Verdict
Summary
A grindhouse movie any way you look at it, Stoner is exactly the movie it wants to be and it’s a success if you want to see a former James Bond spend most of two hours throwing little Chinese guys over his shoulders. Lazenby has a great fight scene with Sammo Hung, who plays a villain, and Mao Ying takes on dozens of guys too. There’s sex, nudity, hallucinations, funky music, and Kung Fu galore. This was once going to star Bruce Lee, Sonny Chiba, and Lazenby. Soak that in.
Plot:
Two cops from different worlds collide in Hong Kong as they try to take down The Happy Pill from the market.
Review:
“The Happy Pill” is sweeping the world by storm. Genetically modified by a drug cartel in Hong Kong, the pill is instantly addictive and causes euphoria and an insatiable horniness that goes over real well with sex cults and pimps all over the planet. A gonzo cop named Joe Stoner (George Lazenby) goes off the rails when his younger sister OD’s from the drug, and he tracks the cartel’s origins in Hong Kong and single-handedly tries to topple the kingpin (named Mr. Chin, if anyone cares), but just when he’s about to be overwhelmed by his reckless endeavor, he’s aided by a Taiwanese female cop named Angela (played by Enter the Dragon‘s Angela Mao Ying), who has a similar agenda to bring the cartel down. Stoner with his chop sockie skills and Angela with her Hapkido abilities manage to be a great team and rid the world of The Happy Pill.
A grindhouse movie any way you look at it, Stoner is exactly the movie it wants to be and it’s a success if you want to see a former James Bond spend most of two hours throwing little Chinese guys over his shoulders. Lazenby has a great fight scene with Sammo Hung, who plays a villain, and Mao Ying takes on dozens of guys too. There’s sex, nudity, hallucinations, funky music, and Kung Fu galore. This was once going to star Bruce Lee, Sonny Chiba, and Lazenby. Soak that in. Directed by Feng Huang. From Golden Harvest.
88 Films brings Stoner to Blu-ray in a slim case, restoring two different versions of the film in a strong 2K image. Both the Hong Kong and the international versions have been restored, and there’s a new audio commentary with Asian film experts (shout out to Michael Worth!), and they’ve included new artwork, alternate artwork, a slipcase for the limited edition, and more.