When the character, Taryn was dropped, his movie afterward lost its comic timing.In every Andy Sidaris movies, it was Hope who provided the humor in the movie as well as good look. As much as I like Roberta Vasquez, she is no replacement for the much better tandem of Hope and Dona Speir in their movies. The director should have just kept Hope character along with the Dona Spear, while bringing along Roberta. Meanwhile Gun is good fun action that sometime dark with no humor to restraint it. It was Hope's Taryn that kept the action with little humor to keep it interesting. I hate to say this, the best Andy Sidaris movies with the female spies was with the pairing of Taryn and Donna Hamilton in the early parts of the series. The facial expression that Taryn gave in a tight situation was priceless, and it sadly why Gun doesn't hold up as well as Picasso Trigger or A Hard Ticket To Hawaii. Finally Gun is good on action, but it is boring without the humor and dark sarcasm that usually comes from Hope Marie Carlton's character, Taryn.
21 Reviews
Terrorists and magicians (#5)
unbrokenmetal24 May 2008
This is the 5th out of my 12 reviews for the works of Andy Sidaris, in chronological order. Gangster Degas (Erik Estrada) tries to get a few agents out of the way so he can ship weapons from China to South America via Hawaii. But Donna Hamilton (Dona Speir) doesn't give up easily, because Degas killed her father years ago. So even if pistols seem good enough for others, Donna prefers a rocket launcher to blast baddies to pieces. Roberta Vasquez poses with a leather bikini on a motorbike at sunset, while Cynthia Brimhall has a special appearance as a nightclub singer. Chuck McCann gets the best line when he interrogates two suspects: "What is the difference between a terrorist and a magician?" They quickly find out! "Guns" isn't one of the best of the series, but it's got its moments.
Cheap thrills done right
pmtelefon24 October 2020
"Guns" was an easy way to kill an afternoon with some friends. The low budget action is passable but it's the women and the nudity that keep your attention. Not a lemon in the bunch. I don't plan on watching "Guns" again. I don't even think I'll remember much of it tomorrow. I do hope I remember what was maybe the greatest piece of dialogue ever: "Don't do something, stand there!" Honorable mention: a dreamy Roberta Vasquez.
Who needs a plot when you have big guns and scantily clad ladies?
Smartt23 August 2002
When I was a wee tot I never cared about superfluous things like plot, characterization or people yakkin' exposition for more than 30 seconds. What I wanted to see was the car chases, explosions, high kicks and bikini girls with machine guns. Happy happy happy, joy joy joy! Of course, one day we have to grow old and abide to the rules of Society, that forces us to become, uh, "sophisticated". We ditch Hollywood blockbusters in public and pretend to like Finnish art movies and David Lynch. But deep down inside, in the heart of that happy child we once were, we really want to get home in time for the Baywatch rerun. And that, friends and foes, is the spirit of Sidaris' work. I've seen the polls at IMDb and voters aren't fond of Andy's flims. They're completely missing the point AND the fun.
What's it about? Guns.
BandSAboutMovies15 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I wonder, after doing an entire week of Andy Sidaris movies, if these quick descriptions of what they're all about at the beginning of each article are starting to seem repetitive. To wit: a new enemy appears and menaces gorgeous male and female secret agents who use inventive weapons and double entendres to defeat them. It's not me who is repetitive, I fear. And I have like eight more Sidaris movies left to get to! I should just shut up and get in the hot tub before more killers show up.
A brutal murder in Las Vegas starts off this adventure, which brings in new villain Juan "Jack of Diamonds" Degas, played by Erik Estrada. Donna returns, again played by Dona Speir, but Taryn is missing in action.
Degas wants to smuggle next-generation technology weaponry into the United States, but he's decided to do it through Miami, which means that he needs to get the L.E.T.H.A.L. Agents out of the way, starting with Donna and newcomer Nicole (Roberta Vasquez, who was Pantera in Picasso Trigger).
This bad guy takes things even further by kidnapping Donna's mom, which means that he's going to die like all Andy Sidaris villains: at the end of a rocket launcher. Yes, there are also remote controlled boat bombs, double crosses and ninjas. You just kind of expect these things by now. What you may not expect is an incredibly young Danny Trejo to show up as one of the henchmen, which was a cool surprise.
Edy from past films shows up again as a lounge singer who performs several times, including a song all about, well, guns. And there's fine dialogue such as "Hiya my ass!" as a ninja is shot and Donna screaming "Don't just do something! Stand there!"
I recommend not watching these films until it's so absurdly late that it's become early. They work best that way.
A brutal murder in Las Vegas starts off this adventure, which brings in new villain Juan "Jack of Diamonds" Degas, played by Erik Estrada. Donna returns, again played by Dona Speir, but Taryn is missing in action.
Degas wants to smuggle next-generation technology weaponry into the United States, but he's decided to do it through Miami, which means that he needs to get the L.E.T.H.A.L. Agents out of the way, starting with Donna and newcomer Nicole (Roberta Vasquez, who was Pantera in Picasso Trigger).
This bad guy takes things even further by kidnapping Donna's mom, which means that he's going to die like all Andy Sidaris villains: at the end of a rocket launcher. Yes, there are also remote controlled boat bombs, double crosses and ninjas. You just kind of expect these things by now. What you may not expect is an incredibly young Danny Trejo to show up as one of the henchmen, which was a cool surprise.
Edy from past films shows up again as a lounge singer who performs several times, including a song all about, well, guns. And there's fine dialogue such as "Hiya my ass!" as a ninja is shot and Donna screaming "Don't just do something! Stand there!"
I recommend not watching these films until it's so absurdly late that it's become early. They work best that way.
Similar to the Previous Films in the Series
Uriah433 November 2022
This film essentially begins with a South American crime lord by the name of "Juan Degas" (Erik Estrada) hiring two hitmen to kill a female federal agent named "Nicole Justin" (Roberta Vasquez). However, due to a last-minute wardrobe change, the two assassins end up killing a totally innocent person instead. This not only infuriates Juan, but it also triggers an immediate investigation by the federal agency Nicole works for as one of their own members named "Rocky" (Lisa London) was also killed in the attempt as well. What they don't realize, however, is that Juan is only getting started and he has assembled several men and compiled a vast arsenal of weapons to use in his murderous scheme of revenge. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this movie pretty much follows the same general pattern of several previous Andy Sidaris films which places a high priority on attractive and scantily clad actresses like Dona Speir (as "Donna Hamilton") and the newly introduced Roberta Vasquez taking the place of Donna's usual partner played by Hope Marie Carlton ("Taryn"). And although Ms. Carlton was probably the most attractive actress of the bunch, I have to say that the addition of Devin DeVasquez (as the villainous "Cash") almost made up for it. Be that as it may, much like the previous films in the series, the plot lacked depth and needed a lot more suspense or intrigue as the numerous action scenes were simply not sufficient to maintain interest for an extended period of time. That being said, while I don't consider this to be a bad film by any means, it still suffered from the same weaknesses as the others, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.
Awful
tomlindh2 May 2001
I'm trying to think of who this movie would appeal to....
Nope, can't think of anyone.
The plot was trite, the storyline, acting and directing were all quite amateurish, and the action/violence were both a little over the top. Sprinkled into all of this were a few bouts of nudity, but the eye candy was definitely not of either the quality or quantity to make up for all its deficiencies.
Nope, can't think of anyone.
The plot was trite, the storyline, acting and directing were all quite amateurish, and the action/violence were both a little over the top. Sprinkled into all of this were a few bouts of nudity, but the eye candy was definitely not of either the quality or quantity to make up for all its deficiencies.
You know what you are getting here...
paul_haakonsen13 July 2022
When I sat down to watch the 1990 movie "Guns" from writer and director Andy Sidaris, I must admit that I wasn't really expecting the movie to be a groundbreaking action movie, especially since the last handful of movies of his that I've watched pretty much has been of the same formula.
But since I do believe in giving a movie a fair chance, and since I hadn't already seen "Guns", of course I opted to sit down and watch it.
And I have to say that "Guns" was pretty much as I had anticipated, and it does follow the blueprint that writer and director Andy Sidaris has been using over and over for his movie, for better or worse. I am not saying that it is a bad movie, actually it was watchable and enjoyable enough for the cheesy action that it was. And since writer and director Andy Sidaris is following the same formula, then you know what you're in for here.
The acting performances in "Guns" were actually alright, and it was fun to see the likes of Erik Estrada, Danny Trejo and George Cheung in this 1990s action movie. And of course it was also nice to have returning cast members back for reprising their roles from previous movies, as it does add a sense of continuity to the movies.
Ultimately, then "Guns" is a straight forward, albeit somewhat generic, cheesy action movie that writer and director Andy Sidaris had a tendency of doing.
My rating of "Guns" lands on a five out of ten stars.
But since I do believe in giving a movie a fair chance, and since I hadn't already seen "Guns", of course I opted to sit down and watch it.
And I have to say that "Guns" was pretty much as I had anticipated, and it does follow the blueprint that writer and director Andy Sidaris has been using over and over for his movie, for better or worse. I am not saying that it is a bad movie, actually it was watchable and enjoyable enough for the cheesy action that it was. And since writer and director Andy Sidaris is following the same formula, then you know what you're in for here.
The acting performances in "Guns" were actually alright, and it was fun to see the likes of Erik Estrada, Danny Trejo and George Cheung in this 1990s action movie. And of course it was also nice to have returning cast members back for reprising their roles from previous movies, as it does add a sense of continuity to the movies.
Ultimately, then "Guns" is a straight forward, albeit somewhat generic, cheesy action movie that writer and director Andy Sidaris had a tendency of doing.
My rating of "Guns" lands on a five out of ten stars.
Decidedly mediocre Andy Sidaris effort
Red-Barracuda24 October 2014
I find with Andy Sidaris, that his filmography began very well indeed with a couple of B-Movie classics in Malibu Express and Hard Ticket to Hawaii and ended on a couple, Day of the Warrior and Return to Savage Beach, that were also good even if it was mainly because they both featured the monumentally sexy duo of Julie K Smith and Shae Marks. But what I have also discovered is the films Sidaris made between his first two cheesetastic classics and final two sexploitation successes were far more uneven in quality and Guns is a perfect example of this. Like several others, it relies too much on its ropey and predictable plot and less on naked girls and general daftness. This one has a narrative so by-the-numbers it's difficult to recall it not long after viewing. The action set-pieces once again mainly constitute some explosions and some guns
well I guess the title might require at least a little of the latter in fairness. But Sidaris really needs his sexy ladies to ensure a good film and here – despite featuring the very appealing Dona Speir – they are marginalised too much and
well
don't in all honesty get naked enough. So what we have left is a fairly sub-standard action flick with a small side-order of eye candy, as opposed to the other way round, which is the formula that has been proved to be far better in most other Sidaris movies. The film is also marginally notable for featuring Erik 'CHiPs' Estrada as an illegal arms dealer and Danny Trejo in a henchman role, years before he broke through to a certain level of cult fame in Hollywood.
I should probably hate this, but I didn't
gridoon11 August 2005
"Guns" is a strange movie: its sensibilities seem to be both sexist AND feminist. On the one hand, almost all the women have to undress at one point or another, usually gratuitously; on the other hand, the girls-with-guns sequences are played without condescension, the female agents are treated as equal partners by the men and, more often than not, THEY take charge. The action is not particularly well-done; in fact the whole film plays as if it was directed by a teenage boy trying to make a "real" movie. But how can you hate a film that contains female oil wrestling, an interrogation done with the help of a magic hat, a grenade on a remote-controlled model boat AND the incomparable Danny Trejo as the villain's No.1 henchman? (**1/2)
Good god make it stop
mangraa23 July 2001
I've sat through some s***. Skateboard Kid 1 and 2. Uncle Sam. They didn't even compare to this. Just.. dear lord. If you're a masochist, rent it/watch it at 1:30 a.m. on Cinemax. Horrible dialogue horribly delivered by horrible actors in horrible sets with horrible special effects.
Typically enjoyable lowbrow Andy Sidaris action romp
Woodyanders21 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Ruthless arch criminal Juan Degas (nicely played with laid-back assurance by Erik Estrada) uses the Hawaiian Islands as his base of operations for smuggling guns from China to Latin America. Several federal agents band together to take Degas down. Once again writer/director Andy Sidaris works his usual entertainingly kitschy magic with his customary winning blend of lovely ladies who bare their tasty wares with pleasing regularity, an amusingly goofy sense of self-mocking humor, big splashy explosions, several ineptly staged action set pieces, a good amount of bloody violence, a constant snappy pace, and gorgeous globe-trotting locations which give this picture an impressively expansive feeling of scope. Of course, the standard bevy of hot babes helps a lot: busty blonde Dona Speir as the feisty Donna Hamilton, yummy brunette Roberta Vasquez as the sultry Nicole Justin, scorching Cynthia Brimhall as foxy singer Edy Stark, ravishing Devin De Vasquez as Juan's sexy, yet lethal moll Cash, and adorable Kym Malin as sassy wrestler Kym. Moreover, Phyllis Davis delivers a lively performance as Donna's hard-nosed district attorney mother Kathryn Hamilton, Danny Trejo does well as Juan's smooth henchman Tong, and Chuck McCann contributes a funny turn as impish magician Abe. As an added plus, the divine Ms. Brimhall belts out a couple of cool songs (the titular tune in particular is a real boot) and two bumbling transvestite hit men supply gut-busting comic relief. Hward Wexler's slick cinematography gives this movie an attractive bright look. Richard Lyons' bouncy synthesizer score hits the stirring spot. An enormously fun flick.
Lock, Stock and Two Massive Hooters!
BA_Harrison29 August 2012
Only five films into my 'Girls, Guns and G-Strings' Andy Sidaris box set and I'm already struggling to find new ways of describing what is essentially the same damn movie every time: the same actors; the same characters; the same location; the same silly ingredients.
Guns replaces Sidaris regular Hope Marie Carlton with the equally gorgeous Roberta Vasquez and introduces a couple of reasonably cool B-movie stars as villains (Erik 'Ponch from CHiPs' Estrada and Danny 'Machete' Trejo)—everything else is exactly as one would expect: dumb plot; big breasted women in very skimpy outfits; hunks with bad hair; ridiculously large hand weapons; deadly remote control toys; and assorted men in drag (in this case, a pair of trannie assassins).
With a fraction more action than usual (there are some nice 'n' bloody squib shots), Roberta Vasquez getting topless on a motorbike, and suitably nasty deaths for both Estrada and Trejo, this one is possibly my favourite of the series so far. Then again, it might not be. It's hard to tell.
5.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 6 for IMDb.
Guns replaces Sidaris regular Hope Marie Carlton with the equally gorgeous Roberta Vasquez and introduces a couple of reasonably cool B-movie stars as villains (Erik 'Ponch from CHiPs' Estrada and Danny 'Machete' Trejo)—everything else is exactly as one would expect: dumb plot; big breasted women in very skimpy outfits; hunks with bad hair; ridiculously large hand weapons; deadly remote control toys; and assorted men in drag (in this case, a pair of trannie assassins).
With a fraction more action than usual (there are some nice 'n' bloody squib shots), Roberta Vasquez getting topless on a motorbike, and suitably nasty deaths for both Estrada and Trejo, this one is possibly my favourite of the series so far. Then again, it might not be. It's hard to tell.
5.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 6 for IMDb.
Big Guns and Big 'Uns!
profh-126 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
A mobster wants to ship high-tech Chinese weapons to South America-- thru Hawaii-- and so decides to kill several DEA agents there to lure them to Las Vegas, knowing one will come after him, because ten years earlier, he killed her father. What follows involves action, violence, nudity, and occasional comedy (but not really enough of the latter two).
Andy Sidaris is at it again! Dona Spier, Roberta Vasquez, Cynthia Brimhall, Kim Malin, Donna Spangler, Lisa London, Liv Lindeland, Devin DeVasquez... how many Playboy Playmates (and the like) can you squeeze into one film? There's also Erik Estrada as the main baddie, Danny Trejo as his sidekick, George Cheung as his weapons supplier, Bruce Penhall, Michael J. Shane, Chuck McCann, John Brown & William Bumiller as DEA agents (more than usual this time, though some of them get killed off before it's over). The lesson I got from this movie is, if you're a criminal, operate in quiet. If you go out of your way to target cops-- especially Feds-- you might as well just be painting a target on your chest. (Actually, I think that was Lucky Luciano's MO as well.)
"Taryn" (Hope Marie Carlton) left after 3 pictures (perhaps her character made off with so much money she decided it was better to separate herself from all these dangerous DEA missions?) and was replaced with "Nicole" (Roberta Vasquez, who's beautiful, but far more serious, maybe too much so, throwing off the balance the previous films had). "Shane Abilene" (Michael J. Shane) STILL can't hit a moving target, not even with a massive .44 Magnum, prompting Dona to yell at him, "Don't just DO something, STAND there!", before she blows up a mini-plane with a rocket launcher. DEA agent and stage magician "Abe" (Chuck McCann), interrogates 2 thugs and asks, "Do you know what's the difference between a magician and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist!" When confronted with a pair of sword-weilding ninjas, Donna just SHOOTS them-- the 3rd time such a thing happened in a Sidaris film!
"Edy Stark" (Cynthia Brimhall), who in earlier films ran a restaurant as her cover, moved over to singing in nightclubs, so "Rocky" (Lisa London) took over the restaurant-- an interesting bit of continuity in these things. Edy's role REALLY expanded in this one (and it looks like her breast size did as well, but that may just be her push-up bras). The film opens (and closes) with Edy singing onstage, in what I can only think it a tribute to the Dean Martin-Matt Helm film THE SILENCERS (1966). And it suddenly hits me, lead character "Donna Hamilton" almost has to be a tribute to author Donald Hamilton, creator of Matt Helm!
Looking back over posters for this film, I find the original was quite misleading. It said, "James never had this kind of help!", and pictures a smiling Erik Estrada with Dona Spier & Cynthia Brimhall, as if he were the hero of the picture-- but he's the MAIN BAD GUY!
I wonder why Andy Sidaris didn't have a cameo in this one? (Or did I miss him somehow?)
Andy Sidaris is at it again! Dona Spier, Roberta Vasquez, Cynthia Brimhall, Kim Malin, Donna Spangler, Lisa London, Liv Lindeland, Devin DeVasquez... how many Playboy Playmates (and the like) can you squeeze into one film? There's also Erik Estrada as the main baddie, Danny Trejo as his sidekick, George Cheung as his weapons supplier, Bruce Penhall, Michael J. Shane, Chuck McCann, John Brown & William Bumiller as DEA agents (more than usual this time, though some of them get killed off before it's over). The lesson I got from this movie is, if you're a criminal, operate in quiet. If you go out of your way to target cops-- especially Feds-- you might as well just be painting a target on your chest. (Actually, I think that was Lucky Luciano's MO as well.)
"Taryn" (Hope Marie Carlton) left after 3 pictures (perhaps her character made off with so much money she decided it was better to separate herself from all these dangerous DEA missions?) and was replaced with "Nicole" (Roberta Vasquez, who's beautiful, but far more serious, maybe too much so, throwing off the balance the previous films had). "Shane Abilene" (Michael J. Shane) STILL can't hit a moving target, not even with a massive .44 Magnum, prompting Dona to yell at him, "Don't just DO something, STAND there!", before she blows up a mini-plane with a rocket launcher. DEA agent and stage magician "Abe" (Chuck McCann), interrogates 2 thugs and asks, "Do you know what's the difference between a magician and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist!" When confronted with a pair of sword-weilding ninjas, Donna just SHOOTS them-- the 3rd time such a thing happened in a Sidaris film!
"Edy Stark" (Cynthia Brimhall), who in earlier films ran a restaurant as her cover, moved over to singing in nightclubs, so "Rocky" (Lisa London) took over the restaurant-- an interesting bit of continuity in these things. Edy's role REALLY expanded in this one (and it looks like her breast size did as well, but that may just be her push-up bras). The film opens (and closes) with Edy singing onstage, in what I can only think it a tribute to the Dean Martin-Matt Helm film THE SILENCERS (1966). And it suddenly hits me, lead character "Donna Hamilton" almost has to be a tribute to author Donald Hamilton, creator of Matt Helm!
Looking back over posters for this film, I find the original was quite misleading. It said, "James never had this kind of help!", and pictures a smiling Erik Estrada with Dona Spier & Cynthia Brimhall, as if he were the hero of the picture-- but he's the MAIN BAD GUY!
I wonder why Andy Sidaris didn't have a cameo in this one? (Or did I miss him somehow?)
Sidaris admirably tries to tie it all together
udar5510 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
The fifth Andy Sidaris Molokai bullets 'n babes adventure really delivers the big guns as Sidaris hired Erik Estrada to be the villain in this one. Juan Degas (Estrada) hires two hit men to get rid of Nicole Justin (Roberta Vasquez), who just happens to be the new partner of series regular Donna (Dona Speir). It all revolves around a plot to run guns from China to Central America via Hawaii and a little bit of personal history between Degas and Donna. Man, I was crying about the loss of Hope Marie Carlton in my SAVAGE BEACH (1990) review above, but Sidaris kept things flowing and this is one of the best pictures in the series since MALIBU EXPRESS (1985). He really won me over by introducing Donna's mother and even flashing back to a random killing from HARD TICKET TO HAWAII (1987) in order to give Chuck McCann (as a Government agent/magician) some back story. He also played with my emotions by killing off series regular Rocky (Lisa London) early on. Other regulars returning include Bruce Penhall as C.I.A. dude Bruce Christian and Cynthia Brimhall as nightclub singer/agent Edy Stark (she belts out two songs). Also, muscular John Brown plays his third separate character and series heavy Rodrigo Obregon has a cameo as a cross dressing cop named Large Marge (!). In addition to Estrada, you also have B-movie vet George Cheung as an arms dealer and future B-movie legend Danny Trejo as Degas' right hand man. The film's biggest shocker might be that there is absolutely ZERO nudity for the first 27 minutes.
Sleazy trash
thisisper28 October 2020
The title looked like campy fun, but this trash fest was just too overpowering for me. It doesn't seem self-aware or ironic in any way. I can't believe Erik Estrada (CHiPs) and Danny Trejo (Heat) starred in it. The other actors do their best, and not all of them are bad, but are limited by the script and relentlessly mediocre production values. I wonder what kind of MST3k episode this would have been?
This one's a keeper for Sidaris fans...
julito3226 June 2009
If you're counting, this is Andy Sidaris film # 5 - but honestly, after the great "Hard Ticket To Hawaii", you can skip the rest and move on to this one. We all know these movies just entertain and you should check the brain at the door, but if you can do that, you will enjoy this film (and if you don't mind a little harmless t+a). The music reminds me of the A-Team and Hunter TV shows we grew up with - you know, the 80's synthesizer music...with all the explosions, it could very well have been a Steven J. Cannell production.
The inclusion of Roberta Vasquez is a good shot to the system and in starring villain roles you've got Erik Estrada and Danny Trejo. That must have been quite a coup for Sidaris and wife at the time.
The inclusion of Roberta Vasquez is a good shot to the system and in starring villain roles you've got Erik Estrada and Danny Trejo. That must have been quite a coup for Sidaris and wife at the time.
Not the best Sidaris, but still good
SykkBoy22 May 2001
Warning: Spoilers
I am a huge fan of Andy Sidaris
His films are simple and to the point. There are no pretensions. He has a basic formula and even the same groups of actors and Sidaris fans expect nothing less. He always has large breasted women, mucho explosions (whether they make sense or not), big guns and former TV actors (this one has Erik Estrada).
The basic plot involves a groups of female agents who also run a plane chartering company in Hawaii. They have to hunt down a gun runner who has ordred hits on a few people and leaves a Jack Of Diamonds as his calling card (hence the character's name Jack Of Diamonds).
They fly to Vegas and also see action in Lake Havasu. A large part of the Vegas scenes were filmed at the just opened (as of filming) Rio Hotel.
SEMI-SPOILERS: I enjoyed the scene of the bazooka shooting in the showroom with no one else in the hotel hearing it The scenes of them running into a Las Vegas hotel with a sh*tload of guns Cynthia Brimhall singing offkey again (she sings in just about every Sidaris film and always justa bit off key) the transvestite hitmen
So, even though this isn't the best Sidaris, it's still excellent for those seeking mindless explosions, motorcycle chases, nudity and transvestite hitmen.
His films are simple and to the point. There are no pretensions. He has a basic formula and even the same groups of actors and Sidaris fans expect nothing less. He always has large breasted women, mucho explosions (whether they make sense or not), big guns and former TV actors (this one has Erik Estrada).
The basic plot involves a groups of female agents who also run a plane chartering company in Hawaii. They have to hunt down a gun runner who has ordred hits on a few people and leaves a Jack Of Diamonds as his calling card (hence the character's name Jack Of Diamonds).
They fly to Vegas and also see action in Lake Havasu. A large part of the Vegas scenes were filmed at the just opened (as of filming) Rio Hotel.
SEMI-SPOILERS: I enjoyed the scene of the bazooka shooting in the showroom with no one else in the hotel hearing it The scenes of them running into a Las Vegas hotel with a sh*tload of guns Cynthia Brimhall singing offkey again (she sings in just about every Sidaris film and always justa bit off key) the transvestite hitmen
So, even though this isn't the best Sidaris, it's still excellent for those seeking mindless explosions, motorcycle chases, nudity and transvestite hitmen.
"Where did you learn to shoot like that?" "Daddy."
Hey_Sweden27 March 2020
Dona Speir and Roberta Vasquez play sexpot federal agents in their first outing for writer / director Andy Sidaris. Donna Hamilton and Nicole Justin must foil the plans of bad guy Degas (Erik Estrada), a gun runner who continually sends hired guns after the two women. But Donna and Nicole have plenty of allies - the standard assortment of movie protagonists who make up for in visual appeal what they lack in acting ability - and firepower at their disposal.
Sidaris is once again following his expected formula to a tee - action, eye candy, exotic settings. You know the drill. Still, fervent Sidaris fans will likely enjoy the various goings-on, especially the way that he will always contrive ways to have the lovely ladies bare as much skin as possible. Fortunately, his sense of cheesy humour is apparent once again as well, and among the highlights along the way are a pair of assassins (Chu Chu Malave, Richard Cansino) who often dress in drag, a grenade sent by remote control boat, and a corpulent, cheerful good guy named Ace (veteran actor Chuck McCann, "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter") whose day job is magician for a night club. He interrogates two inept villains in a way that would make any "bad cop" proud.
Estrada does look like he's relishing this rare chance to be the bad guy, plus it's good to see grizzled tough guy actor Danny Trejo as his primary henchman. Overall, "Guns" is pretty similar to its follow-up, "Do or Die", and features a number of the same cast members, including Malave and Cansino. In the latter movie, they supplied heavy comedy relief. Here, they play it a little more "straight", even as they doll themselves up. Cynthia Brimhall sings two songs quite nicely. Devin DeVasquez ("Society") plays Degas' gal pal who wants to prove her worth as a killer, Phyllis Davis ("Beyond the Valley of the Dolls") is Speirs' mother, and George Cheung (the Vietnamese heavy in "Rambo: First Blood Part II") appears briefly.
Oh, and the story? Dumb as hell, but who ever watches *these* things for the story?
Six out of 10.
Sidaris is once again following his expected formula to a tee - action, eye candy, exotic settings. You know the drill. Still, fervent Sidaris fans will likely enjoy the various goings-on, especially the way that he will always contrive ways to have the lovely ladies bare as much skin as possible. Fortunately, his sense of cheesy humour is apparent once again as well, and among the highlights along the way are a pair of assassins (Chu Chu Malave, Richard Cansino) who often dress in drag, a grenade sent by remote control boat, and a corpulent, cheerful good guy named Ace (veteran actor Chuck McCann, "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter") whose day job is magician for a night club. He interrogates two inept villains in a way that would make any "bad cop" proud.
Estrada does look like he's relishing this rare chance to be the bad guy, plus it's good to see grizzled tough guy actor Danny Trejo as his primary henchman. Overall, "Guns" is pretty similar to its follow-up, "Do or Die", and features a number of the same cast members, including Malave and Cansino. In the latter movie, they supplied heavy comedy relief. Here, they play it a little more "straight", even as they doll themselves up. Cynthia Brimhall sings two songs quite nicely. Devin DeVasquez ("Society") plays Degas' gal pal who wants to prove her worth as a killer, Phyllis Davis ("Beyond the Valley of the Dolls") is Speirs' mother, and George Cheung (the Vietnamese heavy in "Rambo: First Blood Part II") appears briefly.
Oh, and the story? Dumb as hell, but who ever watches *these* things for the story?
Six out of 10.
Awww...Andy, not again!
dfour3419 February 2004
Boy...does this director Sidaris like to blow s**t up-but he just ain't good at it. The special effects look like they were staged in a six year olds sandbox. But you get some sweet eye candy in ex-Playboy Bunnies Dona Speir and Roberta Vasquez-unfortunately, both have no concept to emoting. And, without a doubt, you get (maybe) THE worst line ever uttered in a low-budget actioneer:
As bombs (or whatever) are blowing up around poor Dona she grabs some kind of plastic assault rifle and hollers at her male partner "Don't just do something...stand there!" and proceeds to shoot up the horizon. How can you not love it?
***** stars out of 10-mainly for the luscious Ms. Vasquez. BOING!
As bombs (or whatever) are blowing up around poor Dona she grabs some kind of plastic assault rifle and hollers at her male partner "Don't just do something...stand there!" and proceeds to shoot up the horizon. How can you not love it?
***** stars out of 10-mainly for the luscious Ms. Vasquez. BOING!
Campy adherence to boobs & action formula
lor_30 May 2023
My review was written in November 1990 after watching the movie at a Times Square screening room.
"Guns" is the fifth and campiest film in the "Malibu Express" adventure series. Combo of bullets and bosoms is out of step with current theatrical tastes but shapes up as a potent video title for RCA/Columbia next year.
Erik Estrada joins the cast of regulars as an evil gunrunner using Hawaii (homebase of the Malibu team) to ship modern weaponry from China to South America. He's also carrying out a vendetta against Dona Speir, undercover agent whose cover is an air cargo service based in Molokai.
Years back Estrada killed Speir's dad and is now having her associates murdered, with his trademark Jack of Diamonds playing card left on the corpses. William Bumiller rounds up the usual team of government spooks to protect Speir and put Estrada out of business.
Filmmaker Andy Sidaris includes his usual quota of well-staged explosions and action scenes, including a nifty plane chasing motorcycle sequence.
Though the film is played ostensibly straight, several scenes and the cast of beauties' stilted acting quickly provide unintentional hilarity. By having Estrada's two hitmen henchmen (Chu Chu Malave, Richard Cansino) dressed in drag most of the time, as well as regular Rodrigo Obregon also dressing up in high heels, Sidaris poaches on Pedro Almodovar territory with funny results.
Estrada, comic relief magician/undercover man Chuck McCann and "Vegas" tv veteran Phyllis Davis (as Speir's mother, who is the attorney general of Nevada) give pro performances ut the rest of the cast of mainly Playboy magazine models, pinups and male muscle builders needs intensive remedial training with Stella Adler.
Speir's new teammate Roberta Vasquez (soon to be seen in Clint Eastwood's "The Rookie") is physically adept in the action as well as the frequent disrobing segments. She takes the place of Speir's partner in three previous films, Hope Marie Carlton, but no explanation is offered for the brunette for blonde replacement.
Another statuesque Playboy alumna, Cynthia Brimall, is literally thrust forward in a major role as a Vegas nightclub singer who warbles the title theme. Villainess Devin Devasquez gets some laughs due to pouting and her intentionally trashy outfits courtesy of designer Rina Eliashiv.
"Guns" is the fifth and campiest film in the "Malibu Express" adventure series. Combo of bullets and bosoms is out of step with current theatrical tastes but shapes up as a potent video title for RCA/Columbia next year.
Erik Estrada joins the cast of regulars as an evil gunrunner using Hawaii (homebase of the Malibu team) to ship modern weaponry from China to South America. He's also carrying out a vendetta against Dona Speir, undercover agent whose cover is an air cargo service based in Molokai.
Years back Estrada killed Speir's dad and is now having her associates murdered, with his trademark Jack of Diamonds playing card left on the corpses. William Bumiller rounds up the usual team of government spooks to protect Speir and put Estrada out of business.
Filmmaker Andy Sidaris includes his usual quota of well-staged explosions and action scenes, including a nifty plane chasing motorcycle sequence.
Though the film is played ostensibly straight, several scenes and the cast of beauties' stilted acting quickly provide unintentional hilarity. By having Estrada's two hitmen henchmen (Chu Chu Malave, Richard Cansino) dressed in drag most of the time, as well as regular Rodrigo Obregon also dressing up in high heels, Sidaris poaches on Pedro Almodovar territory with funny results.
Estrada, comic relief magician/undercover man Chuck McCann and "Vegas" tv veteran Phyllis Davis (as Speir's mother, who is the attorney general of Nevada) give pro performances ut the rest of the cast of mainly Playboy magazine models, pinups and male muscle builders needs intensive remedial training with Stella Adler.
Speir's new teammate Roberta Vasquez (soon to be seen in Clint Eastwood's "The Rookie") is physically adept in the action as well as the frequent disrobing segments. She takes the place of Speir's partner in three previous films, Hope Marie Carlton, but no explanation is offered for the brunette for blonde replacement.
Another statuesque Playboy alumna, Cynthia Brimall, is literally thrust forward in a major role as a Vegas nightclub singer who warbles the title theme. Villainess Devin Devasquez gets some laughs due to pouting and her intentionally trashy outfits courtesy of designer Rina Eliashiv.
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