Enforcer from Death Row (1978)

Where in the World is Cameron Mitchell?, 27 February 2008

What was that? I've seen a lot of bad movies in my time, but Enforcer from Death Row ranks right up there with the absolute worst. I wasn't expecting the second coming of Citizen Kane or anything, but come on - this thing is barely watchable.

I would have probably never rented Enforcer from Death Row but for two things. First, the plot description I read on the Netflix website intrigued me. "T.L. Young (Leo Fong) sits imprisoned on death row, awaiting his date with the electric chair. But he's given a second chance when he's rescued by members of an international peacekeeping organization. In exchange for his life, however, Young is sent on a risky mission to stop a deadly group of criminals. This movie is jam-packed with action scenes featuring lethal ninjas, brutal tortures and thrilling car chases." Sounds kinda cool. Unfortunately, the people responsible for this abomination had no concept of how to make a movie. I could cite any number of atrocious problems with Enforcer from Death Row (like the bad acting or the weak special effects or the 75-watt bulb used to light the sets or the three Bunsen burners and test tube racks that made up the bacterial weapons lab or the laughable dubbing choices or the "thrilling" low-speed helicopter rescue or . . .), but I'll focus on the complete lack of continuity found in the movie. The most offensive example is a scene where a guy jumps off the roof of a building and miraculously lands in the ocean. And I don't mean right at the water's edge - he landed way out in at least 4 or more feet of water. How'd he do that? Moments later, he's on a road stopping a passing car. The overhead shot shows the car, the road, and some vividly green farmland. What happened to the ocean? What happened to the building? Was there something in the movie about teleportation I missed? It's just jaw-dropping ridiculous.

The second reason I took a chance on Enforcer from Death Row was Cameron Mitchell. As a rule, I'll watch anything with Cameron Mitchell at least once. Even when the movie's bad, he's usually entertaining. I had read from another review that Mitchell's time was limited to a couple of minutes at the most. Well, not in my version of movie. I sat for almost an hour and a half and no Cameron Mitchell. What the . . . ? How can you put Mitchell's name in the credits and not deliver? What a rip!

My best advice is to stay as far away from this turkey as you can. Even if you find a copy that includes Cameron Mitchell, it's still not worth it.

1/10