Big Budget Hollywood action films can be so boring. By the time they show up on the cineplex screen, they’ve been filtered through creative executive notes, script doctors, CGI touch ups, focus groups and preview screenings to make it palatable content for the studio. This makes them so bland. There are people who make their action rough and unfiltered. Tony Kandah did exactly that when he produced, co-wrote and co-directed L.A. Wars. This is a movie that’s as gritty as the 16mm used to capture the explosions.
Things are getting nasty in Los Angeles. Mafia boss Carlo Giovanni (Your Mother Wears Combat Boots‘ A.J. Stephans) finds his drug turf being attacked by Raul Guzman (Hard Ticket To Hawaii‘s Rodrigo Obergon). The first major strike happens when a major drug deal with Giovanni’s group gets ruined by Guzman’s team led by the fearless Rosa (Acapulco H.E.A.T.’s Kerri Kasem). Guzman’s biggest plan to hurt Giovanni is kidnapping his daughter Carla (Mary E. Zilba). This goes bad when Jake Quinn (Flesh Gordon Meets The Cosmic Cheerleaders‘ Vince Murdocco) gets in the middle of the grab. Jake uses his superior kickboxing skills to keep Carla safe. Giovanni is so impressed that he hires Jake to be his daughter’s full-time bodyguard. This doesn’t please Carla’s regular bodyguard Vinnie Scoletti (Savage Streets‘ Johnny Venokur) who has the hots for the boss’s daughter. He questions if letting Jake into the house is smart. The mobster knows that Jake was a cop until he went beyond the law in dishing out justice on a convict. He’s a disgraced cop which is his kind of cop. What he doesn’t know is that Captain Roarke (Fight Club‘s David Jean Thomas) promised Jake to have his record wiped clean and his badge returned for acting deep cover on the mobster boss. The mission gets complicated as Carla makes it more than a professional arrangement. Will he narc on Giovanni if the mob boss becomes his father-in-law?
L.A. Wars is a remarkable for putting so much action on the screen. This is a low budget production and yet they have the same number of squibs as a Michael Bay production. They put the money on the screen in the form of explosions and car chases. There’s plenty of fights involving Vince Murdocco which makes sense since he was a kickboxing champion at this time. He knows how to throw chops and look convincing when firing various weapons. He’s extremely likable on the screen. You can imagine a mob boss’s daughter would want him to do more than guard her body.
Kerri Kasem steals this film as the incredibly ruthless Rosa. She looks extra fierce as she blows away the thugs of the rival gang and roughs up Carla. She should have had a spin-off film. Kerri is the daughter of the belated American Top 40 host Casey Kasem. She’s counting down Giovanni’s gang when she pulls the trigger.
L.A. Wars was straight to video in 1994 although it deserves a bigger screen. The plot has a welcomed twist so it’s not just a bodyguard getting too close to the client story. There’s quite a bit of treachery that develops during the battle between Giovanni and Guzman. There’s a touch of comedy since the actors deliver their lines with extra zest and quite a bit of screaming. This is more memorable than half the big studio action films that came out during the mid-’90s. L.A. Wars is the kind of action movie that plays bigger than its budget expectations.
The Video is 1.33:1 full frame. The 1080p image doesn’t look too bad for a film shot on 16mm with a lot of low light scenes. There are a few scratches on the frame, but it adds to the feel of the movie. The Audio includes 2.0 Mono LPCM and 2.0 Stereo LPCM tracks. There’s also the French and Italian mono dub tracks. The film did play well on video in Europe. The movie is subtitled in English.
Commentary with Tony Kandah & Heath Holland is the “audio only” version of the video commentary detailed next.
Video Commentary with Heath Holland & Tony Kandah (91:58) a video conference call between the co-director and Heath as the two are watching the film. Kandah views this as his favorite film since the budget was a mere $160,000 and sold worldwide. He moved up from a production assistant to a production manager. He learned what it takes to make a low budget film. He and Addison Randall wrote the script in 9 days. They went straight into getting the crew together. He goes into making an independent film in Hollywood. He explains how you blow up a car on a shoestring budget.
Commentary with Tony Kandah & Heath Holland has only the audio track of the video commentary.
Starting a War (17:26) is an interview with producer/co-writer/co-director Tony Kandah. He talks of seeing movies in Jerusalem made him want to be a filmmaker. He was working on No Escape No Return when he decided he needed to make his own movie. He brought his cinematographer on board before he co-wrote the script.
Shoot First (23:00) lets cinematographer Mark Morris talk about going from shooting Andy Sidaris movies (including Do Or Die & Dallas Connection) to working on L.A. Wars. He learned from Sidaris how to work fast in an action picture. He signed up because he appreciated how Tony worked as a production manager and a sense of creativity. He had done a bunch of spec projects that went nowhere. L.A. Wars has gone everywhere. Morris is wearing his L.A. Wars crew t-shirt.
Photo Gallery (2:04)
Original Theatrical Trailer (2:51) shows a lot of explosions, car chases and squibs. There are also trailers for Action USA, Miami Blues, Final Justice, Drive and Boogie Boy.
Mini Poster suitable for framing.
Slipcase with videostore stickers including a charge if you don’t rewind the tape.
MVD Rewind Collection presents L.A. Wars. Directed by Tony Kandah & Martin Morris. Screenplay by Addison Randall & Tony Kandah. Starring Vince Murdocco, Mary E. Zilba, A. J. Stephans, Johnny Venokur, Rodrigo Obregón, David Jean Thomas & Kerri Kasem. Running Time: 91 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: May 16, 2023.
