L'arme parfaite

This is one of my all time favorite martial arts flicks. Is the acting going to win any awards? No. But what makes it great is that Speakman takes hits when he is fighting, a lot of hits and sometimes he goes down and other times he uses incorporates the hit into his attack but he isn't Superman and he does take a beating. This gives the fight scenes a realism missing from so many movies of this kind. Unfortunately in his small catalog of movies Speakman never had another of this level. As much as I want to like LWM (and part of me still loves the movie) I hate Chuck Norris too much to separate his nonsense from his characters. I know this statement will win me no love for this review but Jeff Speakman should have had that long, successful run over crazy old Chuck Norris.

..But that's not to say the movie is all-around great. It's a very typical low-budget action flick. The story is pretty cookie-cutter as far as action movies go. It isn't Shakespeare believe me. And the acting is substandard at best. But Jeff Speakman to his enormous credit is a very accomplished martial artist. And having studied Kenpo for many years I can safely say that it's one of the most faithful films to capture the art. And what is even more impressive is the way the film portrays how Kenpo works when compared to different styles (like Tae Kwon Do).

So despite some minor inadequacies it's pretty awesome in many other respects. So for that I give it major credit. And to be honest it's a fun, feel good flick. I would recommend it to any martial arts fan. It's a good time.

This is my favorite martial arts movie. The plot is easy to follow, which makes it good for non-martial arts viewers like me. Jeff has an easygoing personality and is very easy on the eyes. There are some elements of Asian-American meets Asian, and Jeff melts into that world almost effortlessly. The opening scene is memorable as Jeff shows us some of his martial arts moves in full condition, and has a good opening song. The film never drags. Great movie for couples to watch together as it isn't necessarily a "guy" film. Unfortunately, Jeff never followed through on the promise he showed in this, his best film. He later started doing mellow kind of dad movies. His time would have been better spent developing his acting abilities, which are rather wooden. But it's a good kind of b-grade acting.

THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE! This is one of the best martial arts movie I've ever seen. Way to go Jeff Speakman!!! You make Jean Claude Van Damme look like a fly on the wall. You should of been in Expendables 2! I DEFINITELY CAN NOT SAY THE SAME FOR JEAN CLAUDE! I wish you were in more movies because I only remember a good handful that are decent. This completely teaches the viewer the meaning of what it is to be self-discovering. This is just a golden gem that needs to be discovered by martial arts collectors all over the world. If you like fighting movies I would highly recommend you go on a hunting spree for this movie because it is such a rare treat that needs to be cherished by everybody in the world. R.I.P. John Dye, Mako, and Professor Toru Tanaka you guys will always be remembered for your roles in this perfectly Supreme movie, from my childhood. Jeff if you are reading this I just want you to know, you should come back to making these kinds of movies, your presence is missed dearly.

Jeff Speakman really shines in this early 90's beat em' up. He has a lot of charisma, good screen presence and great fighting skills. Directed by Mark DiSalle who made JCVD classics Bloodsport and Kickboxer previous to this. When his family friend Kim is harassed then murdered by the Korean crime syndicate, Jeff Speakman beats up many bad guys on his mission for justice. The pace is quick with much well choreographed martial arts action. The support cast is great with Mako, James Hong, Professor Toru Tanaka, James Lew as well as many Asian Hollywood regulars that worked during this period.If you like the Van Damme and Segal movies of the late 80's/early 90's you will most likely dig The Perfect Weapon. It is too bad Jeff Speakman did'nt make many films with a decent budget. If he had the chance to do more projects of the same caliber and quality as TPW, he would be a household name in the action genre.