Showdown in Little Tokyo - Film Review

I don't review every awful movie I watch, but considering this film's pedigree, it seemed fitting that discuss this one. I'm a huge fan of 1980s' action movies, and despite the fact that this one is technically from the 1990s, I was genuinely excited when this hit our "Bad Movie List." My excitement died faster than some of Dolph Lundgren's foes in this film though, when I struggled to follow the incoherent plot and muddled performances of its characters. 

*

Where You Can Find It: We saw this dud on Amazon Video where it is available for rent and/or purchase.

General Information 
Showdown in Little Tokyo is buddy-cop action movie that was first released on 23 August 1991. It was directed and produced by Mark L. Lester with action stars, Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee (the son of Bruce Lee), headlining. The film was distributed by Warner Brothers and retains a surprisingly short run-time of only 79 minutes. The movie received largely negative critical reviews and doesn't even have a Metascore (although it does hold a 6.1 on IMDB). There appears to have been some conflict between Lester and Warner Brothers that caused the distributor to demand re-edits and only release it in a limited capacity. Although the film did hit theaters, it was not a full release and this caused it to only bring in approximately a quarter of its full budget of $8 million.

The run-time appears to be a particularly controversial aspect of this film as viewers will see that scenes were clearly cut at certain parts as there are noticeable gaps. I found this really strange that Warner Brothers decided to re-edit the film to cut the run-time when Lester's cut was only 11 minutes longer. I'm not sure what caused the distributor to hack this film apart, but I'm going to assume they didn't like what they saw and figured a slightly shorter film would be easier to kill in theaters.

The Story
Chris Kenner (played by Dolph Lundgren) and Johnny Murata (played by Brandon Lee) are cops in the Asian Task Force of the Los Angeles Police Department. Kenner is a loose cannon that grew up in Japan, so he knows everything about Japanese culture, while Murata is Kenner's new partner and knows nothing about Japan despite being half-Japanese. The Yakuza outfit, the Iron Claw, have muscled in on Los Angeles' Little Tokyo and only Kenner and Murata can stop them!

The premise of the film sounds chock-full of clichés and it doesn't disappoint. I thought it was hilarious that Kenner is all-in on Japanese culture despite being the white guy while Murata is so clueless that he nears the point of complete idiocy. This contrast is only further enhanced when Kenner nearly goes full yellow-face by wearing traditional Japanese garb to the final showdown as Murata struggles to figure out what a futon is.

**

Kenner and Murata in their respective elements

Despite how hilariously awesome this movie sounds, it feels incredibly generic. There are tons of action set-pieces but this may actually be to the detriment of the film as it seemed like the story was built around the set pieces with little thought given to the actual plot. The Iron Claw are bafflingly incompetent as I noticed at least a couple of the goons end up fighting Kenner on a daily basis (losing every time, of course). On the law enforcement side, Kenner and Murata seem more like vigilantes than cops as they never arrest anyone and end up destroying most of the areas they're trying to protect (they also run from the police too). 

Special Effects/Atmosphere

As mentioned earlier, there's a ton of action set-pieces in this film. There are shootouts and fistfights in everything from ramen shops and illegal boxing rings to car graveyards and a brewery (my favorite is the nightclub where patrons eat sushi off naked ladies). For what it's worth, I love the variety and creative use of how these locations were used for the action sequences, but I just wish they made more sense for the story. As one might expect, there is a bit of martial arts in this film, but it only works so well. Despite Brandon Lee headlining the film, his martial arts scenes felt a bit stilted, although I really enjoyed seeing Dolph Lundgren use his considerable size and strength to punch people through walls and lift cars.

***

Murata's a fan of the nightclub scene too!

The soundtrack is entirely forgettable as it's all about as generic as the film's plot. It lacks the signature charm that similar films like Lethal Weapon and Die Hard have. The sound effects are fairly standard for a generic action film, but the practical effects (i.e. explosions) were pretty cool to see.  

The Acting
The major subplot of this film surrounds Kenner's backstory in that his parents were killed by the Iron Claw's leader, Funekei Yoshida (played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa). This gives Lundgren plenty to do, and I love the guy, but any scene that doesn't involve him stabbing or shooting someone just doesn't suit his talents. There are more than a few scenes where he's asked to act in an emotional way, but it all comes off as self-parody.

I hate to speak ill of the dead, but the worst part of this movie is Brandon Lee's acting abilities though. The chemistry between Lundgren and Lee are awful, and Lee's delivery of dialogue is clunky. Beyond that, his character just doesn't have anything to do in the film, which is a bit of a shame. Lester could have simply cut Murata from the film and it would've made no difference to the end-result as he doesn't contribute to the story in any meaningful way.

****

The best line delivery in the entire film

The supporting cast fill the role of "generic Asian character" well enough, but no one particularly stands out. I'm a fan of Tagawa and he plays a pretty nasty villain, but he doesn't stand out enough. Tia Carrere plays the love interest for Kenner, but her character has no agency in the film and seemingly laughs off being raped. 

The Best of the Best: Dolph Lundgren high-jump kicking over a speeding convertible packed with Yakuza goons.

The Worst of the Worst: The forgettable plot.

Calhooey Score: 4/10 - Below Average

Would I Recommend?

*****

My thoughts exactly, Brandon...

I suppose if you're drunk this might be a funny thing to watch and pick apart with friends, but this is essentially one of the most generic action movies I've ever seen. Considering that this film came out as the buddy-cop action movie genre was starting to die out, I'm not surprised that it faded into obscurity. There are better movies in this genre that you can watch. If you want a something similar but better, I recommend American Yakuza over this one.

-------------------------------------------------Spoiler Comments-----------------------------------------------------

• The look on Mama-san's face (in the background) as she took in the sheer carnage Kenner and Murata unleashed on her small restaurant was both sad and funny at the same time.
• Of all the ways to kill yourself, breaking one's own neck is pretty hilarious to behold.
• The electro-shock torture scene was clearly a rip-off of Lethal Weapon, but this scenario made no sense. Kenner shoved the torturer into Murata's "shock-table" and killed him, but if the electric current was strong enough to kill the torturer wouldn't it have killed Kenner and Murata too?
• Speaking of Lethal Weapon, almost all of the actors that play as the generic Yakuza goons can be found in Lethal Weapon 4 (a vastly better movie in my opinion).
• Yoshida's fascination with television is one of the weirdest kinks I've ever seen a movie villain have.
• I wonder how many takes it took for Brandon Lee and Dolph Lundgren to do that exchange on where Murata compliments Kenner on the size of his penis?
• Kenner and Murata must know that they're going to get arrested by their own task force at the end right? These two are menaces to society and need to be stopped.

----------------------------------------------------References--------------------------------------------------

*IMDB. (n.d.). Big Trouble in Little Tokyo film cover image. Retrieved from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102915/.

**Haphazardstuff.com. (n.d.). Dolph Lundgren image. Retrieved from: https://haphazardstuff.com/showdown-in-little-tokyo-1991-movie-review/.

**Showdown in Little Tokyo. (1991, August 23). Brandon Lee futon image. Amazon Video. Retrieved from: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/764660262950535180/769430139989131264/unknown.png?width=628&height=614.

***Showdown in Little Tokyo. (1991, August 23). Brandon Lee fish image. Amazon Video. Retrieved from: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/764660262950535180/769425088050626601/unknown.png?width=857&height=614.

****Showdown in Little Tokyo. (1991, August 23). Brandon Lee awkward compliment image. Amazon Video. Retrieved from: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/764660262950535180/769431318017736704/unknown.png?width=871&height=614.

*****Showdown in Little Tokyo. (1991, August 23). Brandon Lee lighter image. Amazon Video. Retrieved from: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/764660262950535180/769435123028328468/unknown.png?width=917&height=614.