One's a warrior. One's a wise guy. They're two L.A. cops going after a gang of drug lords. Feet first.
1991-08-23
$8.0M
79 min
An American with a Japanese upbringing, Chris Kenner is a police officer assigned to the Little Tokyo section of Los Angeles. Kenner is partnered with Johnny Murata, a Japanese-American who isn't in touch with his roots. Despite their differences, both men excel at martial arts, and utilize their formidable skills when they go up against Yoshida, a vicious yakuza drug dealer with ties to Kenner's past.
We've got a problem here. There are more bad guys than we've got bullets.
It's a buddy buddy action movie, one that feels more 80s than 90s, with that it has all the pluses and minuses that comes with such genre staples. Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee pair up to take on The Yakuza, Dolph has a very personal reason for tracking and killing the Yakuza leader. They are an odd pair who must get over their initial differences to complete their mission. Sound familiar? Well it is, because it can be seen in a whole host of other action buddy buddy movies.
The acting is sub-standard but the action is well constructed, which at the end of the day is what action fans require for a rollicking good time. Some of the dialogue is too cheese worthy to even pass as acceptable - and this in a genre that often demands it as a requisite, while the overt homoerotic undercurrents are either meant as tongue in cheek? Or an attempt by the makers to make some sort of action movie statement?
Is it fun? Absolutely, and that's not just because of the ridiculous trousers Lundgren often wears (seriously, a leather jacket and Oxford bags?), while the colour photography is sparkling (Mark Irwin), but you have to have a taste for corn and cheese to get the most from this host. 5/10
Yeeeeeahhhhh, this is a really horrible movie. I will not deny that.
But, it's a still a really fun action movie. I mean, it is one of those cheap as hell action movies that studios used to make to pay for more expensive Oscar bait, and you never expect that much walking into them.
The low expectations always help. But... it's fun. Like a lot of the really bad movies, it is fun. It takes itself just seriously enough that you suspend your disbelief, but no so serious it thinks it is something that it's not.
And the result is entertainment. You remember that, entertainment, once upon a time that was the end goal of a movie. And this one ex-cells in that, it has nice action, a fun sense of humor, and knows when to dial it back.
