This film begins in New York with a prize of $400,000 being promised to the winner of a competition between a martial arts dojo from California against one from New York. Although the organizer of the event, "Frank Rossi" (Peter Dane) has secretly colluded with a local mobster named "Gabe Mario" (Tom Signorelli) to fix the fight, they are thwarted in their effort when the California dojo manages to prevail against the odds. Not only that, but while the main fight is taking place, Rossi becomes alarmed to discover that the sensei of the California dojo "Chuck Wells" (Jim Kelly) has found out what is going on. So to remedy that problem he sends some thugs to make sure he doesn't tell anyone. One thing leads to another and Chuck ends up being shot. Not long afterward, his good friend "Ralph Dart" (Richard Roundtree) becomes concerned about his absence and takes it upon himself to not only find Chuck but also tries to collect the prize money as well. However, after being severely beaten up for his efforts, he sends for two friends from Los Angeles known simply as "Cal" (Fred Williamson) and "J" (Jim Brown) to help him out-and they are more than willing to take on anybody who gets in their way. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film seemed to rely more on the "star power" of the four main actors than anything else. As a result, the plot seemed to be a secondary consideration. To that effect, unless the viewer is in awe of the cast, there really wasn't much to be impressed about and I have rated this film accordingly. Slightly below average.
Review of One Down, Two to go
