Bob Chaney IS The Instructor. When he’s not imparting wisdom to his young karate students, he’s trying to avoid conflicts with the rival karate school in town. After his best friend Thumper is severely beaten, The Instructor goes out for revenge.
The Instructor is exactly the kind of Grade Z regional low budget action film I enjoy. It contains equal amounts of awful and awesome, and the results are enormously entertaining more often than not. If you were a fan of movies like Miami Connection and Champagne and Bullets, you should definitely check it out.
Chaney (who looks like Burt Reynolds after receiving a nasty bee sting) is OK in the lead, but it’s the character of Mr. Fender that deserves recognition. He has got to be the strangest supporting character I’ve seen in a long time. He’s a middle-aged dude with Special Needs who picks his nose and looks like Dom DeLuise. When we first see him, he’s running around town in a Ninja outfit trying to beat up little kids. Later, during a big karate tournament, we inexplicably hear his inner monologue as he rationalizes stealing a trophy in the middle of a fight, which leads to tragedy. His inclusion into this tomfoolery certainly adds to the WTF Factor.
The fight scenes are mostly inept, but there are a few legitimately great moments sprinkled about. I liked the early scene where Chaney takes on a Warriors-inspired gang and the part where his female student fends off some rapists works well too. However, it’s the extended chase sequence that concludes the film that is the most memorable (and professional). This scene features everything but the kitchen sink; Corvettes, dirt bikes, chainsaws, waterfalls… You name it, it’s got it. It’s curious that the karate fights may actually be the weakest parts of the movie, which is odd considering it’s called… The Instructor.
This was a “one and done” deal for Chaney and the director Don Bendell, who also played his best friend, Thumper. Neither made any movies before or since. I guess they wanted to quit while they were ahead.
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