Street Soldiers (1991)

Street Soldiers (1991)- * * *

Directed by: Lee Harry

Starring: Jun Chong, Jeff Rector, Katherine Armstrong, Jason Hwong, David Homb, and Jay Richardson

The JP’s and the Tigers are two rival gangs in town. The Tigers wear less-than-intimidating tiger decals on their varsity jackets. That’s how you know they’re a gang. When the sadistic and insane leader of the JP’s, Priest (Rector) gets out of prison, he makes it his mission to destroy the Tigers. While the Tigers just want to have wholesome fun like dancing at the prom and skateboarding through the halls of their school, the JP’s are hellbent on rape and murder. Just how these two mismatched groups became rivals is unknown. Yes, there is a love triangle at play between Priest, Julie (Armstrong), and Tigers leader Troy (Homb), but that still doesn’t really explain it. (Here’s a tip we should all follow: stop looking for logic with Street Soldiers).

Anyway, a likable Karate (shouldn’t it be Tae Kwon Do?) instructor named Master Han agrees to train the Tigers so they can be victorious against the JP’s. You know he’s a Karate instructor because there is a one-word sign above his formerly-abandoned building that reads: KARATE. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the JP’s have their own “evil Karate instructor”, Tok (Hwang), so THEY are all in training as well. Could the ultimate rumble be at hand? And what does the mysterious Wheelchair Willie (Richardson) have to do with any of this? And what the HECK is going on here?

Street Soldiers is a great example of 90’s Silly. If you go into this expecting a gravely serious treatise on the horrors of gang life, you will be sorely disappointed. However, if you keep your mind open to the fact that a bunch of dudes who look like middle-aged men can caper around while attempting to appear as though they’re still in high school while they get into knife fights whilst wearing funny-looking jackets, then you will be truly ready for Street Soldiers.

Yes, of course, the budget is low, and there is plenty of non-acting/overacting (witness Jeff Rector attempt to out-John Miller John Miller) and the whole thing is a wonton soup of wanton ridiculousness, but it’s not boring. It’s also not quite as unselfconscious as Miami Connection (1987), but it’s heading into that ballpark. Actually, you should probably see it.


The second the viewer sees a bunch of men playing stickball in the streets (with each other; they should probably be playing with their kids) and then get into a “rumble” which should really be a dance-off, followed by a mustachioed Karate instructor taking every last one of them under his wing, he or she realizes they probably shouldn’t be too tough on Street Soldiers.

The most hilarious thing about the movie is the fact that these aforementioned adults were cast as high school kids. Does this exist in the same universe as Beverly Hills, 90210? Because we haven’t seen high-schoolers this elderly since Dylan and Brandon. The cafeteria in Street Soldiers is the only one on record serving not just sloppy joes but Centrum Silver. The gang hideouts for both the JP’s and the Tigers look like sets for a Viagra commercial. They’re getting into gang rumbles when they should be concerned about paying their mortgages.

Anyway, there are some nice editing touches like cool scene transitions, a mid-movie freeze frame (it should have ended the film, but we’ll take it just the same), and a soundtrack with some pretty decent songs on it. There was actually a cassette release of the soundtrack, which features bands such as Lonesome Romeos, The Snakes, Mr. Cosmos, and Benny Mardones – not exactly hip with the kids as they were probably going for, but the adult contemporary set (i.e. the cast) is the perfect audience for it.

The whole “this is really out of touch” vibe is really quite charming. Of course, it all ends with the time-honored Final Warehouse Fight. Throughout the movie thus far, a bunch of seemingly-random things have occurred, such as blues music blaring on the soundtrack out of nowhere, for apparently no reason. Regardless of that, it’s still better than Chains (1989) or Dead End City (1988). Everyone involved gets an A for effort, despite how dippy and, well, naïve it all is. 

Released by Academy on VHS in 1991, to find out the true meaning of “Middle-Aged Punks”, look no further than Street Soldiers!

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Death Flash (1986)

Death Flash (1986)- * * *1\2

Directed by: Tony Zarindast

Starring: A.J. Nay, Cherry Williams, Kimberly Evans, Doreen Alderman, and Tony Zarindast

****1200th Review!!****

Johnny Duncan (Nay) is a classic COTE (Cop On The Edge) who goes OVER the edge when he finds out his wife Fiona (Alderman) is having an affair. Duncan is out of control, and he ends up behind bars. He ends up cleverly breaking out of prison when he finds out his sister Annie (Evans) and her friend Julie (Williams) are being kept under the iron fist of a wealthy drug lord. Duncan then proceeds to launch a one-man war against all the baddies involved in order to save his loved ones. Anyone opposed to this sort of action say Nay!

Death Flash (AKA Solitary) is a ton of enjoyable fun from start to finish. You just have to love movies like this – they really are true gems. Director/Co-Writer Tony Zarindast predated his Hardcase and Fist (1989) with this treasure, although this one doesn’t feature Beano. Well, I guess you can’t have it all. Zarindast even has a small role as the Machine Gun Joe character, Mr. Russo. One of the most pleasurable aspects of Death Flash is just how 80’s it is. This movie is 1986 through and through, and no 80’s fan can afford to miss it. 

Our new hero is one Arthur Jeremy Nay, but we call him A.J. He did a lot of work in stunts and appeared in small roles in some action movies, but here he really comes out to shine. While there are a lot of crazy stunts towards the end, we do see him display his abilities as a master of trickery when he dons a foolproof disguise to infiltrate the baddies. We won’t give it away, but remember Fred from the Dunkin Donuts commercials (“Time to make the donuts!”)? He would dress up as various things in order to get his precious donuts, including a woman. Fred had a large mustache, but he just covered it up with his finger when he went undercover as the opposite sex. Let’s just say A.J. Nay does that, but in reverse.



He also will engage in barfights with tough guys in order to defend the honor of his wife’s singing voice. Her band sings a catchy tune called “Secrecy” (performed by Cheryl Jewel), but some rowdy bar patrons don’t approve. They then feel the wrath of Nay.



The music overall is yet more classic 80’s, and mostly performed by a man known, mysteriously, only as Mrozinski. The soundtrack should be released on CD and/or vinyl, and this movie should be released on Blu-Ray stat. It could be packaged with Hardcase and Fist and put out under the banner of “The Tony Zarindast Collection”. Here’s hoping (against hope) that that happens soon.



All the classic clichés that we know, love, and can’t live without are here, including the aforementioned barfight, a truly excellent WYC (White Yelling Chief) in Captain Stanhope (de Soto), lots of punch-ups, blow-ups, shootings, and motorbike-to-helicopter chases, among others. There’s a terrific shootout in a bar with some pinball machines, most places characters go (including strip clubs) have stand-up arcade machines such as Centipede and Pac-Man, the cocaine is plentiful, the hair is big, and the women’s clothes are asymmetrical. Duncan even has a Black partner in Dawson (Lewis) – because the 80’s-ness wouldn’t be complete without a reference to Crockett & Tubbs.



For the atmosphere alone, Death Flash is worth seeing. It’s a pleasant surprise from a time when energetic and enterprising filmmakers could make action movies on a rock-bottom budget and come out with a winner. Comparisons to Samurai Cop (1991) and Miami Connection (1987) wouldn’t be unwarranted. It’s just that they’ve gotten more attention of late. Now that Death Flash is on Amazon Prime (as of this writing), hopefully that will change.


Thank goodness for A.J. Nay, thank goodness for Tony Zarindast, and most of all thank goodness for the 80’s. It was the best decade ever and Death Flash is proof. The whole thing might not be polished to the degree some people might like, but, much more importantly, it’s just FUN. We guarantee you will be entertained by Death Flash, and that’s more than a lot of movies with many more resources can claim. We really recommend it.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett