BARE KNUCKLES is another low rent slice of hokum from director Don Edmonds, the man behind the notorious ILSA movies. This one's about a bunch of moustachioed guys practising karate. One of them's a hero who does his best to battle street punks and save women from the clutches; the other is a serial killer who enjoys abusing and killing woman with his special prowess. The story sets up a conflict between the pair of them which erupts at the climax, and until that point it's a tawdry affair full of the usual sleaze and grim backdrops.

This movie ultimately is a combo of the following elements.

Rocky/ Billy Jack type main character is a struggling boxer who survives by beating up and then turning over to the police various bad guys for a reward. In this way it's a bit of a western. Hero even meets cute with neighborhood gal, like in Rocky.

But then it sort of becomes one of these black tough guy with tough cool black guy partner movies.

But then, it becomes a psycho killer movie. And our hero isn't even on screen for a fair amount of time.

Oh and there is a Kung Fu sidekick/teacher who looks Hispanic but has an Asian name. Go figure?!? Not that these elements don't make it fun--but it never completely becomes a good movie about any of these things. It just shifts gears whenever it wants to. It's mostly done as exploitation--rather than true grit. The hero spends as much or more time being brutalized than he does brutalizing. Though of it's time it also seems out of step with it's time--the gay bar scene is either hilarious or offensive--both really, if you can sit of both sides of the fence at the same time.

In order the enjoy the movie you have to sit on that same fence, don't take it too seriously if you can.

Performances are over the top--by the standards of the day--not by today's ridiculous over the tops standards. Groovy and effective music score and long almost silent final chase scene through rough areas of downtown Los Angeles help wrap it all up. Most of the male cast have the same mustache, just in case you were wondering. One gutsy plot twist and a few very brief moments of social commentary also pop up to keep it lively. A refreshing lack of Hippies--I guess their time had passed by then.

From what I can tell, this movie is totally out of print, which is a shame because it is quite good for what it is. Zach Kane is a tough guy who covers all the bases: he can box, smokes unfiltered cigarettes, drinks, you can bust his ribs, stab him, repeatedly, beat the hell out of him and he still comes back for more. However, he also has a nice pad, is a lady's man, and plays the flute, so he's not only a caveman, but a caveman with sophistication and class. Aside from the larger than life character the movie attempts to foist on the audience, it's a pretty gnarly action flick in a way they simply don't seem to know how to do anymore. No CGI, just raw poundings, bloodshed, and explosions, the way it ought to be. If you are lucky enough to run across a copy, buy it.