Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon (2004)

Made in the Jade

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon on DVD

Apparently shot on location in Guam, this snappy "B" movie has all the ingredients for a good time. Max Havoc (Mickey Hardt) was once a kickboxer until he killed a man in the ring; now he's a photographer. Once in Guam, he meets two sexy sisters, Jane Goody (model Joanna Krupa) and Christy (Tawny Sablan). Jane has inadvertently acquired a priceless jade dragon and has attracted the attention of a group of gangsters. Their leader (David Carradine) murmurs into the phone a lot, twirls cigars in his fingers and wears a bulky ring. If that's not enough, Richard Roundtree and Carmen Electra are also on board, as well as blond Nikki Ziering and the creepy-looking marital artist Arnold Chon. Director Albert Pyun (Cyborg, Ticker, etc.) tends to let the action drag with his gratuitous insert shots of beautiful Guam. He also doesn't care much for performances, but even the heavily accented Hardt and the stiff Krupa have a certain chemistry together, and martial artist Jing Li makes a dazzling villainess. Ultimately, the overall ridiculousness of the film charmed me. (Despite the abundant cast of beauties, the film features no nudity.)

DVD Details: The DVD from Westlake Entertainment and Rigel Entertainment comes with photo galleries, biographies and filmographies, a trailer and interviews. On the DVD-Rom, there is a 2007 calendar featuring the girls of Max Havoc. A sequel is already in the can.

Starring: Mickey Hardt, David Carradine, Joanna Krupa, Richard Roundtree, Tawny Sablan, Carmen Electra, Arnold Chon, Jing Li, Nikki Ziering, Vincent Klyn, Danielle Burgio, Paul Martinez, Marie Matiko, Johnny Nguyen, J.J. Perry, Scott L. Schwartz, Jamie Marie Spears, Diego Wallraff, Tina Warn, Fat Joe
Written by: Anton Diether, Irina Diether
Directed by: Albert Pyun
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 90 minutes
Date: March 21, 2007