jbarrystudent There weren't many things keeping me going just one hour and 30 minutes ago, in fact, you could possibly argue that the only reason I hadn't ended my life was because I was afraid people would look through my search history. But then I watched this movie, and suddenly, everything became.... better.... now now, I'm not a superstitious person, and I don't usually believe just anything the voices quietly whisper to me when the lights aren't on, but this movie is an exception, because after watching it, I was inexplicably happier than I had ever been in my entire life, even more so than I was when when Obama Left office. Hahahahaha, but in all seriousness watching this movie has became a sort of spiritual experience for me, and every time I slide my well worn but well loved signed his tape into my vcr, and look dead into the eyes of James Bennet on the poster with a crotch hole on my wall, I think to myself, , I sit and quietly and pity the souls who have not yet been blessed with the presence of James Bennett's muscular and toned body. This movie changed my life, and it'll change yours too. Go now in peace sibling of the eternal Bennett, and may you forever know, that James is watching over you, ready to help whenever you need an Orish Chuck Norris

The_Phantom_Projectionist I don't know how the Irish martial arts cinematic scene is doing, these days, but I would not be surprised if the last 17 years have not been enough time to recover from this debacle. To be certain, FATAL DEVIATION – apparently the first Irish martial arts film – is a no-budget feature that deserves some slack given its obvious limitations, but I just couldn't find any fun in it to justify a higher rating. This is a simple movie made with the most basic means, but unless you like "bad" films for the sake of badness, I can't recommend it to you.The story: A young martial artist (James Bennett) returns to his hometown to avenge the death of his father at the hands of a murderous drug lord (Michael Regan).The only substantial thing the film has to its credit is its lead star. James looks great and has some cool moves, and I was genuinely surprised to realize that he's had nothing resembling a solo career since this picture...but then I remembered that the world already has a Jean-Claude Van Damme. Admittedly, no Caucasian karate star can avoid being compared to Van Damme, but both Bennett and the filmmakers go out of their way to make this as much of a JCVD homage/knockoff as possible. Bennett's character (1) must avenge a family member, (2) enters a tournament, (3) is trained by a master, (4) performs the splits, (5) performs helicopter kicks, and (6) must topple an unbeatable opponent.* Aside from such general resemblances, there are several blatant lifts from HARD TARGET, and man! – does it ever look silly to see these guys trying to ape John Woo's style without a penny to their name.However, the vast majority of the film is unambitious to a fault. On one hand, I commend the filmmakers for knowing their limitations and keeping the plot as basic as possible, but on the other, it's disappointing that they did not exploit the creative freedom intrinsic to indie filmmaking a little more. But perhaps I am asking for too much, because these guys really don't have much to work with: there isn't a skilled actor among the cast and the technical limitations of the filming equipment are apparent in every poorly-lit and color-blinking shot. The fight scenes are the only aspect captured with anything resembling flair, but despite their quantity, few fights are filmed well enough to stand out and few fighters other than Bennett have enough screen time to make an impression.Despite its short runtime, FATAL DEVIATION has a meandering pace that makes it a chore to watch, and the odd pop-polka soundtrack certainly did not help me pass the time faster. Simply stated, this movie is no triumph. While I would be delighted to see James Bennett headline another feature, I desperately hope for any kind of a budget for the poor guy.*Credit to the original "Van Damme Checklist" belongs to Jason of Amazon.com.

DamnYouGoogle 1998's Fatal Deviation is an Irish direct to video martial arts film written and starring tike sized fighter, James P. Bennett, im going to be frank, this movie is what I call "A beautiful failure" this movie is horrible in every facet, The acting, the soundtrack, the stunts, the story, the dialog, and the film quality are all at best laughable, but with all this ridiculousness it finds...zen if you will, much like other films in its category (at least to me) The Room, Troll 2, Hobgoblins, and The animated Titanic films, Final Deviation transcends horrible film making to the point that you are forced to enjoy it as you belt out laughing... I suggest everyone watch it but only if you are in the mood for a funny and down right silly time (its free on youtube).Fatal Deviation (1998) 8/10 (for all the wrong reasons)

panda_robw Ultra-cheapo Irish martial arts movie, shot on VHS with amateurism running through it from head to toe. If the slightly threadbare Irish aspect of 'Father Ted' ever raised a smile then you should definitely give this a look.There's nothing in this film that you could consider in any way professional or competent. The acting stinks, it's badly dubbed, the action scenes are arthritic, the dialogue feeble, the direction barely qualifies as such and the whole thing makes very little sense at all.However.I don't think I've ever seen anything quite as entertaining in my life, and not even in a "so bad it's good" sort of way. It's impossible to explain - but it works, it just works. A quite amazing movie.There's rumoured to be a 10th anniversary festival this year in the village of Trim where it was made. If it pans out, I'm there - if only to meet the incredible James Bennett!