By way of introduction, I should say up front that I have enjoyed all sorts of silly b-movies that Sybil Danning appeared in. And b-movies in general. Even the 'so bad they're good' ones, which can provide some admittedly snarky entertainment. I'm also certainly partial to those released in the 1980's. Hey, I own a LOT of Fred Olen Ray titles AND the 4k blu ray of Howling 2: Your Sister Is A Werewolf (fans of the b-movie genre will know what I'm getting at with those two references)!
Can't say as I found much of anything - even by way of cinematic cheese or Fool's Gold - to keep me engaged with L. A. Bounty, however.
I was all in for the first ten minutes or so. The flick opened up with a couple of laughably over-the-top scenes which set up the plot and the two main characters. So, I settled in for what I hoped would be a silly direct to home video late 1980's flick. I had no recollections of having seen this movie back in the day and figured with Danning and Wings Hauser in the cast it'd be good for a few giggles.
After the opening scenes, though, L. A. Bounty quickly ground to a halt.
From what has been reported about the movie in terms of a backstory, the genesis of L. A. Bounty began in 1984 when Danning and her then-manager came up with the idea of a film that would sort of copy the Charles Bronson/Dirty Harry template of a cop seeking vengeance, with Danning in the cop role. Basically, a vehicle for Danning to transition into roles that didn't involve her getting disrobed or emphasize her body, two features which were basically her calling cards in terms of movie roles up to that point. After 4 years in the idea stage and 18 months of stop and start production, L. A. Bounty emerged.
I suppose it may have been a fundamental mistake from the start for Danning to want to star in a movie that didn't involve her getting naked and relied on her acting. Mostly because, well, to be frank it wasn't her acting skills that made her a b-movie Queen in the first place. And L. A. Bounty with its $2 million USD budget was never going to be anything other than a b-movie.
However, that choice to keep Danning fully clothed didn't necessarily doom the movie from being entertaining. What needed to happen was shift the focus from the nudity to the stunts and violence. Sort of amp up the shootouts, car crashes, fights and gore.
Unfortunately, L. A. Bounty didn't do much by way of anything in terms of the action to offset Danning's choice to stay robed. A decent opening salvo and a decent last 5 minutes. In between were about 70 minutes stocked full of film flab. Lots of shots of Danning sitting around or walking around or driving around although not speaking much - she says maybe 50 words in the whole movie, in trying to keep with that Charles Bronson/Clint Eastwood dialogue minimalism - interspersed with other shots of other characters sitting around or walking around or driving around. The other characters unlike Danning DO have speaking lines, but the script is routine and uninteresting.
The concluding scenes, as I said, were okay but after 70 minutes of boredom the net effect of the ending didn't provide me with much other than a sense of relief as a viewer that the movie was over. Even at only an 85-minute running time, L. A. Bounty is a slog to get through.
About the only saving grace is the participation of Wings Hauser as the arch villain. He gets a scene in the beginning, a couple of scenes in the middle and one in the end. All of which he clearly enjoys hamming it up, going over the top in that inimitable Hauser way re: gleefully violently maniacal.
So, three out of ten stars for L. A. Bounty, solely for Wings Hauser. Like I said, I had enjoyed a lot of other things Danning and Hauser had done and own more than a few of their movies in my home collection. Thus, recently when I found out about L. A. Bounty, I was wondering why I hadn't heard about the title before. Like, how could I have missed THIS one? Well, I watched it and found out why. Not saying it's the worst cheaply made b-movie I've ever seen or anything along those lines, but just something that is by and large going through the motions in a lazy way.
