1st Testament:CIA Vengeance

1st Testament CIA Vengeance - Trailer 2009

2009-05-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

Young Man Kang Films
http://www.youngmankang.com

"Fascinating B-Grade hybrid certain to enthrall exploitation film fans
everywhere!"
-Box Office Magazine-

CIA Agent Phillip is having doubts about his service to his country and his assignments to kill the very people he once befriended. His boss tells him to do his job and not question orders, but Phillip has made his decision and refuses to kill anymore. To save his life his boss takes him out the field and re-assigns him to the easy job of training a South Korean female spy to assassinate the leader of North Korea. But the female is not who is appear to be, Phillip is betrayed by his own people and everyone is now a target.

WINNER
SPECIAL B-MOVIE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
3 NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2002 B-MOVIE
FILM FESTIVAL

BEST B-MOVIE SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Kimmarie Johnson
BEST B-MOVIE ACTION SEQUENCES
BEST B-MOVIE EDITING

Starring

Ron Becks
Luciano Saber
Soo J. Kim
Renata Florin
Hiromi Nishiyama
Jong O. Chung
Iva Hasperger
Kimmarie Johnson
Gina Hiraizumi
Fabrice Uzan
Lynne Langdon
Category: Entertainment

Film Threat review '1st Testament:CIA Vengeance'

2005-01-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

Film Threat
filmthreat.com

1st Testament:CIA Vengeance

2001, Un-rated, 90min, FilmGod Productons & Dearfilm
by Phil Hall
Oct, 15, 2001

Korean-born filmmaker Young Man Kang, who is best known for spending exactly $980 to create the charming romantic feature "Cupid's Mistake," has returned with a somewhat larger budget and a more ambitious project: a nifty little spy thriller entitled "1st Testament: CIA Vengeance."

The film begins with one of the most unusual montage sequences devised, following three highly unlikely characters with different goals. First, a knockout blonde in a too-tight red dress discovers her car is out of gas and calls on a friend--a knockout blonde in a too-tight blue dress--to give her a ride. Elsewhere, a dapper African-American gent who is handed an envelope by a mysterious person quickly reads its contents, and then burns the paperwork. Meanwhile, a bald man is vigorously shampooing what's left of his hair in a hot shower while singing out loud. Incredibly, these diverse characters wind up together within the course of a few minutes...but explaining the circumstances of their reunion and the results of their sharing the same space would give away the fun of this movie.

Indeed, "1st Testament: CIA Vengeance" is fueled with an infectious sense of fun that recalls the glory days of low-rent/high-entertainment B-Movies and the page-turning excitement of classic pulp paperback novels. The plot is quite a hoot, with a veteran CIA agent who gets tired of gunning down bad guys and receives a new assignment to train a glamourous South Korean operative to assassinate the leader of North Korea. Of course, the South Korean spy is not who she seems to be and the CIA agent discovers himself on the wrong end of a spook-factory betrayal.

Much of the success with "1st Testament: CIA Vengeance" is derived from the wonderful cast, leading off with Ron Becks as the CIA agent in the center of the action. Becks, who also wrote the screenplay, creates a genuine action character who is mercifully free of the endless wisecracking and stunt-excessive shenanigans generally associated with spy thrillers. Offering a surplus of world-weariness with a fragrant trace of cynicism, Becks' character is a mature gentleman who has seen too much, regrets too much, and rues the loss of humanity which his job has robbed him. He is a professional, to be sure, yet his spy work has left him near-empty, with only a residue of self-respect keeping him free from emotional sterility. It is a fascinating character and a wonderful performance, a major kudo to Becks' talent as a writer and actor.

However, it is very difficult to keep focused on Becks in a film which is literally overflowing with beautiful women. I cannot recall any film which has brought together so many knockout gorgeous ladies together...it seems as if each new scene brings yet another hot babe in front of the camera. With the extraordinary beauty of Soo J. Kim as the South Korean operative, Iva Hasperger and Lynne Langdon as the aforementioned blondes with the out-of-gas car, Kimmarie Johnson as a disillusioned nightclub singer, Jasmine Jong Ok Kang as the grieving (yet gorgeous) widow of an assassinated operative, and Gina Hiaizumi as a stripper on the CIA payroll (and that's just for starters!), this film will send die-hard girl-watchers into a cold shower to calm down. It is a shame that casting agents don't receive Oscars...whoever cast this film would be guaranteed the golden statuette.

"1st Testament: CIA Vengeance" is a pure energy film kick which offers plenty of diversion, amusement and style. The film is also the first part of a planned trilogy, and parts two and three cannot come soon enough.

Box Office Magazine review 1st Testament: CIA Vengeance

2005-01-02T13:02:00.000-08:00

Box Office Magazine
1st Testament: CIA Vengeance

Ron Becks, Luciano Saber, Soo J. Kim, Kimmarie Johnson, Renatta Mitchell. Directed by Young Man Kang. Written by Ron Becks. Produced by Young Man Kang. Released by Elliptic Entertainment. 2003. 78 minutes. Not rated.

Actor Ron Becks acted as star and writer of this fascinating B-grade hybrid certain to enthrall exploitation film fans everywhere. A spy thriller/actioner about a CIA agent who wants out, but instead gets reassigned to train a deadly South Korean female assassin with the aim of killing North Korea's Kim Jong-Il. Ripped from the headlines? Not exactly, but for people who recall the glory days of such Cold War exploitation films back in the '80s, this is a fun throwback. It's also a throwback to the days when black cinema and Asian cinema flirted closely with each other -- long before Jet Li and DMX were making movies together. Produced and directed by South Korean filmmaker Young Man Kang, "1st Testament" is supposed to be the first of a trilogy -- and while its credentials are definitely on the B-level, it has enough natural verve and tongue-in-cheek humor to suggest that more outings are not out of the question.

Extras include a commentary track, trailers and stills.-By Wade Major

Collector Rating: STRICTLY FOR FANS
Posted by: Wade Major on August 16, 2003 10:49 PM