Peter Reviews: Forest Warrior

First off this is a Chuck Norris film.  OK, expectations should have been suitably recalibrated.  You could watch this with your kids and not be worried about excess violence (obviously the bad guys take a whupping but it's pretty much that comedy violence where nobody gets really hurt) and there's no bad language. It could have been one of those Disney films of the 60s.

We open with a scene of an old man telling some kids about a local legend - McKenna - he's waylaid by some mean old cut throats who want to log the mountain where he and his Indian wife live.  Now McKenna don't hold with logging, he loves the mountani for what it is and he's going to protect it from all the bad guys.  Any way, the bad guys get a bit fed up with getting beaten by ole McKenna.  So they shoot him and leave him floating in the river.

He floats down river for two days before he's found by the Spirit Of The Mountain who just happens to be in his bear form.  SOTM summons an eagle and a wolf and the magic of the mountain and he heals McKenna and gives him the power of shapeshifting and healing.  That's a mighty powerful scene.  In return McKenna will protect the mountain for ever.  So the legend says.

Meanwhile back in the current day, Travis Thorne, owner of the local timber mill, has had a brilliant idea.  He could log the mountain and make an absolute fortune ! He plans to banjo the locals by getting a temporary permit and logging as much as he can before the locals get wind of it and get him stopped.

Alas his plans are uncovered by a gang of pesky kids.  The same kids as were getting told the legend of McKenna at the start of the film.

Can you guess what happens ?

It is that simple.  It's Chuck Norris for goodness sake, what did you expect ?  It's his little brother who's directing, little Aaron has not done subtlety. This is a thoroughly enjoyable big pile of rubbish.  The baddies would have struggled against the Dukes Of Hazzard never mind Chuck.  And you do get the feeling that two of Travis Thorne's minions were based on the two baddies in Home Alone.  Lots of comedy mugging going on.

Still, there are highlights - Chuck turns into a bear !  The lumberjacks doing the air guitar rountine with chainsaws !  The traps that the pesky kids set ! Rags ! (he's a cute little bear cub)  A baddie being set upon by a chipmunk !  Chuck as an eagle !  Chuck as a wolf !

There's a real twist at the end that will take you by surprise*.  This film is at 2.3 on IMDb, I feel that's a little harsh - it's easily a 4.  

I'm indebted to this film insofar as it introduced me to Chuck Norris facts.  These are funny little statements about Chuck and apparently there's a Chuck Norris Fact Generator somewhere in/on the internet.  My favourites so far have been : "There are only two things that can cut diamonds; other diamonds and...Chuck Norris" and "There is no evolution, just a list of animals Chuck Norris has allowed to live".  

Quote : Bad Guy : "I wish we could cut down those trees"

* No there isn't.