I watched this film because I am a great fan of Hwang Jang Lee. First off, I do not understand why he is credited as Jason Hwang. For a start, that is his son's name so I am confused. I know that most Americans have never heard of him but I think it is a bit of a come-down for him to make his wonderful name less foreign sounding for the Yanks. I can only surmise that because there were other Korean actors involved in this film that he was asked to be part of it.
Basically, Street Soldiers is excruciating to watch. I would have preferred someone like Christopher Walken to play the part of Priest. Oh, that would have saved this film from the depths! It might have even helped Jang Lee's acting career in the US. Who knows? It is your basic gang warfare story with a bit of gang banging thrown in for sport. Pretty dreadful. And that is odd, really, because if this film had been transported to Hong Kong or Korean cinema, the story would not be too dissimilar (and probably a damn sight better, too!). So, what makes it so bad? The acting is AWFUL! It's a dated film full of cliche villians, smarmy good guys and airhead damsels in distress. The martial arts is good but there is not enough.
I gave this film a rating of 3 because of Hwang Jang Lee. It would have been much less if he had not been in it. I do not know very much Korean but I am pretty sure his name in the film means 'chicken'. The man does not utter a single word so he relies on his expressive face and sign language to communicate. While I watched the film I thought he really did not want to be in it. It is such a come down from 'Drunken Master', 'Hellz Windstaff' and so many other wonderful films he has done. But he looks fine and very handsome in Western dress. I do not know if he had been doing bodybuilding because he looks quite beefy.
Jang Lee does a couple visual jokes that had me laughing out loud. He had a pet cobra (not a real one, well, it looked pretty fake)and was petting it. The look on his face was priceless. Then in another scene the two gangs meet up in a discount warehouse shop. While the round eyes are trying to beat themselves to a pulp, Jang Lee finds a rather fetching jacket and holds it up to himself in a spot of self-admiration.
Hwang Jang Lee hardly ever shows off his amazing abilities at martial arts. Maybe his reputation followed him and people were too scared to spar with him! When he does get a chance, especially at the end with Jun Chong, it's over all too quickly.
Despite my views, I am glad I was able to view the film. It is now part of my Hwang Jang Lee collection but I do not know when I will be seeing it again.
