Fred Williamson should not be allowed behind a camera. While I find his classic blaxploitation films to be some of the finest of its genre, this latter one was simply Godawful. Acting, storyline, title ("Soda Cracker" when aired on cable),you name it. I've never seen as many inconsistent emotions to scenes than this film. The continuity was all over the place. It was unintentionally hilarious at times. The only positives that I can see: eye candy provided by Maud Adams & Phyllis Hyman. Albeit, Fred spent so much time on one scene with singer Hyman that it could have been released as a concert film. LOL! Pass on this, and stick to any of his classic ones from the 70s.

The Kill Reflex (1989) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a Chicago detective with a new partner because his long time partner was murdered. Together they'll need to hunt down why his partner's death seems to be getting swept under the carpet.

This movie is directed by and stars Fred Williamson (Adios Amigo) and also stars Maud Adams (Octopussy),Bo Svenson (Kill Bill),Julie Gregg (The Godfather) and Frank Pesce (Beverly Hills Cop).

The storyline for this picture is very straight forward and fairly bland. The lines are corny but will give you a few chuckles here and there. The action scenes are fairly mediocre and not as abundant as you'd expect. The conclusion shootout and action sequence is probably the best part of the movie.

Overall this is a bad movie added to the genre without enough redeeming aspects to recommend watching it. I'd score this a 2/10 and recommend skipping it.

"When the system fails...you make your own justice." Based on the novel "The Soda Cracker" by Jaron Summers, "The Kill Reflex" stars fan favorite Fred Willamson as title character Detective Soda Cracker, or "Soda" for short. When his partner Phil Gillespe is mysteriously killed by a sniper, Soda runs through all of Chicago trying to get answers, whether that means infiltrating the criminal underworld or discovering corruption in his own department.

Soda suspects his old nemesis Ivan Moss (Svenson) of being behind it all. Meanwhile, Soda develops a relationship with fellow detective Crystal Tarver (Adams) and also spends time with Phil's 14-year old son, Cameron. Will Soda fizzle in his investigation or will he be snappy and refreshing in his take on crime? The original title of this movie is "Soda Cracker". The title "The Kill Reflex" is one of those superimposed video titles. However, before it comes on, the credit before it is "Fred Williamson is..." "Fred Williamson is the Kill Reflex"? That doesn't make any sense. They didn't bother to change it. The end credits say "Soda Cracker" and they didn't change that either.

But that aside, Williamson brings his usual energy and likability to the project. Without Fred, it would've been dire. Like The Big Score (1983),there is an extended nightclub\singing sequence and if you are familiar with Williamson's other cop movies, this one fits right in.

It is humorous when Soda takes Cameron, who is this little white kid, to a shooting range and we don't know who the kid is at first. Soda refers to all criminals and baddies as "pukes". Ivan Moss is one of the worst pukes of the bunch. He is a drug dealer, and when he is not wearing a full Olympic track suit with sandals or numerous different Cosby Sweaters, he is wearing a kimono. Maybe Svenson got it when he filmed White Phantom (1987).

Moss, as an evildoer, has an Ace up his sleeve. His brother Ace (D.R. Jones). He is a big lummox and is the muscle for Moss's organization. He is supposedly bigger in size than Soda and besides this, Ivan Moss has the most deadly weapon of all time: two remote-control toy helicopters. He must have seen those late night commercials for "Air Hogs" because he sends them after Soda with a vengeance. Soda even has a Sergio Leone-style showdown with one of them.

In other movie references, Soda's partner Tarver shoots a VHS copy of Evil Dead II (1987) with a gun.

When Soda is finally closing in on Ivan, one of the baddies says: "Now you got Soda on your ass!" How did they say that with a straight face? Also during the climax, there is a funny "swatting" noise on the soundtrack. Watch out for it.

If you don't love Fred Williamson, you are a bad American and his personality carries "The Kill Reflex".

Beware the remote-control helicopters! For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com