Showdown in Little Tokyo

It's not the best action movie or one of the top movies of the 90's or anything like that but hey, its a fun flick starring the macho Dolph Lundgren and the late great Brandon Lee.

They basically play two LA cops working on a case in LA's Little Tokyo involving Drug Lords that were linked to Lundgren's past. Dolph and Brandon give great kung fu performances as they utilize their martial arts skills and beat some serious crap outta the drug lords. Especially with the sword fight at the end end between Lundgren and the head drug lord.

The script is pretty cheesy though and the story not very original and I could name a bunch of things that aren't too realistic about this picture but the fun never lets up and their are some good one liners. Just as long as you don't take it serious its a good old fashion B-Movie martial arts flick.

"Showdown in Little Tokyo" is one of those B-movies that despite cheesy one liners and incredulous situations, is a lot of fun. The movie has a fast pace and Brandon Lee showed that he had screen prescence by stealing the show as a wise cracking Americanized, Asian American policeman joining Dolph Lundren's maverick cop who is well versed in the ancient ways of the Japanese Samurai.

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is excellent as the villain, Yashida and I have a sneaking supsicion that this was a fun film set. The writing is not the best but I enjoyed myself watching this movie when I discovered it by accident when visiting Westwood in 1991 and years later as I watched it on DVD with some friends.

Definitely check it out and don't think too hard and go with the flow, this is one guilty pleasure.

Macho B-movie madness at its sublime best, this crazy action quickie is about as braindead as you can get: wooden acting, a terrible story and a script that truly sucks. But with all the mindless violence on offer who really cares. Gun battles, martial arts, Samurai sword slashing and gory deaths are the order of the day, not to mention plenty of beautiful ladies treated like playthings and shedding clothes at every opportunity. Despite the tits and guns, there is some kind of story: Kenner (Lundgren) is on a mission of vengeance. His parents were killed when he was ickle by crazy Yakuza thug Yoshida (Tagawa), an ice-cool super-villain now specialising in drug dealing and generally looking mean. Kenner, adept in the Samurai ways, grows to be a law-abiding copper who's now right on his tail. Male bonding ensues when policeman Johnny Murata (Lee, in his US debut), a hip-talking dude with street credentials, is assigned as Kenner's partner in crime, and all hell simply breaks loose. You could say that there's an artistic angle to all this fighting, shooting and banging, but then that would be a lie - Showdown in Little Tokyo is a classic in a completely different sense of the word.

I give this movie a 5 for entertainment value.. This is the worst acting i have ever seen in a movie.. It contained humorous script and bad directing..

The main female character Minako is raped/"irredeemably betrayed" by her 'owner' and feels it necessary to commit suicide.. yet in the following scenes she strips down nude and jumps in a hot tub with a guy she has only just met.. yes, he WAS her knight in shining armour, but come on! THEN she pursues a sexual relationship with him, and the camera displays her as the 'dominate' one. The 'betrayal' doesn't appear to be affecting her in the slightest.

I feel sorry for the Johnny character, he appears to be second best or third wheel throughout the movie. The main villain has a scar in his left cheek.. of which looks better every time it is seen throughout the film. Continuity seems to be an issue.

As much as this film has bad taste bad acting and bad script, it was quite entertaining for myself, as a viewer, due to the above facts. The unintentional humour is what made me watch through to the end, and possibly even again on a day i need some cheering up.

All in all it was not bad for the era it was filmed in. Cheers.

Chaos, action, explosions and fun bad guys who look like they came out of a cartoon are what make this movie so much fun.

Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee are a fun duo that contributes to the atmosphere of the film and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is super fun as an evil villain. The plot is simple, the good guys clash with the bad ones and try to save the girl and clean up the city from crime along the way.

The action scenes are excellent, deliberately exaggerated and with a great deal of humor. The film has that unique spirit of that time and that's what makes it so much fun.

The bad guys are great, hilarious and outrageous. Yes, the characters are total caricatures and it works perfectly here, even giving the film an extra layer of humor.

From the very beginning, it is clear to us what kind of film this is, a film that does not take itself seriously and wants to fulfill the primary task of every film, and that is to entertain the viewer. And this is a film that certainly succeeds in that, no matter how many times you watch it, it's more and more fun every time. Guns, swords, vicious villains, constant action and plenty of humor.

Action scenes and violence are brutal and bloody, just the way they should be. When the shooting and swinging of swords starts, blood and body parts fly in all directions. An excellent combination of brutal action and humor.

Surprisingly entertaining action film with a dose of humor.