Force: Five : Collector's Edition – MVD Rewind Collection (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1981
Director: Robert Clouse
Writers: Robert Clouse, Emil Farkas, George Goldsmith
Cast: Joe Lewis, Bong Soo Han, Sonny Barnes, Richard Norton, Benny Urquidez, Ron Hayden, Bob Schott, Peter MacLean, Amanda Wyss, Tom Villard

Release Date: February 24th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 96 Minutes 37 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R
Sound: LPCM Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"A powerful and dangerous cult, hidden on a remote island fortress, has brainwashed the daughter of a U.S. senator. With local authorities powerless and time running out, the government turns to a highly specialized team of martial arts experts known as "Force: Five." Led by seasoned agent Jim Martin, the team includes five elite fighters, each with unique combat skills—from unarmed street fighting and karate to high-impact kickboxing. Their mission: infiltrate the island compound, uncover the secrets of the cult's charismatic and manipulative leader, and rescue the senator's daughter before she becomes permanently indoctrinated—or worse." – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 3.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "High Definition (1080p) presentation of the main feature in 1.85:1 aspect ratio".

Force: Five comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 21.3 GB

Feature: 18.6 GB

Although the information provided about the source is vague, this transfer looks comparable to Scorpion Releasing’s 2016 Blu-ray release. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity is generally strong, and there are no issues with compression. That said, there does appear to be some digital filtering of the image.

Audio: 3.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in English with removable English SDH. While dialogue comes through clearly enough to follow, range-wise things are not as robust as one would expect from an action film.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Benny Urquidez Fight (6 minutes 41 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Benny Urquidez (8 minutes 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Joe Lewis (50 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), reversible cover art, a collectible mini-poster, and a slipcover (first pressing only).

Other extras include trailers for Knock Off, Lionheart, and Double Impact.

Summary:

Robert Clouse directed Force Five. He’s most known for directing Enter the Dragon. Other notable films he’s directed include Black Belt Jones, Battle Creek Brawl, Gymkata, and China O’Brien.

A government agent hires a team of five martial arts experts to infiltrate and take down a religious cult leader.

Robert Clouse had an interesting career, where one film, Enter the Dragon, would turn him into an action cinema specialist despite his beginnings making dramas. While his films are all over the place when it comes to quality, his best films all have a charismatic lead who carries them. Although Force: Five has a few recognizable faces from 1980s/early 1990s Hong Kong cinema, like Richard Norton (City Hunter) and Benny Urquidez (Dragon’s Forever), it does not have the star quality of Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan.

The setup, good guys against an evil nemesis, is fairly standard and brings nothing new to the table. The narrative features a predictable arc; the good guys do a test mission to get them ready, and then the last act is them taking on the bad guys at their remote island. That said, one strength of the narrative is how it gives each of the five an introduction.

No one goes into a film like Force: Five expecting to be wowed by the performances, and the cast excels where it counts the most: action sequences. The most memorable performance is Benny Urquidez, whose precise and quick movements always make him a joy to watch. The most disappointing performance is Joe Lewis (Jaguar Lives!) in the role of Jim Martin, the leader of the five-person martial arts team. He lacks the charisma that one expects from a lead in a martial arts film.

Where moments of exposition rarely create any momentum, the same cannot be said about action sequences, which for the most part are solid. The most memorable sequence is not the finale; it is actually a daring prison break scene where they get to showcase their skills and ability to adapt in tricky situations. Ultimately, Force: Five is an entertaining time waster that most will only watch once.

Force: Five returns to Blu-ray via a first-rate release from MVD Rewind Collection that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and a pair of interesting interviews.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer