Showdown in Little Tokyo
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Movie Reviews of Showdown in Little Tokyo
Movie Review: Awesome movie
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a huge fan of Bruce Lee and his son Brandon Lee. He's very good in this movie. I also like dolph. This movie has plenty of action. You could just tell that Brandon Lee was going to be a big star like his dad. Unfortunately, both of them lost their lives too young.
If you like fun, martial movies, this is one of the best.
Movie Review: One of the funniest movies ever made!!
Summary: 5 Stars
There are so many cheesy things in this movie, things that don't make sense (why does that wheel blow up at the end????) that this movie is simultaneously cheesy and totally funny. I recommend this movie highly if you find corny movies hilarious.Movie Review: Brandon Lee and Dolph Lungren Together!
Summary: 5 Stars
Amazing movie! One of Dolph's greatest roles ever! Brandon Lee brings charisma and humor to his role as well.
This is a five star movie-
Movie Review: Fun & Action In No "Little" Amounts
Summary: 4 Stars
I'd say that "Showdown in Little Tokyo" is Dolph Lundgren's best movie yet, hands down. I'd even say that with the exception of The Crow, it's also Brandon Lee's best film, and Tia Carrere's best non-TV work. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Toshiro Obata are a bit more difficult to speak for, but this is certainly them at their most evil. Director Mark Lester did Commando and Firestarter prior to this, but he'd never do anything as good as "Showdown" afterwards. Even writers Stephen Glantz and Caliope Brattlestreet can't claim to have done anything as noteworthy as this film later in their careers, and how could they? - "Showdown in Little Tokyo" is arguably the most defining opus of late-80s/early-90s American action cinema, and a must-have for lovers of buddy-cop flicks, the Yakuza on film, western kung fu, cheesy plot points, and muscular European action heroes.
The story follows Chris Kenner (Lundgren, Universal Soldier) - a police sergeant and student of the samurai who's dedicated his career to fighting the Yakuza's presence in the US. When he's teamed up with a wisecracking Japanese-American partner in Johnny Murata (Lee), Kenner expects himself to be hindered, but finds himself thrust into a plot orchestrated by crime lord Funekei Yoshida (Tagawa, Mortal Kombat) to distribute a dangerous new drug across the streets of America...and kill anybody who gets in the way.
For starters, yes I think it's a bit odd to have Lundgren play the no-nonsense hero while the son of Bruce Lee is the goofball sidekick, but their ability to play both of these parts without flinching is a testament to their underrated acting skills and keeps the movie fresh as far as I'm concerned.
That aside, the cast effectively submerges themselves into their hammy roles without complaint to keep things enjoyable: Tagawa and Obata (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) remain cold and malicious until they bust out some action, Carrere is the effective damsel in distress with a couple of twists, bit-players Phillip Tan (Wake Of Death) and Renee Allman ("Port Charles") don't do anything wrong, and even super-heavyweight Reid Asato (The Odyssey) uses his massive frame to become a credible menace. Absolutely no one comes close to winning an award, but the roles are filled so effectively that it's hard to find fault with anybody.
Of course, it's the action we're really interested in here, and there's plenty of that to go around. To break it down, Lundgren has four shootouts (one of them using oriental throwing weapons), three hand-to-hand fights, and one swordfight; Lee has two shootouts and four hand-to-hand fights. Lee's battle with Toshiro Obata is surprisingly technical; Lundgren's and Tagawa's katana showdown is arguably the best close-quarters interaction that either of them had filmed in the last half-decade, though Lundgren's shoot-`em-up invasion of Tagawa's home steals the show and is the best of its kind since Steven Seagal's own interior gunfight in Hard to Kill.
There are a few funny/absurd parts (like Lundgren turning over a convertible and jogging near-naked through a junkyard) and even a couple of outright goofs (dummies are visible in some scenes) that affect the film's overall quality, but nothing's about to drag "Tokyo" down, thanks to its unrelenting dedication to the themes and hypes of its periods as an action movie. In a way, it's superior to many a modern action film that does its best not to be an action film for the sake of money. "Showdown in Little Tokyo" was a box office bomb, but as far as I'm concerned, it's the best kind of cult movie you can get.
Movie Review: Guilty Pleasure is Written all over this
Summary: 4 Stars
There is a Reason Dolph Lundgren has been around and it's not because of his incredible acting skills. The reason is that he is one of the icons of cheesy action films. So when you get an action comedy such as this it makes for a fun little trip for an hour and a half.
The story here is that Dolph Lundgren is police officer on the trail of the iron claw, a group of yakuza run by a man who murdered his parents when he was a child. He teams up with a wise cracking Brandon Lee and together along with a sexy Tia Carrea they take down the Sinister Drug Lord.
What makes the movie funny is that Dolph Lundgrens character is an america who is totally into the Japanese way of the Samurai while Brandon Lee grew up an American Mall Rat and is a fish out of water at some of the places that they go to search for these criminals.
Overall this is a simple early 90's action film that appeals to those who like to spend an afternoon hooting and hollering at bad guys getting their @$$ handed to them as well as the usual gratiouse nudity and one liner moments. Leathel Weapon this is not but for a good low price, you can't go wrong.