Showdown in Little Tokyo

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.

Surely the rating should be higher? This is one of the better Dolph Lundgren-takes-on-all-comers movies, and its got Brandon Lee godamnit!

Ok, so it gets predictable, but isnt that why action movies are so well loved? Its got enough of a storyline not to resemble Red Scorpion in any way, but only just little enough to make it a totally enjoyable flick. I mean, for 1991, what were you expecting? Considering that this was the director who brought us Commando, this is the ultimate in bloke films. If you want to clear the women away, put either one of these films on and enjoy a mens night in!

So its not Minority Report, its not The Shawshank Redemption but its redemption at its best, feet first!

Oh, and Tia Carrare in a hot tub. Gets it at least one point. ;)

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.

Reading some of these comments, it occurred to me no one seems to know how to have fun anymore. This movie is not meant to be a great movie. I don't think any of the actors had intention of trying for an oscar. It's simply a fun movie. The action sequences are pretty cool and the one liners are hysterical. Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee are a great action pair. The chemistry between them is amazing. If you just want to watch a movie that's going to make you laugh, and get some good action with it, I highly recommend Showdown.

"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.