Movie Review: Forest Warrior

Forest Warrior

LOT Productions, Nu Image Films, USA, 1996.

If you go out in the woods today. You're sure of a big surprise!

Clovis Madison (Roscoe Lee Browne) tells kids a story about Jebediah McKenna, the protector of the forest. (For some reason the character's name in DVD back cover is John McKenna.) In 1875 McKenna (Chuck Norris) is trying to get medicine for her sick Indian wife. Evil lumberjacks are no match for McKenna's martial arts skills so the cowards shoot him. Forest spirit Bear finds him. Bear, Wolf and Eagle give him their powers. Now McKenna is shapeshifting forest spirit.

Jebediah McKenna

Clovis

Hey, in later Nu Image Films production "Skeleton Man" the same clips of flying eagle are used!

Naughty lumber magnate Travis Thorne (Terry Kiser) wants to cut down the ancient trees on the mountains. The kids have a club named "Lords of the Tanglewood." Austene (Megan Paul) has a drunk father Arlen (Michael Beck). Logan (Josh Wolford)  and Brian (Jordan Brower) are brothers. The other boys are Lewis (Michael Friedman) and Justin (Trenton Knight).

Travis Thorne

Austene

Logan, Justin, Lewis and Brian

Gas station attendant Barney looks familiar. It's Buck alright!

George 'Buck' Flower as Barney

Austene prays the mountain for help for his father. McKenna hears the wish and decides to help the kids. Next day the kids go to their forest cabin. There they meet bear cub Rags. The evil lumberjacks want to kill the bear so McKenna intervenes and gives them knuckle sandwiches.

Bear cub Rags

The beaten lumberjacks tell Travis about the kid's tree house. Travis remembers his happy childhood playing in the forest. The he snaps back and remembers that he is a greedy businessman and orders Williams (John Dennis Johnston) to destroy the kids' tree house. The tree house blows up while Austene is nearby. KcKenna saves Austene using forest magic.

The kids make "Home Alone" (or "Ernest Goes To Camp") style traps to stop the forest from being destroyed. They also play Rock'n Roll music that makes the lumberjacks dance and play air guitar with chainsaw (?) Right. McKenna helps when the going gets tough. Also Arlen sobers up and finds reason to live again.

This is family film with ecological message and goofy slapstick fights. Chuck Norris is not often seen in a family film. The fights are comical and the bad guys make funny faces when they are hurt, luckily they have the durability of cartoon characters. This is quite standard 1990s kids' film. and not one of Chuck's best films but has some fun moments. Also thecharacter of Roscoe Lee Browne brings some dignity.

Chuck Norris is so tough that he can stop chainsaw with his bare hands, not even Okami Itto could pull this off. Don't try this at home!

Rating: Average

Starring: Chuck Norris, Terry Kiser, Max Gail, Roscoe Lee Browne, Trenton Knight, Megan Paul, Josh Wolford, Jordan Brower, Michael Friedman, William Sanderson, Dennis Paladino, John Dennis Johnston, Elya Baskin, Loretta Swit, Michael Beck, Wil Shriner, Barbara Niven, George 'Buck' Flower, Carey Scott, Chris Doyle, Jimmy Ortega, Adam Berg, Jolene Kay, A.J. Howard, Dave Mallow

Director: Aaron Norris