Force: Five Blu-ray Review

MVD Rewind

Blu-ray Release: February 24, 2026

Video: 1.85:1/1080p/Color

Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Mono

Subtitles: English SDH

Run Time: 96:37

Director: Robert Clouse

A powerful and dangerous cult, hidden on a remote island fortress, has brainwashed the daughter of a U.S. senator. With local authorities powerless and time running out, the government turns to a highly specialized team of martial arts experts known as 'Force: Five.' Led by seasoned agent Jim Martin (Joe Lewis), the team includes five elite fighters, each with unique combat skills – from unarmed street-fighting and karate to high-impact kickboxing. Their mission: infiltrate the island compound, uncover the secrets of the cult's charismatic and manipulative leader, and rescue the senator's daughter before she becomes permanently indoctrinated--or worse. (From MVD’s official synopsis)

Surely, on the list of underrated cult filmmakers, Robert Clouse ranks highly. His work with Bruce Lee alone – including directing Lee’s Hollywood debut, Enter the Dragon (1973), and completing Game of Death (1978) after Lee’s death – is enough to get him into the history books, but he also made Jim Kelly’s first star vehicle, Black Belt Jones (1974), attempted to introduce Jackie Chan and Cynthia Rothrock to American audiences via The Big Brawl (1980) and China O’Brien (1990), and tried to make Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas a star with the incomparably weird Gymkata (1985).

Between The Big Brawl and the giant killer rat movie Deadly Eyes (famous for the fact that the rats were played by dachshunds in cute little costumes, 1982), Clouse assembled a group of martial artists to make Force: Five (1981). Technically a pseudo-remake of Oscar Williams’ Hot Potato (1976) – itself a pseudo-sequel to Black Belt Jones – Force: Five is a classic Dirty Dozen style men-on-a-mission movie, though the B-movie budget more than halves the size of the ensemble.

Instead of infiltrating and blowing up an opposing army, the force of five is set against a secretive cult, located in Latin America, clearly inspired by Jim Jones and the People’s Temple fiasco that had occurred only four years before the film’s release, right down to the fact that a sitting United States senator is sent to investigate and put in danger (actor Peter MacLean even bears an obvious resemblance to Leo Ryan). Underground conspiracies and secretive sects are actually a common theme throughout Clouse’s filmography, including Enter the Dragons’ secretive deathmatches, Gymkata’s group of human sport hunters, and Darker Than Amber’s (1970) prostitution ring.

None of Clouse’s cast had the lasting stardom of Charles Bronson or Lee Marvin, but they were real, accomplished martial artists, including kickboxing legend Joe Lewis (the inspiration behind Street Fighter’s Ken), Hapkido co-founder Han Bong-soo, Muay Thai champion Benny Urquidez (Patrick Swayze’s trainer on Roadhouse), and kempo karate sensei Sonny Barnes. The member with the broadest film portfolio is Australian jiu-jitsu star Richard Norton, who had already established himself as an industry bodyguard, white henchmen regular in Hong Kong films, and, eventually, a Hollywood stunt coordinator. I don’t believe the group’s sole female mercenary, Pam Huntington, had any extensive fight training, but she’s one of the troupe’s better actors and, along with Lewis, helps hold the film together.

Force: Five pales in comparison to the high-profile Hong Kong titles of the era, at least as a martial arts showcase. This is, in part, an issue of real martial arts not being inherently cinematic, but there’s also a lethargic TV pilot vibe that extends to all of the lackluster stunts and action set-pieces (surprisingly, only one of the writers, George Goldsmith, went on to work in television). Also frustrating is Clouse’s continuous promise of graphic violence that he never really delivers upon. A little over-the-top bloodshed can usually liven up a subpar adventure flick (the R-rating is the result of a couple of f-bombs, a couple of bare breasts, and a couple of interrogation scenes).

What it lacks in excitement, Force: Five tends to make up for with an amiable sense of humor and oodles of swagger. There are some good gags throughout – such as the sequence where our heroes try to spring a colleague from prison, only to discover that he’s quite happy in his cushy cell with its comfy furniture and big screen TV – and the somewhat inexperienced cast is really likeable. I assume that its enduring cult reputation depends more on its scrappiness and strange touches, like a concrete maze patrolled by a wholly unthreatening bull (I guess this is a minotaur reference?), than its actual quality. It’s also hard not to be a little nostalgic for this specific kind of pre-STV, early ‘80s B-movie action.

Unrelated to the film itself, but still one of my favorite dumb factoids: the poster art (which is reused for the Blu-ray and on this page) depicts the five leads framed by a rising fist. The exact same fist was stolen for the poster art of Lucio Fulci & Bruno Mattei’s Zombi 3 (1988), along with Freddy Krueger’s eyes from the poster for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). Funnily enough, actress Amanda Wyss, appearing here in only her second role, played Freddy’s first on-screen victim, Tina Gray, in Wes Craven’s original A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).

Video

Force: Five gained its cult following on VHS from Media Entertainment and MVD has recreated that tape’s cover art for their Rewind Collection Blu-ray. The first US DVD came from Scorpion Releasing in 2014. Scorpion and Screen Archives then teamed up for a limited edition, barebones US Blu-ray in 2016 (now OOP) and German company Digidreams released a special edition BD the same year. There’s no information about MVD’s transfer, so I’m going to assume that it uses a similar, if not the same source as the Scorpion BD and HD streaming versions.

The 1080p, 1.85:1 transfer definitely shows its age. Though actual print damage is limited to flecks, dots, and a handful of minor tears, grain levels can appear a bit noisy and discolored. Overall texture and detail is on the softer side, though a lot of this is due to cinematographer Gil Hubbs’ plush focus. Busy wide-angle shots are neatly delineated without any major edge haloes. Black levels are consistent and most of the blooming whites appear to be part of Hubbs’ design. 

Audio

Force: Five is presented in its original English mono and uncompressed LPCM sound. This is a thin mix, as expected, though one without any major distortion or crackle problems. Some of the dialogue has a slightly muffled quality, but aurally busy scenes exhibit plenty of depth when needed. I said that the film feels like it was made-for-TV and I mostly meant that as derogatory, but William Goldstein’s score is a fun throwback to small screen action and drama of the late ‘70s.  

Extras

• Archival interview with Joe Lewis (50:08, SD) – A surprisingly raw, video-taped discussion with the actor/champion, who discusses his relationship with Bruce Lee, the controversy of Lee’s willingness to teach non-Chinese martial artists, his personal training (with Lee and otherwise), and his general philosophy of martial arts.

• Archival interview with Benny Urdiquez (8:59, SD) – “The Jet” gives a fist wrapping demonstration, talks about the sport of kick boxing, and recalls his own career.

• Benny Urdiquez Fight (6:41, SD) – A vintage German featurette on Urdiquez.

• Theatrical trailer

• MVD Rewind trailer gallery: Knock Off, Lionheart, and Double Impact

The images on this page are taken from the Blu-ray and sized for the page. Larger versions can be viewed by clicking the images. Note that there will be some JPG compression.