"I am going to get a chess set out of the bones of his skull." A priceless moment of dialogue from what is for the most part a largely worthless production, ROOTS OF EVIL stands true as the first (and perhaps only) German-made martial arts epic in the world. Filmed in Madrid with a cast of supporting Spanish actors, this marks the one and only major starring role for German folk singing legend Christian Anders, who unsurprisingly penned the film's music and script as well as starring and co-directing. Anders is a Bruce Lee-wannabe film star whose idea of acting is to copy the acting and style of his hero as closely as possible. Sadly, he lacks both the charisma and skill of Lee, instead coming across as a slightly pathetic but nonetheless earnest fighter who attempts to carry the film on his wooden shoulders. It doesn't work, but the effect can be hilarious.
The plot is clichéd and tired from the very beginning. First off we see Anders training in his own fight club, where we see what a nice guy he is by being friendly to his female secretary and helping out those who are training. Soon enough a dwarf, Van Bullock, arrives in the neighbourhood - a red carpet is thrown from his car - and is dismayed to see a rival karate school in the area where he himself had planned to set up shop. Instead of choosing another location like 99% of people would, he instead tries to get Anders to move elsewhere. When his bribes and offers of power fail, Van Bullock tries harder tactics like sending a squad of goons to the local graveyard where Anders is paying his respects to his deceased teacher.
After repeatedly failing, he ends up planting drugs in Anders' coat and calling in the cops. Anders is imprisoned in jail indefinitely. At this point the mildly watchable film gives up the ghost completely with a total lack of plot or action for approximately half an hour. Finally, Anders learns that Van Bullock is the one responsible for his incarceration and the death of a girlfriend, so he breaks out of jail (in a scene that would impressive even John Rambo) and interrupts Van Bullock's orgy at his country mansion. The police arrive and force Anders to flee wounded into the woods, where Van Bullock and his bodyguard follow to finish him off.
The film is poorly-plotted and the story is pretty uninteresting, offering no attempts at humour to liven the leaden dialogue. The action sequences in themselves aren't bad; obviously the fighters aren't as skilled as they would be in eastern productions, but they move along nicely and at least provide something worth watching. Viewers hoping for sex and violence will be sadly let down by this film's politically-correct attitude. There's an orgy, yes, but it has to be the tamest orgy ever filmed - one woman struggles to keep her flimsy dress on throughout and the scantily-clad female cast members aren't really that appealing. The action is virtually bloodless, and the only nasty bit is a double leg-breaking at the climax. One good stunt involves Anders being thrown through a first-floor window and rolling over the roof of a car, a surprisingly well-edited and staged sequence in an otherwise below average production.
Scenes of Anders training hard dressed in only his underwear are repulsive and much of the film's entertainment value comes from overacting dwarf actor Deep Roy, nowadays an established player in Hollywood. Check out the hilarious climax in which he is tossed unceremoniously into a river by our erstwhile hero! ROOTS OF EVIL has promise and is occasionally hilarious in a so-bad-it's-good way, but long stretches of nothingness test the patience and make it sometimes a chore to sit through.
The plot is clichéd and tired from the very beginning. First off we see Anders training in his own fight club, where we see what a nice guy he is by being friendly to his female secretary and helping out those who are training. Soon enough a dwarf, Van Bullock, arrives in the neighbourhood - a red carpet is thrown from his car - and is dismayed to see a rival karate school in the area where he himself had planned to set up shop. Instead of choosing another location like 99% of people would, he instead tries to get Anders to move elsewhere. When his bribes and offers of power fail, Van Bullock tries harder tactics like sending a squad of goons to the local graveyard where Anders is paying his respects to his deceased teacher.
After repeatedly failing, he ends up planting drugs in Anders' coat and calling in the cops. Anders is imprisoned in jail indefinitely. At this point the mildly watchable film gives up the ghost completely with a total lack of plot or action for approximately half an hour. Finally, Anders learns that Van Bullock is the one responsible for his incarceration and the death of a girlfriend, so he breaks out of jail (in a scene that would impressive even John Rambo) and interrupts Van Bullock's orgy at his country mansion. The police arrive and force Anders to flee wounded into the woods, where Van Bullock and his bodyguard follow to finish him off.
The film is poorly-plotted and the story is pretty uninteresting, offering no attempts at humour to liven the leaden dialogue. The action sequences in themselves aren't bad; obviously the fighters aren't as skilled as they would be in eastern productions, but they move along nicely and at least provide something worth watching. Viewers hoping for sex and violence will be sadly let down by this film's politically-correct attitude. There's an orgy, yes, but it has to be the tamest orgy ever filmed - one woman struggles to keep her flimsy dress on throughout and the scantily-clad female cast members aren't really that appealing. The action is virtually bloodless, and the only nasty bit is a double leg-breaking at the climax. One good stunt involves Anders being thrown through a first-floor window and rolling over the roof of a car, a surprisingly well-edited and staged sequence in an otherwise below average production.
Scenes of Anders training hard dressed in only his underwear are repulsive and much of the film's entertainment value comes from overacting dwarf actor Deep Roy, nowadays an established player in Hollywood. Check out the hilarious climax in which he is tossed unceremoniously into a river by our erstwhile hero! ROOTS OF EVIL has promise and is occasionally hilarious in a so-bad-it's-good way, but long stretches of nothingness test the patience and make it sometimes a chore to sit through.
