MESSENGER OF DEATH (1988) and KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS (1989)
by Shawn Gordon
The 1980s were a decade dominated by macho action movies. Stars like Chuck Norris, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean-Claude Van Damme were household names, pumping out action flicks for small independent companies like Cannon Pictures. However, Cannon’s first action star was an aging tough guy who had made memorable action pictures for the big studios in the previous decades. Charles Bronson still carried the great strength that had made him one of the most popular stars of his time and helped turn Cannon into the premiere name for action in the 80s. By the end of the decade, though, Bronson was in his mid-sixties and starting to appear as the old guard. Still, he carried enough might to make a movie a year for the Cannon Group, films which were enormously popular on VHS and in foreign markets.
Working with producer Pancho Kohner, director J. Lee Thompson and studio moguls Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, Bronson ended his run at the studio in the late 1980s with Messenger of Death (1988) and Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989). Two very different movies that were both tailor-made for the talents of the aging screen legend. Messenger marked a change of pace for Bronson, not an urban thriller seeing Bronson as a cop or vigilante, but as an aging newspaper reporter who stumbles across a big story and a huge conspiracy.
Kinjite found the screen tough guy in more familiar territory as a hardened cop with a short temper, meant to emulate the popular Dirty Harry (1971–1988) series which starred Bronson’s contemporary Clint Eastwood.
In Messenger, Bronson stars as Garret Smith, a crime reporter for the Denver Tribune, who while covering the massacre of a Mormon family finds himself drawn into the mystery. Believing religious motives are behind the heinous crime, Garret finds his story leading in different directions with the Mormon elders at the center.
Messenger of Death unfortunately doesn’t live up to its potential, with an interesting story and a chance to see Bronson stretching his acting muscles for the first time in a while. Messenger moves at a lumbering pace, a thriller that fails to thrill, with only the magnetism of Bronson to carry it. The aging tough guy does his best, but he, too, seems bored by the material giving one of his most sedated performances.
What could have been a new leaf for the aging star to turn over proved to be his biggest misfire for the Cannon Group. Director Thompson became ill during the shoot and had to turn the film over to his second unit director Robert C. Ortwin. This may explain why the movie lacks Thompson’s usual flair for suspense. Messenger is the rarest of things in Bronson’s career: a dull movie.
By the time Kinjite rolled around, Bronson was sixty-seven years of age, but far from being finished. The movie would mark his last film for Golan and Globus, as they were having financial troubles that would soon see Menahem Golan leaving the company he helped build. Kinjite would also be the last of nine collaborations between Thompson and Bronson, bringing a close to a memorable director-star team.
Starring as an LAPD vice-squad detective, Bronson brought all his many years to his portrayal of Lt. Crowe. Older, resolute and determined, but never subdued, Crowe is unwavering in his mission to bring down sleazy pimp Duke (Juan Fernandez), who preys upon teenage girls. As Crowe also has a teenage daughter (Amy Hathaway), he feels sympathetic towards Duke’s naive victims. Crowe also finds himself investigating the kidnapping of a Japanese businessman’s (James Pax) teenage daughter (Marion Kodama) at first unaware that the two cases are connected.
Appearing in full-blown bad ass cop mode, Kinjite gave the now elderly action star a lot of well staged physically demanding violent action scenes. Never looking like a senior citizen, Bronson remained fully in control for his last big screen go around of the decade. With Kinjite, Bronson said goodbye to many collaborators, a decade, and a genre that had all been good to him.
Feeling his age, Bronson was ready to move on. His next film was the understated Indie family drama for Sean Penn, The Indian Runner (1991).
As with most Olive releases these discs come without any special features.
For those who are less familiar with Bronson, many of his best films have been appearing on Blu-ray lately and are well worth checking out.
Messenger Of Death and Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects are both available now as separate Blu-ray releases from Olive Films.
