matches, also on hand is a fake AIDs cure and science fiction elements which make NO sense at all. One of the great things about my PM binge is that i'm revisiting movies from my past that have long vanished from my void I call a memory, of the last four movies i've reviewed it's only one that I saw for the first time. (The Underground) However this Chad McQueen/Gary Daniels dud is a movie that I wish I could forget. I seriously don't remember this movie being so awful. The fight sequences in particular are terrible beyond belief. Chad McQueen is so slow and lackluster as a martial artist that he looks like he belongs in a Road House sequel, it's hard to believe the man was trained by Chuck Norris. Steve McQueen's son also has marginal charisma, lacking most of his father's screen presence. Thesping-wise, he's only slightly better than Gary Daniels. However there is no question who outshines McQueen on the martial arts side of things, Daniels has fast reflexes,stylish kicks and great technique. McQueen looks slow and so it's contrived that he's the main martial artist. In the end this is just a very dull exercise in low budget science fiction and a prime example why Chad McQueen is lower on the action food-chain than even David Bradley. Avoid it, unless you're a huge Gary Daniels fan.* out of 4-(Bad)