Bullet Points: Live Wire: Human Timebomb
The early 90s action series Street Justice has been getting a lot of play on my television as of late and the more I watch the more I feel like I came for the Carl Weathers, but I am staying for the Bryan Genesse.
With my Bryan Genesse fandom growing I found myself researching Bryan’s filmography and one movie on the list really jumped out at me, 1995’s Live Wire: Human Timebomb. A few clicks later and I received the email notification that Live Wire: Human Timebomb was on its way. Was it worth the impulse buy? Or would this purchase quickly become a regret?
- Coke and Chips: The movie starts off with a meeting of nefarious types looking to make an exchange… a bunch of cocaine for some top secret military computer chips. Cuba’s own Pablo Arnaz is there to obtain the computer chips for his uncle, General Raoul Arnaz. FBI super agent Jim Parker (Bryan Genesse, Cold Harvest) is listening in and there to take Pablo into custody and when the time is right Parker makes his presence known in grand fashion, repelling down a wall, looking to crash the party with some help from his air support. Bullets are flying, a broke down bus explodes, a car flips and when it is all said and done Parker gets his man.
- Diplomatic Immunity: Turns out that Pablo has that pesky diplomatic immunity and Treasury Agent Gina Young has been tasked with returning Pablo to Cuba… but there’s more to it, as Parker is about to find out. Gina has cut a deal with General Arnaz, his nephew for her brother Mike… the same Mike Young, who years earlier went to Cuba with Parker on a mission to assassinate General Arnaz, that obviously did not go as planned. Since the failed mission, Parker believed his friend Mike Young was dead so this is a shock to say the least.
- The Exchange: It seems like where General Arnaz is concerned nothing goes as planned for Jim Parker… instead of trading Pablo for Mike, the General shoots his own nephew and Parker and Gina find themselves on the run without Mike. They don’t make it far when their pilot is shot and the plane to take them back to the States blows up. Gina quickly surrenders after that (did she set Parker up?!?!?) however Parker isn’t going down without a fight, so he hops on a motorcycle and tries to get as much distance between himself and Arnaz’s forces, which includes the traitorous Price (Joe Lara, Tarzan in Manhattan) who is ex-CIA and now working to train General Arnaz’s army for an eventual coup of Cuba.
- Operation: Instead of escaping Jim Parker finds himself captured and on operating table where one of those top secret military computer chips is injected into Parker. Once the procedure is complete Parker joins other highly trained soldiers from around the globe, who comprise the General Arnaz’s computer chipped kill squad. I don’t think I realized how animated and over the top Genesse’s Jim Parker was in the first act until the switch was flipped and he went in the complete opposite direction and became a silent, almost robotic, badass.
- Bad Times Don’t Last: Parker does get his hands dirty while under the control of Price/Arnaz but when Price takes his soldiers out to procure some stinger missiles for the General, Parker ends up getting knocked loopy and as he starts to regain his bearings… the old Jim Parker reemerges and ends up in a knock down, drag out with one of his fellow soldiers that doesn’t end well for the other guy. Parker then rejoins Price, feigning he is still under the computer chip’s control. Once Parker is back at the compound, Gina tries to redeem herself by helping him escape his cell, but before they can rescue Mike… Parker finds himself battling the other computer chipped soldiers and that buys enough time for Price, Mike and General Arnaz to escape to Miami.
- Benvenido a Miami: General Arnaz has a diabolical plan to disrupt trade talks between the Secretary of State and Cuban representatives at the Dade County Conference Center and by disrupt I mean KILL everyone involved and it is a pretty foolproof plan… he’s got Price with his killing expertise and if that doesn’t work he’s got Mike Young with a bomb strapped to his waste making Mike a Human Timebomb (DING!) With only thirty minutes to spare Jim Parker and Gina Young show up and as the tag line on the DVD says… it all comes down to the wire!
Live Wire: Human Timebomb was money well spent and I can only see my Bryan Genesse collection expanding in the future. Genesse always brings an effervescent personality to his roles, not something that can be said for some of his contemporaries in the 90s direct to video era. Much like fellow Canadian and fellow action star, Jeff Wincott, I feel like Genesse benefitted by being seen as an actor first and martial artist/action star second.
I can never decide if I prefer good guy Joe Lara or bad guy Joe Lara since he has proven he can believably play both. Price is not one of Lara’s most memorable characters but he still made for a worthy foe for Genesse’s Jim Parker.
I can easily decide if I want to include some Bonus Bullet Points…
- Potentially Offensive Advice: “Never deal with a bald Cuban.”
- Directed By: Mark Roper directed Live Wire: Human Timebomb. Roper also directed Queen’s Messenger starring Gary Daniels and Warhead starring Frank Zagarino.
- How To Politely Insult Someone: “You don’t mind if I call you dick head do you?” – Jim Parker
- If You Ever: …wanted to hear Bryan Genesse do a bad Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation, Live Wire: Human Timebomb is the movie for you.
- How To End a Phone Call: “I gotta go. I gotta play with my rocket launcher.” – Jim Parker