The Swordsman is not a film about Lorenzo Lamas's many relationships with women in Hollywood, but, rather, is about how he's the reincarnation of Alexander the Great, and he subconsciously wants his sword. How does he get it? By entering the seedy world of underground fencing. There he encounters Michael Champion, a man made for this kind of baddie. Could they have met sometime in the past? In addition to this, Lamas is working with Claire Stansfield, who's an archaeologist and museum curator who also believes in reincarnation. Get your eye protection ready when these loose ends come together.
So you've read that synopsis, and now you're curious how the film was. I get it. As you can imagine, even at a 92-minute runtime, which this film clocked in at, it's hard for a plot that convoluted to not get in the way. Underground fencing circuit is something that either sounds great on paper, or is a great Peter Griffin 15-second aside joke on Family Guy, but when you're seeing it in front of you, with Lamas in his bandana and fencing outfit, it's hard to take it seriously. I wish the film had a better budget, because it would have been nice to see Lamas as Alexander the Great conquering stuff. I think the problem is, the sword fight is hard to make action-packed, because it's so violent and deadly, that it can only have one outcome, and we know it's coming. With hand-to-hand stuff, unless there's a neck break or someone gets kicked out of a window from high up, we don't need to have that final outcome, which allows for some suspense in the actual fight. Maybe this is me just trying to make sense of a film sauteed in wrong sauce.
The Lamas was pretty sweet though. As I said, the early 90s was a great time for him, as we had more films like this where he was out in front in the lead, full man mane, shirt optional. If you look at his 1992, it was like a Scott Adkins 2019: he had this, Final Impact, Snake Eater III, CIA: Code Name Alexa, and then an Italian TV movie that I've never seen called Flesh and the Devil. At the same time, Renegade was starting as well, which is what I knew him best for at this time--it was like I saw him in Renegade, then saw him on the covers of movies at the video store and figured I'd check those out too. I've given him a bit of a hard time for the scant parts he's had in his more recent roles, but considering what his output was during this era, I realize I should be more forgiving. He definitely put in the work.
As a fan of another syndicated series, Highlander, which was totally centered on sword fighting, I think I have some ideas on why this didn't work. First off, that was a five-act show, which forced it to have things happening at the end of each act to keep us from leaving during the commercials. This was a movie, so it didn't have that impetus to keep things exciting at regular intervals. Also, Duncan MacLeod was always having to deal with things non-sword fight related. Maybe this could have used a car chase to liven it up a bit. On top of that, they weren't just fencers, they were people with different swords who chopped each other's heads off. The one thing they did get right along with Highlander though: the hero's man mane. Can't ever forget that.
The idea of the seedy underground fencing ring is a concept that I think could have used more exploring. In this film, it's Michael Champion's means to an end as far as finding the sword and drawing Lamas out for their immortal reincarnation battle. How would it work just as a device in and of itself? Maybe a college fencing team at a fictitious private institution. Some kids get an offer from a seedy fellow from the underworld. We have a hero, a young, naive kid with a lot of talent. Does he get enticed to join in order to get some money to impress a girl he likes? Maybe he's from the wrong side of the tracks himself and he has demons to fight? How does the killing happen though? I guess with anything action related, we can find a way to fit that in.
Claire Stansfield is back, this time as the archaeologist/Lamas love interest. We've seen here here a few times before, in the Dolph flick Sweepers (which according to IMDb was her last feature film role), Best of the Best II, and the Shaq film Steel. There's a sense that she's here to add a touch of class to the proceedings, like it can't be that ridiculous with Claire Stansfield as an archaeologist saying everything is okay. Unfortunately though, her character devolves into damsel in distress-dom, and with that goes her ability to prop it up any further. You did the best you could though, Claire, and we appreciate your efforts.
And with that, let's wrap this one up. For Lamas's 90s output, it's not his best, but it's not his worst either. It has its draggy moments as the convoluted plot needs room to unfold, but we also have the fun of Lamas in his man mane-iest, Claire Stansfield giving the film a touch of class, and Michael Champion as the exact kind of baddie a movie like this needs. On that score, it can be a bit of a fun nostalgia time waster, but I wouldn't rent it for that, rather stream it for free instead if you can.
For more info: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108268
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