Popular reviews

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  Review by Blake Bergman "Various Spaghetti" ★★★ 2

  "Sidekicks" is a 1992 martial arts/ adventure film that really resonates within younger audiences. I'm not particularly saying that its directly a children's film, just an effort that is available for the entire family to watch at the time. It is very much a channeled conduit basically for all that is Chuck Norris, even supplemented with the factor that his younger brother Aaron Norris is the director of the film. The story of the film begins with a seemingly normal kid that does deal with every pressure of teen life, with an inclusion asthma and your garden variety series of bullies. Identifying that many kids during the 90's were very similar to Barry, which many were, the film seemingly wants…

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  Review by Justin Peterson ★★★★ 2

  The 70s had 'Rocky', and the 80s had 'The Karate Kid', but for 90s kids ... we got the mostly forgotten Sidekicks.

  "You must realize that the greatest weapon you possess is self-control."

  I can't believe just how much of an over-the-top parody of Chuck Norris' career this is, but it is still a delight to see the stoic Norris make dreams become reality. I thought to watch this since my kids are losing interest in martial arts, and I can't think of any movie better to relight that spark ... we will see.

  Sidekicks was a blast to rewatch with us laughing along with all
  Joe Piscopo's hijinks as the over-the-top baddie to lighten up the fact that Barry…

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  Review by megan ★

  i have seen this 3 times voluntarily

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  Review by Justin Peterson ★★★★½

  An action packed nostalgic ride that takes full advantage of the 'Rocky' and 'The Karate Kid' formulas, and uses them to perfection.

  I had so much fun seeing this movie as a kid when I rented it from blockbuster. All the fun karate action had me dreaming of being a martial arts master, which eventually lead me to get enrolled at a karate school for several years where I reached the rank of Brown belt. Sidekicks is your typical 90s family action movie, but I think it still holds up really well for what it is.

  The story has the 'Karate Kid' framework where a kid that is being bullied finds a old man who is a martial arts expert,…

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  Review by Will Sloan

  Chuck Norris is mostly a structuring absence in this Karate Kid-meets-Purple Rose of Cairo story of a bullied adolescent who learns to self-actualize though the martial arts. Chuck is at his best when he's merely a floating signifier, which is why more people know those "Chuck Norris facts" than have actually seen one of his movies. Mako probably has more screen-time here, which is fine by me.

  This is pleasant entertainment for kids, and contains easily the best use of Joe Piscopo I've seen in a feature film. He was born to be a mugging bad-guy in a children's film. I thought I had seen the main kid somewhere before, and it turns out I had. He was the kid from Ladybugs with Rodney Dangerfield.

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  Review by Justin Decloux ★★★½ 1

  I enjoyed how frigging gentle this was. It doesn't even end with a fight, but a cement-breaking competition! Plus, it's got a killer cast, with Jonathan Brandis as a realistic every kid who suffers from asthma, Mako as the charming teacher, Joe Piscopo as a mugging villain, and Beau Bridges as the understanding dad. Chuck Norris is a block of wood, so true to form.

  I'm sure Aaron Norris is one of the best stuntmen in the business, as he's been working since BLAC KBELT JONES), but how is he so bad at shooting action this late into his career?

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  Review by ALISTAIR LEACH ★★★★★

  Sorry just realised this masterpiece is on here.

  Five just for that ending as this must have been ground zero on all the Chuck jokes, memes and bad-assery that the 21st century would gift Chuck.

  Please watch this pile of crap, where a weird kid fantasies he is Chuck Norris' best friend to master karate and get with Winnie from "The Wonder Years". The Vietnam flashback/fantasy is amazing in WTF am i watching, This is honestly better than Gasper Noe.

  However what makes this film better than Cocteau, Buñuel or anything else, is the Coda on the credits. The young boy has mastered things and he leaves his Combat or Karate magazine down on a bench outside the karate centre…

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  Review by Pube ★★★★★ 3

  Some movies follow the traditional three part story arc. Others utilize the Shakespearean five act structure. Sidekicks decides to simply show us training montage after training montage mixed with weird Chuck Norris fantasies that then turn into a giant karate competition in real life.... where he competes! The Norris brothers have done it again!! Brilliant filmmaking from a brilliant duo bonded by brilliant DNA. Plus, it’s got Beau, Brandis, Mako, and Piscopo! How many movies can say that? Criterion Collection.

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  Review by Justin LaLiberty ★★★

  Mullet Last Action Hero

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  Review by The Great Owl ★★★★

  In the real world, Barry, a teenager played by Jonathan Brandis, struggles with asthma, is constantly bullied by the other kids at his school, and is simply drifting through the world, much to the exasperation of his father and his favorite teacher, played respectively by Beau Bridges and Julia Nickson. In his daydreams, however, he fights courageously alongside his hero, the renowned martial arts champion and film star, Chuck Norris, to defeat enemy soldiers, drug dealers, and ninjas. With the help of his teacher's uncle, played by Mako, Barry is determined to come into his own and win the respect of his classmates, especially a neighborhood girl played by Danica McKellar, by participating in a local martial arts tournament, but…

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  Review by Joe Begos ★★★★★ 1

  Recorded a PICKFORD PALACE commentary track(aka in my apartment) for an upcoming (redacted) 4k special edition featuring 6 of my best and closest friends and filmmakers in an attempt to recreate a normal movie night in my living room - thus also joining the party were 13 blunts and an entire handle of Jamo which both were completely consumed during the tight, action packed 100 minute runtime.

  Talk about a fucking banger. 

  If you’ve never seen the movie, imagine Karate Kid, but where Daniel drops a tab of acid at the start of every morning which results in violent hallucinations that constantly pit him in his favorite action movie scenes alongside Norris. His overweight, blazed as hell mid 50’s father…

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  Review by Andrew Jupin ★½ 3

  There's so much to hate here: all the casual racism, ridiculous movie bullies, pointless dream sequences, mullets, Joe Piscopo...