Released: August 1991
Director: Mark Lester
Rated R
Run Time: 78 Minutes
Distributor: Warner Bros
Cast:
Dolph Lundgren: Sgt. Chris Kenner
Brandon Lee: Johnny Murata
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa: Yoshida
Tia Carrere: Minako Okeya
Toshishiro Obata: Sato
I WAS going to review Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, but I want to see that one again just to be sure that I saw it correctly. Instead I’m going to review an older action movie from the early 90s: Showdown In Little Tokyo. During the 80s and 90s, there was a plethora of action films. Some good, some bad, but there were a lot of them. Most of them had one thing in common at least: Simplicity. What I mean by simplicity, is that there wasn’t really anything complicated story-wise. It was all straight-forward shoot-em-up, beat-em-up and blow-em-up. Yeah, you had to have some kind of plot to drive the movie forward, but nobody really needed super-extravagant plots with elaborate twists and plot threads that came out of nowhere and WENT nowhere. There is beauty in that kind of simplicity. It’s really apparent in Showdown In Little Tokyo.
The film opens with Sgt. Chris Kenner crashing an illegal fight competition only to be interrupted by Yakuza thugs. After escaping, he’s assigned Johnny Murata as his new partner and they attempt to take down the leader of the drug trade lead by Yakuza leader, Yoshida. See that? That’s simple. That’s not complicated. That’s all you really need to know about the story. That’s IT. The characters are a little deeper, but not really by a whole lot. See, Kenner was raised in Japan, so he studied the martial arts and the way of the samurai, so he has intimate of how Little Tokyo is run. He witnessed his parents murder by Yoshida, so he has a vendetta against the Yakuza. Again, deeper but simple. Murata is of Japanese descent, but doesn’t know a whole lot about his cultural upbringing. So, he’s a bit of a valley guy and smart-ass to boot. Yoshida, the head of the Yakuza, is planning to distribute his drugs along with Japanese imported beer across the country. Are we seeing a pattern yet? It pretty much goes from Point A to Point B, with very little slow-down. What slowdown there is basically allows Kenner to rescue and bang Minako. Showdown In Little Tokyo follows the “Three B’s Of Action Movies” rule: Bullets, beer, and boobs. Not very tactful, I know, but that’s what it is.
Is Showdown In Little Tokyo a great movie? No, but is a good one. There are several reasons why this movie works: 1. Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee. The dynamics and the chemistry between these guys is absolutely phenomenal. They’re basically jabbing at each other and getting in each other’s way until the decide to work together. There’s a lot of one-liners and humor to be found here, and these guys pull it off immensely. On top of that, these guys are top-notch martial artists. Brandon Lee had the benefit of being Bruce Lee’s son, so the martial arts was a part of his life. Dolph Lundgren studied different martial arts when he was a kid and eventually became a 3rd degree black belt in Kyokushin Karate. He’s definitely got moves. They’ve got the physicality down. 2. Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. All heroes need great villains to fight and Yoshida is definitely a scumbag. Tagawa, who would go on to play Shang Tsung in the video-game adaptation of Mortal Kombat in 1995, almost steals the show entirely as Yoshida. The great thing about Yoshida, is that he’s not really an idiot. He’s a smart villain, he knows his business and he knows to handle himself. Again, he’s not for world domination or manipulating our heroes. He’s there to make money. 3. The cinematography. This is an incredibly well-shot and well-structured film. This was 1991, so the whole “shaky-cam” technique didn’t really exist yet(damn you, Paul Greengrass!). You can see the fights that are happening as well as some of the scenery and the city backdrops.
The action is great. We’ve got great fight scenes from both Lee and Lundgren, who were both in their prime. The gun fights are also spectacular. We’ve got explosions and sword fighting. What’s not to like? As I said before, the camera-work is excellent. It’s all steady-cam and keeps a proper distance so we can see what’s happening. I think a lot of modern action flicks need to take a breath and take a look to the past to see how things were done. Take the run time for example: 78 minutes long. That’s all you need for a movie like this. You don’t have time for all the unnecessary plot devices and exposition bullshit and that’s a good thing. I really don’t mind when a movie builds up to an action-packed finale. Some days I prefer the build-up. But there are some days that I just need that shot of adrenaline that keeps me going for an hour and a half, and Showdown In Little Tokyo provides that. If there’s really a downside to the film is that Tia Carrere is essentially a damsel in distress. A GORGEOUS damsel, but a damsel nonetheless.
Watching Showdown In Little Tokyo now reminds of what could’ve been if Brandon Lee hadn’t died during the making of The Crow. Had he not died, I think he and Dolph Lundgren would’ve made several more movies together. That’s how great the chemistry between the two of them was. It just breaks my heart that Lee never got the chance to do it again. Overall, I think Showdown In Little Tokyo is a solid little action movie that reminds us of how simplicity in an action movie can be a great thing. My final score is an enthusiastic 9.5/10. I love, and I think I’m going to watch it again. Don’t worry, my review of Batman V. Superman is still coming, but not just yet.