Deadly Outbreak (1995)

Deadly Outbreak (1995)- * * *

Directed by: Rick Avery

Starring: Jeff Speakman, Idan Alterman, Bridget Marks, Rochelle Swanson, and Ron Silver











At a defense institution in Israel, Dr. Allie Levin (Swanson) has developed a highly advanced and extremely deadly chemical weapon. When the evil Baron (Silver) and his goons take over the institution by force because they want said weapon, all hell breaks loose. Luckily, a Special Ops escort from the U.S. embassy, Dutton Elvis Hatfield (Speakman) is in the building and plans to stop the terrorist attack. He has his wits, his Kenpo skills, Dr. Levin, and a young security guard, Ira (Alterman) to help him on his quest to take down the baddies. All Hatfield wants to do is get back to his son and play in the park. Will he be able to? Find out today!

The early-to-mid 90’s were truly the golden years for the, as we call it, “DieHardInA” movie. It’s simply amazing just how many Die Hard (1988) knockoffs came out in this short stretch of time. It seems hard to believe video store patrons of the day were really clamoring for them - at least this many of them, but the sheer numbers speak for themselves. Deadly Outbreak doesn’t exactly add much new to the sub-genre; its closest corollary is probably Lethal Tender, with maybe a little Crackerjack - but it does feature one of the best Speakman performances we’ve seen to date.

Speakman is likable, has a lot of great one-liners, and his Kenpo skills are truly fast and furious. Did we mention that he’s LIKABLE? Thank goodness for that. It seems so many DTV movies forget to have even one likable character. Unfortunately, the movie does fall into the “annoying and nagging woman” cliche with the female doctor, which we were disappointed by. That and the fact that there is not one but two “hot scientists” - the other being Starkov, played by a former Playboy Playmate (Marks), might lead to charges of insensitivity, but come on. The whole movie is entirely implausible. You wouldn’t be watching this movie if you were looking for plausibility. The main selling points are the mindless shooting, Speakman’s Martial Arts, and Ron Silver’s interesting performance, which we would dub as “level-headed evil”. One thing about Silver is that he tends to underplay his roles, speaking in quiet tones, which actually provides a nice contrast to all the bombastic shooting, stunts and blow-ups going on around him. We definitely miss Silver. We remain fans.

This is a Nu-Image movie before Nu-Image went to complete crud, although the 90’s CD-ROM-style effects at the outset of the movie perhaps point the way to the future. Although, to be fair, it was the 90’s. But it’s doubtful they looked convincing even then. Speaking of the 90s, look at the size of the word "Deadly" and the size of the word "Outbreak". Were they attempting to capitalize on the hit film Outbreak (1995)? Or just trying to trick video store patrons who aren't paying attention? The world will never know. Director Rick Avery is far more well known for being an accomplished stuntman, not for being a brilliant storyteller, and he does seem to get the most out of everyone, at least in the physicality department, from Speakman to Alterman, who looks like a young Nicolas Cage.

If you take anything away from today’s review it should be these two points: Deadly Outbreak is a textbook example of the 90’s DieHardInA movie, and that Jeff Speakman’s likable performance SAVES the movie. Without him, this would be a slog. So with those two things in mind, now you can make an informed decision as to see it. Go Dutton Elvis Hatfield!

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, Explosive Action!

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!