Line #19 Film/TheOctagon


1	[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2470efe946beec0a87fb072b8067fb0c.jpg]]
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3	''The Octagon'' is an action film from the year 1980 starring Creator/ChuckNorris and Creator/LeeVanCleef.
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5	Retired martial arts champion Scott James (Creator/ChuckNorris) has refused to fight since a bout went bad and injured his opponent. Now, however, ninja terrorists keep appearing, causing James to question whether someone from his past could be training them at a mysterious compound called The Octagon.
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7	Among fans of professional wrestling, the film is known for inspiring the martial arts-themed ''[[MaskedLuchador luchador]]'' "Octagón", who made his debut wrestling for Wrestling/{{AAA}} in 1992. Octagón (whose real name, in true ''lucha libre'' fashion, remains unknown) proved to be popular enough that his mask and name were eventually [[LegacyCharacter passed down]] to fellow Mexican wrestler [[Wrestling/{{Kalisto}} Emanuel Alejandro Rodriguez]], who wrestled as his successor "Octagón Jr." until 2013. The original Octagón even got an EvilTwin called "Pentagón", whose mantle was eventually passed to the successor Wrestling/PentagonJr (real name also unknown), who wrestles as one-half of the internationally acclaimed tag-team "The Wrestling/LuchaBrothers" to this day.
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10	!!This film has the examples of:
11	* AnyoneCanDie:[[spoiler: Justine AND A.J.]].
12	* CantCatchUp: Poor A.J.
13	* ChekhovsGunman: Aura is prominently placed in all the training scenes. Wonder who's going to be important to the plot later?
14	* ConservationOfNinjutsu: The terrorist ninjas are an unstoppable, deadly force, except when confronted by James. The film tries to justify it by saying that he is TheOnlyOne since he had the same training as the ninjas' master.
15	* DamselInDistress: Averted; Aura actually ends up being helpful, and [[spoiler: doesn't get kidnapped once]].
16	* TheDragon: During the climactic fight scene in the Octagon, James has to fight Seikura's enforcer before he can finally fight Seikura himself.
17	* IHaveNoSon: James and Seikura's dad apparently has a really low tolerance for jackassery.
18	* InnerMonologue: Played straight, and with so much reverb it's sometimes unintelligible.
19	* InstantAwesomeJustAddNinja: Invoked by Seikura, who creates a ninja tactics training course that turns terrorists into near-unstoppable stealth experts.
20	* KensingtonGore: The opening assassination in Paris has loads of it.
21	* ManOnFire: A cloaked ninja in the Octogon gets set alight and burns for quite a while until Scott cuts him down with his katana.
22	* OneHitKill: Scott James seems to either kill or knock out some mooks with one punch or kick. Then again, it's Creator/ChuckNorris, so it's expected.
23	* TheOnlyOne: See ConservationOfNinjitsu above.
24	* PoliceAreUseless: Interesting from a post-9/11 perspective, the reasons given for the characters' vigilantism is that most countries are unwilling to extradite, and the police are powerless to do anything against the international crime.
25	* TerroristsWithoutACause:
26	** Apparently Seikura just [[ForTheEvulz really likes being a bastard.]]
27	** While all the possible motivations are raised -- religion, nationalism, money -- none specifically is given for any the terrorists featured in the film.
28	** Aura wanted something to feel passionate about, and apparently decided terrorism was the route for her. She [[HeelFaceTurn changes her mind]], though.
29	* VigilanteMan: [=McCarn=], an "anti-terrorist", who garrotes and shoots terrorists and then disposes of the bodies like it's no big, and later James.

Context Film / TheOctagon