American Karate Tiger

This movie is like a car crash on the side of the highway....

You know you shouldn't look, but once you do, you can't pull yourself away.

First off, this movie definitely has an "80's" feel to it.

The only problem is - it was made in 1993.

The movie actually plays well as a "parody" of 80's high school/teenager movies - especially "Karate Kid" (it's a virtual copy).

The only problem is - it parodies these movies unintentionally.

"Showdown" is the perfect example of a movie that is hilarious, without ever once trying to be funny.

As others have stated, Billy Blanks really steals the show in this one, and the other main character is played by a former Ninja Turtle.....what great casting! All the high school students appear to be in their late 20's or early thirties - although if you pay close attention, you can probably find a few pushing 40.

Here's the deal.....if you watch this movie as it's SUPPOSED to be watched you will hate it (if you don't, check your pulse!).

But if you watch it as a parody of movies like the "Karate Kid" than you will find yourself laughing throughout the film.

The previous post hit the nail right on the head with its summary of this movie. I just wanted to elaborate a bit more on the sheer cheese factor of this film because there really is SO much of it to be discussed. Namely though, the music.

This movie's score seems to consist of exactly two songs: one for the good guys and one for the crazy/psycho cult dojo members (think Cobra Kai + Marilyn Manson). It is HILARIOUS just how repetitive the soundtrack gets and yet, just like an awful car wreck, you just can't look away.

This movie really is JUST like Karate Kid in terms of of its storyline but the final battle scene takes it all a whole other step further. Not only do the rival teens get to face off in a tournament, but the sensei's end up dueling as well providing for yet ANOTHER opportunity to play the awesomely/disgustingly cheesy "good guy theme" theme. Imagine Mr. Myagi taking on the Cobra Kai sensei but 40x cheesier than what that might be like.

In closing, a memorable quote from Billy Blanks at the end of the film that should be heeded by all:

"I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU HURT ANY MORE KIDS, LEE!"

*CUE Cheesy GOOD GUY THEME*

*SPINKICK*

-- THE END --

I'm only here cuz my step-dad told me about a movie that was shot at PV high school where I graduated in 94 and I never heard of a movie being shot there. So I did some research and here it is!!! Too funny! I actually went there for my freshmen year, then they shut the school down for construction for two years and moved us to the new school, then we got to come back to the original "PV" for our senior year. So apparently they shot this movie while we were at the other school. Why the hell didn't I ever hear about this??? You would've thought everyone who lives near there would've been talking about this. Oh wait I know why....cuz it's a low budget straight-to-video B movie! LOL!!! Now I HAVE to see it!!! Bring back some memories! Peace out!

Although not one of Billy Blanks most superb martial arts films I put that all aside and say it's a decent tough guy film. Billy Blanks plays a cop turned lonely janitor whom by coincidence runs into a new student who is terrorized by a madman cause, he can't stop talkin' to his girlfriend. Some of the plot made no sense to me because, Blanks literally turned this wimp into a modern Bruce Lee overnight. Everything happens too fast. See it for yourself and you'll see what I mean.

Well, everyone else did a great job of summarizing Showdown but I had to add my two cents!

I for one thought it was a pretty good movie that could have been alot better if it weren't for the $10 budget and the obvious storyline theft from a 1984 classic! I recently recorded it off of the TBS Superstation (and I know I am probably missing a bit of it) but from what I saw, I couldn't stop crying from laughing. I don't care what anyone says, Billy Blanks is the man! Anyone who thinks otherwise, is just mad because the dude is making a fortune off of Tae Bo! Although he has not much of an actor (like Steven Segal), he is a great martial artist and kicks rear with the best of them! He has been in some pretty bad movies but always entertains with his skill. But I don't know why he decided to play, Billy, the Janitor. He could of at least used a different name like Bobby, the Custodian or something.

I couldn't help rooting for the good guy, Ken Marks. (played by Kenn Scott and I don't know what it is with people using their real names in movies) I don't know whether I was having Karate Kid flashbacks or what, but I liked the guy's performance (although he had better moves as a Ninja Turtle). However, if I were him, I would have left Julie (Christine Taylor) and her Marsha Brady playin behind alone. I mean especially since she had that crazy boyfriend Tom (Ken McCloud). Although he kept going up to her, I found myself saying, "He must really want to get his butt kicked!" after awhile.

Enter the "Token Nerd" Mike (played by John Mallory Asher)! In a "Weird Science" sort of way, he adds some funny sarcasm to the mix with his "I told you so" but "Please hang out with me" attitude. Lee (played by Patrick Kilpatrick) should have had more lines or better ones. One thing I don't understand is how he went from sounding like a whining Al Bundy (remember the line "You killed my brother pig!") in the beginning of the movie, to the soft/loud spoken master of martial arts.

He is a great actor and was good in "Death Warrant" as the psycho. Yeah I know both guys needed their own respective nemesis but he was as unbelievable as the ones who played Tom's friends, Rob (Michael Cavalieri) and Gina (Seidy Lopez) but I guess it's Different Strokes for Different Folks. As soon as Ken starts training with Billy, I could not believe the timing or the fact that they even made reference to the idea that they stole from the Karate Kid. When Billy made Ken clean the toilets and Ken was like "I get it! So it's like Wax On, Wax Off!" I almost fell out. I was thinking that right before he said it and when Billy added his "No, this is Toilet Cleaning!" line, I was like this was so wrong.

By the way, what was up with the guy Tom's hair in the fight at the end of the movie. He looked like he stuck his finger in an outlet. Anyway, this whole movie was worthy of being shown at 3:00am when I saw it but it was a riot and I can still watch it over and over again!