The Perfect Weapon (1991)

The Perfect Weapon (1991)- * * *

Directed by: Mark DiSalle

Starring: Jeff Speakman, Mako, Dante Basco, James Hong, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Professor Toru Tanaka, and Mariska Hargitay





"No Gun. No Knife. No Equal."






Jeff Sanders (Speakman) has been training in Kenpo since he was a young boy. At first, it was because his father wanted to direct all his unruly, youthful energy. Now he’s a Kenpo master who abides by his own tagline, “no gun, no knife, no equal” (though technically he does use Arnis sticks). When his friend, a shop owner named Kim (Mako) comes under fire from the Korean mob, Sanders snaps into action. But will he snap some necks along the way? 

Along his quest, he must utilize the help of his brother, a cop named Adam Sandler...er...Sanders, and a young punk kid named Jimmy (Fist of the North Star (1995) and Blood and Bone (2009)’s Basco) but it’s going to take all of Jeff’s Kenpo skills to fight off Yung (Hong), Kai (Tagawa) and the intimidating Tanaka (played, unsurprisingly, by Professor Toru Tanaka). Is Jeff Sanders the PERFECT WEAPON? Find out today...

The Perfect Weapon is the best Jeff Speakman movie we’ve seen to date...and why wouldn’t it be: it was his first starring role, as well as being a major studio release tailor-made to showcase his Kenpo talents to the world. As might be expected, the fight scenes are the highlight of the production. Speakman clearly has “got game”, as it were, enough to compete with all his competitors at the time. 

The whole thing is well-shot and you can see all the moves. Refreshingly, this was before quick cuts, green screens and nu-metal corroded the action genre. Sure, it slows down before the climax, but that’s a common action movie malady we’ve seen countless times before. There’s the time honored warehouse showdown, but this time employees still work there and it’s not abandoned. So there’s a slight difference there.

Gumming up the works is the introduction of Jimmy, the classic young punk kid. He gives his scenes with Speakman an unpleasant American Ninja 5 (1993) vibe. He even un-ironically whines “are we there yet?” at one point. Now, let’s not forget Mariska Hargitay, TV’s Olivia Benson, is technically in this movie as well. Despite being top-billed, she has literally zero spoken dialogue and appears only in brief flashes. It would have been so much cooler if Speakman teamed up with her to bust some heads in Koreatown. But no, there has to be an annoying kid, and the movie goes slower with Jimmy.

At least the movie is well-made, and, plotwise, it’s actually about Kenpo, which gives the whole thing consistency. Yes, the whole thing looks like it was shot on a backlot (there are some pretty obvious sets), but some of them are cool - look at “Club Croc-Pit”. 

Notably, the film starts out with Speakman sweatily working out, shirtlessly, in sweatpants, to Snap’s “The Power”. You just know he intentionally put that song on because he believes it was written about him. You can’t get more 1991 than that. When I was eleven years old, I remember seeing a commercial on TV for this movie, and even then, thinking, “another one?” - meaning, I already knew about Arnie, Sly, Seagal, Van Damme, and perhaps others involved in the late 80’s/early 90’s action boom, and I was surprised “they” (meaning studio higher-ups) were rolling out a new guy. How could I, or anyone, have known that the U.S. action boom was about to go bust. We should really treasure what we have.

Director DiSalle has had an interesting career - he’s only directed this and Kickboxer (1989), but he produced Speakman’s Street Knight (1993), as well as Bloodsport (1988) and Death Warrant (1990). He wrote the story for Kickboxer 2 (1989), acted in all five of the aforementioned movies, and that’s about it for him. Apparently he only works with Speakman or Van Damme. Seems like a good way to go through life. Anyway, The Perfect Weapon, despite a few flaws, would prove to be the last theater-released movie from the action boom of the day. That alone makes it worth seeing.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, The Video Vacuum!

Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)

Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)- * * *

Directed by: Lance Hool

Starring: Chuck Norris, Soon-Tek Oh, Dean Ferrandini, and Professor Toru Tanaka













We all know Braddock was Missing In Action (1984). But this sequel - actually a prequel - fills us in on just what went on in the brutal prison camp he was imprisoned in. Braddock and his fellow soldiers are routinely tortured and subjected to harsh, cruel, and sadistic practices, thanks to maniacal commander, Col. Yin (Oh) and his sidekick Lao (Tanaka). Will Braddock escape to see freedom? (Actually, you know he will, because this is a prequel, but just ignore that).

The fans clamored for more Braddock, and more Braddock is what they got with this sequel/prequel. Cannon provided more jungle action and Prerequisite Torture with that trademark Reagan-style patriotism that we’ve all come to know and love. 

There’s even stock footage of Reagan in the actual movie. It could definitely be argued that this sequel is superior to the original, because the plot is more streamlined, and the final fight between Chuck and Soon-Tek Oh absolutely delivers the goods. The movie primarily takes place in one location - the prison camp - and you see their travails, everything from Punchfighting to dealing with Professor Toru Tanaka. He’s a fan favorite and his presence improves the proceedings.

Like the first film, you kind of have to wait for any substantial action, but when it comes, it’s a true crowd pleaser. Adding to this, you get to see the origin of Chuck’s beard. When he was first captured in 1972, he did not have a beard. But he had to grow one in captivity because Col. Yin did not provide razors. Apparently, he liked the way he looked, so he kept it. Because of Chuck’s long hair and beard, and the way he’s treated, in Missing In Action 2: The Beginning there are certainly some parallels to the story of Jesus. Think about it.

Director Lance Hool, who was credited with writing and producing credits on the first film, here steps into the director’s chair with successful results. He obviously understands the Braddock character and that’s probably why he got the gig. Once again Aaron Norris is on board for stunt work, as is fan favorite John Barrett. Dean Ferrandini, usually part of the stunt team, here steps in front of the camera in the role of Kirtle. It appears everyone knew what they were doing and did their best to expand the story of Braddock, and it certainly worked.

It was released in one of those cool MGM/Cannon silver big boxes, so the collectability factor is high. But the movie is definitely worth seeing, as is the first one. But the highest heights of Braddock were yet to come: the final installment of the trilogy was still three years away.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

An Eye For an Eye (1981)

An Eye For an Eye (1981)-* *1\2

Directed by: Steve Carver

Starring: Chuck Norris, Richard Roundtree, Christopher Lee, Professor Toru Tanaka, and Mako










Sean Kane (Chuck) is the best undercover narcotics cop in the San Francisco police department. During what he initially believes to be a standard bust, his partner is killed. His classic BYC (Black Yelling Chief) Capt. Stevens (Roundtree) yells at him for a while about his rogue ways, and, without even being asked in the traditional fashion, Kane turns in his badge and gun. But the threat is far bigger than he originally believes, as a reporter, Linda Chan (Chao) is murdered. 

So Kane teams up with his buddy James Chan (Mako) and the two men work together to get justice, results, or some reasonable combination of the two. But it’s not going to be easy, as dapper baddie Morgan Canfield (Lee) is a powerful man with connections, and his right-hand man has some massive right hands, because it’s Professor Toru Tanaka playing, as if he could play anything else, The Professor. So Kane and Chan have their work cut out for them, but even in the face of insurmountable odds, Kane never loses his cool, or doubts the fact that “he’s a human weapon!” Will an eye be taken for an eye? Find out today...

An Eye for an Eye is generally what people think of when discussing early-80’s Chuck: it’s a little slow, a little dull, but it’s steady, solid, and gets the job done. Perhaps the filmmakers didn’t trust Chuck alone at this early period in his career, so they loaded the movie up with action fan favorites: Mako, Professor Toru Tanaka, Roundtree, and of course Christopher Lee. 

Unfortunately, the fight between Mako and Tanaka left a bit to be desired, and Lee doesn’t show up until 43 minutes in. He should have been more murderous and sinister. But he does his usual professional job, and his mustache and pipe make him seem so sophisticated. Amazingly, in the same year, 1981, Lee starred opposite none other than Eddie Deezen in another San Francisco-set movie, Desperate Moves (1981). We don’t know which was filmed first, but to go from Eddie Deezen to Chuck Norris, or vice versa, is enough to make your head spin.

This was the phase of Chuck’s career where he had a blonde mop-top and no facial hair. He might be the only man of action to make the sweater-with-a-collared-shirt look seem intimidating. An Eye for an Eye follows the formula of “Chuck chasing a hulking brute who’s going around murdering people” template later used for Silent Rage (1982) and Hero and the Terror (1988). 

While Mako makes a great sidekick, and there are some excellent moves displayed in the fight scenes, there’s no conceivable reason why this needed to be 104 minutes. It should have been 90 at most. But then again, this was before ADD had come along and ruined people’s attention spans.

That’s just the thing: as we talked about in our Hero and the Terror review, we’re not against slow paces necessarily, but take a comparable action star of the day like Arnie. His personality, accent and charisma can help viewers power through the boring parts. Chuck doesn’t have those tools at his disposal. 

His co-stars ended up falling into some similar ruts: Roundtree ended up playing BYC’s again, most notably in A Time to Die (1991). Director Carver apparently had no problem with Chuck’s shortcomings and went on to work with him again with Lone Wolf McQuade (1983). From there he did Bulletproof (1988) with Gary Busey and Danny Trejo, and River of Death (1989) with Dudikoff. So his resume of video-store action speaks for itself. Finally, it should be noted that fan favorite Richard Norton is listed as a stuntman, but doesn’t appear in the movie, unfortunately.

An Eye for an Eye certainly has its moments, but there’s some dullness surrounding them, which is a common problem for Chuck movies. Don’t hesitate to see it, just be prepared for that.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Catch The Heat (1987)

Catch The Heat (1987)-* *

Directed by: Joel Silberg

Starring: Tiana Alexandra, David Dukes, Brian Thompson, Professor Toru Tanaka, and Rod Steiger













Checkers Goldberg (Alexandra), who apparently is the original Whoopi Goldberg, is a San Francisco-based federal agent. Her beauty and charm have led her into dangerous undercover work, such as dealing with drug-dealing scumbags like Danny Boy (Thompson). But she gets her biggest undercover job to date when she and partner Waldo Tarr (Dukes, who apparently is the original David Duke) must go to Argentina to stop big-time drug lord/talent scout Jason Hannibal (Steiger) and his army of goons such as Dozu (Tanaka). Evidently crucial to this crimefighting process is Goldberg’s transformation into Cinderella Pu, a stereotype-Chinese character with a thick accent. Will Waldo and Checkers be able to bring down their criminal empire...and fall in love in the process? Yes...WALDO and CHECKERS.




This movie is very, very dumb, not to mention stupid. It’s directed by Joel Silberg, the director of the first Breakin’ (1984). All we can say is...stick with Breakin’. Like Breakin’, this movie does feature some noteworthy music on the soundtrack (such as theme song “Captive in the Heat”... not Catch the, but Captive in, for those keeping score at home) and cool 80’s fashions. But the Martial Arts is pretty watered down and the humor is lame. This is surprising considering the movie was written by famous, lauded writer Stirling Silliphant.




Alexandra is nice to look at, but she’s no female Sho Kosugi, as this movie seems to be grooming her to be. Her line readings are so bad they’re funny, but maybe it’s supposed to be that way. Rod Steiger is on hand for some reason as the main baddie. It’s a total paycheck role for this normally fine actor. They don’t make him do anything too strenuous for fear that his wig might fly off.



While this movie isn’t totally without its merits, and has a nice cast, including fan-favorite Brian Thompson in a small role - yes, Yahoots Magoondi himself - and the always-lovable Professor Toru Tanaka - Catch the Heat (whatever that means) shouldn’t exactly be a priority for your collection.
Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Revenge of the Ninja (1983)

Revenge of the Ninja (1983) -* * *

Directed by: Sam Firstenberg

Starring:  Sho Kosugi, Kane Kosugi, Keith Vitali,  and Professor Toru Tanaka










Living legend Sho Kosugi portrays the similarly-named Cho Osaki in this classic Ninja Boom outing that helped kick off the aforementioned boom.

Cho is a mild-mannered man living in Japan who is also a ninja. When baddies kill off his family, except for his son Kane Osaki (real-life son Kane Kosugi) the two move to the U.S. to start their lives over again in the face of the tragedy and get on with their doll-selling business. Little do they know that some nefarious men are importing drugs in the dolls. When Kane sees what's going on, it fuels a war between the Osaki's and the drug peddlers. Add to that, there is a traitor in Cho's midst.  Will Cho Ninja his way out of this mess and finally have peace?

It's easy to see why this is one of the most popular Ninja titles from the classic era. Sho is at his best here. He says little, but that works in his favor. His son Kane takes after his dad, and nowhere is that better seen than when he fights some schoolyard bullies. Those kids never saw NINJA moves coming their way. Don't mess with pint-sized Kane. Maybe this was the seedling that later sprouted the 3 Ninjas franchise (the first one of which features Prof. Toru Tanaka, as does this film...coincidence?) and, of course, Little Ninjas (1990).

The movie is surprisingly brutal, with ninja stars embedded in foreheads and all, but it's all in good fun. Fun really is the name of the game here, as the simple plot allows for the maximum amount of Ninja action. It's well-shot and everything is very pro. This obviously raised the bar for Cannon Films.

Watch out for the aforementioned Toru Tanaka who is always fun to see, and Keith Vitali of American Kickboxer 1 (1990) fame is on hand as well.  This is a great place to start for those unfamiliar with Ninja movies and are looking for a good way to kick off a potential obsession. For further "Sho"-times check out Enter The Ninja (1981). Go Sho!

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett