My Cultural Diet

After thoroughly enjoying Undefeatable, I was compelled to watch another Godfrey Ho/Cynthia Rothrock collaboration. Released the year before Undefeatable, Honor and Glory is cut from the same B-movie cloth. That’s undoubtedly due to the fact that both movies were produced by Tai Yim, a real-life kung fu grandmaster and martial arts instructor, and star several of his students. Interestingly, Rothrock is barely in the movie despite getting top billing. (Apparently, she filmed all of her scenes in one week.) Most of Honor and Glory is focused on her sister, a journalist (Donna Jason) investigating a slimy businessman named Jason Slade (John Miller) who’s trying to sell stolen nuclear weaponry to the Middle East. Naturally, it’s the sort of investigation where kung fu comes in handy because in the movie’s world, everyone knows kung fu. Honor and Glory is a prime example of ’90s martial arts cinema that probably wouldn’t even rate as “direct to video,” but its wooden performances, awkward dialog, and lower-than-low-budget production values nevertheless possess an earnestness that’s quite charming. That said, it’s not as enjoyable as Undefeatable. Although Miller certainly hams it up as Slade, dropping such unforgettable lines as “Do you know a nuclear trigger from a Bulgarian dildo?” and “No woman can share my bed and not be mine for life,” Honor and Glory lacks the unhinged energy (i.e., a deranged serial killer with serious mommy issues) that truly confirmed Undefeatable’s cult status. (Note: In keeping with his infamous “cut and paste” approach to filmmaking, Godfrey Ho re-used footage from Honor and Glory for 1993’s Angel the Kickboxer.)

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