Showdown in Little Tokyo

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.

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.

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.

Thrilling and moving film by Mark L. Lester with the ordinary ingredients such as non-stop action , thrills, romance , and crossfire . Two L. A. cops, Sgt. Chris Kenner (Dolph Lundgren) and Johnny Murata (Brandon Lee) with opposing views on what is the best way to uphold the law have to work together to bring down the Yakuza led by Funekei Yoshida (Gary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), while trying to protect a beautiful singer (Tia Carrere). The deadliest vice-kingpin under the Rising Sun has just come to the City of Angels...where two angels of death are about to make him wish he'd stayed in Japan. One's a warrior. One's a wiseguy. They're two Los Angeles cops going after Japan's top mobster...Feet first.

Acceptable and passable action film about the Japanese Yazuka and American cops with an agreeable main and support cast. In the motion picture there are fights , thriller, chases, crossfire and being interesting enough. The plot results to be a little routine concerning the typical buddy movie and the ending has the usual violent confrontation with high body-count . The famous martial arts champion and now veteran actor Dolph Lundgren (Univerasl Soldier, Blackjack, Rocky IV, The expendables saga) forms an attractive film couple with the late actor Brandon Lee. Both are the real protagonists of this action movie that mixes the total excitement of martial arts with the reality of a secret and powerful organization: the Japanese yakuza. The kicks , punches and jinks are high in this jolly as well as violent martial arts film . The fight scenes are splendid , and though Lee lacks the animal grace of his father Bruce or the comical skills of Jackie Chan, he has timing , charming and cheerful. Brandon Lee trained practiced various martial arts , such as Wing Chun, Muay Thai, Jeet Kune Do in preparation for his films. Lee hired Darryl Chan to train him for cosmetic impact in ¨Rapid Fire¨. Lee and Chan, also worked together in ¨Showdown in Little Tokyo¨. Being well starred by Brandon Lee , before the accidental gunshot wound from faulty prop revolver. Lee's first role in a feature film was "Legacy of Rage" (1986) for D. M. Films of Hong Kong, followed by a co-starring role in this ¨Showdown in Little Tokyo¨ (1991). He was also in ¨Rapid Fire¨ (1992), and ¨The Raven¨ (1994). He turned down offers to be in ¨Dragon, the Bruce Lee Story¨ (1993) stars Jason Scott Lee. Brandon died (while filming) at the age of 28, of what is to be believed, a brain hemorrhage on the set of ¨The Raven¨ (1994). A gun loaded with full power blanks and shot the scene, unaware that a bullet had become dislodged from a previous shot and had lodged itself in the barrel. Upon shooting of the scene the blank round forced the bullet out the barrel striking Brandon Lee. Dolph Lundgren and Brandon are well accompanied by a lot of familiar faces, such as : the usually baddie Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Tia Carrre, Philip Tan, Ernie Lively, Branscombe Richmond and brief appearance of Al Leong , an Asian American actor & stuntman has picked up a cult fan following based around his numerous appearances in high voltage action flicks from the mid-1980s onwards.

For quite some time, the so-called 'Yakuza films' have been considered a very popular genre in their native Japan, and some American films have also managed to portray this fascinating society of criminals, which is governed by its own codes of honor and revenge, among which is included the usual mutation of some finger on the hand. But what makes Little Tokyo different from others is that this is the first time that the Yakuza appears operating in a new territory, running riot: the United States. These film has got success enough, including the following: the best ¨The Yazuka¨ (1975) by Sidney Pollack with Robert Mitchum, ¨Black rain¨(1989) by Ridley Scott with Michael Douglas, ¨American Yakuza¨ (1993) by Frank Cappello with Viggo Mortensen, ¨No Way Back¨ (1995) by Frank Cappello with Russell Crowe.

The film was professionally written, produced and directed by MarK L. Lester though it has some flaws and gaps. Lester said that this film "takes a look at two cultures that constantly move towards each other". He's a cool director and producer-American World Pictures- of B movies , his greatest success was during the 80s, when he directed two big hits ¨Commando¨and ¨Class of 1984¨, adding other action films, such as: ¨Public enemies¨, ¨Double take¨, ¨Firestarter¨, ¨Extreme Justice¨, ¨The Base¨, ¨Pterodactyl¨, The ex¨, ¨Armed and dangerous¨, ¨The night of the running man¨ . Rating ¨Showdown in Little Tokio¨: 6/10. An entertaining action movie, essential and indispensable for Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee fans.

"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.