FT
Failure to Franchise

Episode 142 - Avenging Force (1986)

March 24, 2026·1h 24m
Episode Description from the Publisher

So you've developed a sequel to one of your recent "successes," but the legendary action star of the previous film has decided he doesn't want to do a follow-up. Are you supposed to scrap the whole thing? Not if you're Cannon Films, who knew better than to throw out all the work they had already done on a potential Invasion USA sequel, and instead decided to rework it into a new potential franchise starter of its own. "Misfired Cannons" continues as we look at 1986's Avenging Force, which saw Chuck Norris replaced with Cannon's own pet-project up-and-coming star, Michael Dudikoff. Here, Dudikoff takes over the role of Matt Hunter (or is maybe a totally different Matt Hunter?), this time taking on an an underground society of crazed right-wing extremists that likes to hunt men for sport. We discuss Dudikoff's place in the Cannon legacy, the movie's surprising-for-the-time-and-genre politics, the perpetual underutilization of co-star Steve James, and much more. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd

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