"A classic good versus evil action flick, mixed with kicks, guns, motorcycles and a hot babe!"
— Tagline
Fatal Deviation is a 1998 Irish martial arts movie. Ireland's only martial arts movie, and perhaps for a very good reason.
It tells the story of one Jimmy Bennett, a martial artist, returning to his hometown, Trim, after a decade in reform school, to investigate the death of his father. Along the way, he runs into the local drug ring, who are determined to win a local fighting contest, which will supposedly allow them to control the town, who may be connected to his father's death, as well as a mysterious monk, and the beautiful Nicola.
The whole thing can be seen on YouTube, starting here
.
Examples:
- The Alleged Car: Every car that turns up in this movie is an old banger that's barely roadworthy.
- All Monks Know Kung-Fu: There's an order of Kung Fu monks living in some old ruins. In fucking Ireland. Their leader trains Jimmy. Okaaaay...
- Badass Biker: During the bike chase sequence.
- Bar Brawl:
- One breaks out when some local thugs start on an innocent guy. Jimmy intervenes on his behalf and beats the shit out of them and the barman. Though, in Jimmy's defence, the barman had just pulled a shotgun on him.
- Just before that, Jimmy enters the pub by beating up the bouncers who had refused him entry.
- Bang, Bang, BANG: Averted, incredibly. The punches and kicks are louder than the gunshots in this movie.
- Blatant Lies: Nicola brings Jimmy an apple tart that she claims she made herself. The tart is clearly bought from the supermarket where she works.
- Bond One-Liner: "Enjoy the slide!"
- The Brute: Seagull, hired by Loughlan to do heavy lifting like working in Hong Kong or fighting in the Bealtaine tournament.
- Combat Pragmatist: Everybody in the Bealtaine Tournament since there are no rules according to the monks.
- *Click* Hello:
- "I'm not paying you to sit on your arse all day smoking."
- And again at the end of the movie. Jimmy simply disarms the Big Bad, gives him a Pre-Mortem One-Liner, then shoots him.
- Creator Cameo: Jimmy Bennett aside, producer Justin Harmon plays the naked cowboy mook.
- Deadpan Snarker: Jimmy. Or he would be if his lines weren't so filled with
Narm.
- Evil Old Folks: Loughlan is the head of the local gang and looks old enough to be the grandfather to most of his men.
- Failed a Spot Check: Jimmy's father, a trained martial artist, doesn't notice Loughlan, an old man dressed in business clothes, brandishing his katana and slowly raising it to kill him until it's too late.
- Fan Disservice: One Mook strips naked, barring a cowboy hat and gets into an outdoor bath for no real reason.
- Fighting Irish: It's a martial arts movie and things centre around a tournament, what do you expect?
- Gangsta Style: Mikey's preferred method of firearms handling.
- Guns Akimbo: Jimmy during the Storming the Castle sequence.
- Hilarious Outtakes: The outtakes are included at the very end of the film. Given the quality of Fatal Deviation in general, to see what was cut out is even more hilarious.
- Homage: Jean-Claude Van Damme is clearly a massive influence, as the film takes cues from several of his movies, including the Van Damme kick.
- Inevitable Tournament: The Bealtaine tournament, which for some reason, will allow the winner to take control of the town.
- Informed Attractiveness: You'd swear by the way men fawn over Nicola that she was played by Scarlett Johansson.
- Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: With mooks that shoot like the ones in this film, no wonder Loughlan has to take matters into his own hands with both Jimmy and his father.
- The Irish Mob: Loughlan and his son Mikey are heads of a prominent gang in Trim. They have connections spanning as far as Hong Kong.
- Ironic Echo: This little gem from the ending.Loughlan: (Pulls shotgun on Jimmy) You killed my son! Now I'm going to kill you, just like I killed your father!Jimmy: (Disarms Loughlan and tosses him to the ground, pointing shotgun at him) You Killed My Father! Now I'm going to kill you, just like I killed your son!
- Just Plane Wrong: Seagull flies from Hong Kong to Trim in a Cessna. While it's possible he could have taken a jet flight from Hong Kong to Dublin and then flown from there to Trim in the Cessna, the dialogue seems to indicate it was a direct flight from Hong Kong to Trim.
- Katanas Are Just Better: The Loughlan's weapon of choice when he killed Jimmy's father.
- Limit Break: Jimmy makes a victorious comeback against Seagull the moment the monk starts chanting "Fatal Deviation" over and over.
- Manchild: The two hooligans who mess around in the Londis supermarket act like rowdy children while they're there, despite them being in their 30s or 40s. One of them even has a receding hairline.
- Mr. Fanservice: Jimmy often forgoes a shirt entirely, showing off James Bennett's physique.
- Neck Snap: Mikey's eventual fate.
- Oh, Crap!: The bouncers at the pub Jimmy is refused from for no reason when he charges at them.
- Outrun the Fireball: Jimmy does this when escaping from the car he has just crashed.
- Post-Climax Confrontation: The Loughlan accosts Jimmy when he's out on a date with Nicola after he's wiped out his gang.
- Rouge Angles of Satin: The gang sends Jimmy a note about his participation in the Bealtaine Tournament. Written on it are the words "Loose or else".
- Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You: With a shotgun.
- Shout-Out: So many to Jean-Claude Van Damme's movies, whom Jimmy Bennett is a big fan of. Jimmy standing on his motorcycle is one to Hard Target, the many training montages copy scenes from Kickboxer, and the tournament is similar to the one in Bloodsport. He also intimidates one of the hooligans in the supermarket by stretching his leg towards his face as Van Damme did in Time Cop with a purse snatcher.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: There's only about two or three songs (presumably by the same band) on the soundtrack, none of which fit the scene they're played in.
- Spiking the Camera: Just about all of Loughlan's scenes have him delivering his lines directly at the camera.
- Storming the Castle: The climax, in which Jimmy wipes out most of the gang to rescue Nicola.
- That Makes Me Feel Angry: Characters are constantly saying their emotions out loud or telling each other what they're going to do and why.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: In the climax of the film, Jimmy shoots a gangster in the head twice, then administers a rather unneeded roundhouse kick to the head.
- Title Drop: During the final round of the tournament, Jimmy's trainer starts whispering "Fatal deviation! Fatal deviation!" for no discernible reason outside of this trope.
- Training Montage: Several, including one where he wails on a punching bag and another with the Irish monk.
- Two Shots from Behind the Bar: The barman pulls a shotgun on Jimmy during the Bar Brawl. Jimmy takes it from him before shouting, "Fuck you and your gun, ya prick!"
- Unnecessary Combat Roll: Jimmy rolls across the bonnet of a car and then back again in the middle of a fight for no reason.
- Warrior Monk: The monks in this movie are Western Irish monks that appear to act more like East Asian monks.
- Workout Fanservice: Jimmy works out either in skimpy vests or completely shirtless.
- You Killed My Father: Turns out Loughlan killed Jimmy's father for unexplained reasons.
- Younger Than They Look: James Bennett was only eighteen when the movie was made, and the character has likewise just left a correctional school. Due to his muscle mass, he looked several years older.
