Showdown In Little Tokyo

Showdown In Little Tokyo (1991)
Directed by Mark L. Lester
Starring Dolph Lundgren, Brandon Lee and Tia Carrere

"That's perfect... I'm partnered with a homicidal maniac on a personal vendetta of family vengeance"

I know one of the worst clichés when writing about old movies is to say "they don't make them like this anymore", but in the case of Showdown In Little Tokyo, they seriously don't make them like this anymore. This movie, for lack of a better description, kicks fucking ass.

Dolph Lundgren plays Chris Kenner, a giant of a man, who has grown up with an intense respect for and interest in samourai tradition (as a result of his parents getting murdered by a Japanese gangster when he was a kid).


Now a grown man, he's a Los Angeles police officer with some rather unorthodox working methods and only one thing on his mind: track down and destroy Yoshida, the evil snuff-movie making, drug dealing Yakuza overlord who killed his parents.


This guys is seriously EVIL!

By Dolph's side is the equally kick-ass, if not quite as awe-inspiring, Brandon Lee as Johnny Murata.


Together they rack up a seriously impressive body count, in what is another underrated classic from director Mark L. Lester.



Lundgren is obviously the star, but Lee gets most of the one-liners and there are a lot of classics here.

From the amazing…

"Listen you Zen warrior, fucking samurai asshole! I wanna know what's up!"

"You have the right to an Attorney. You have the right to be dead!"

And

"Listen, will you do this right? Clean? Like a cop in the 20th century, not some samurai warrior? We're gonna nail this guy. And when we get done... we're gonna go eat fish off those naked chicks!"

…to some rather bizarre dialogue exchanges

Murata: Kenner, just in case we get killed, I wanted to tell you, you have the biggest dick I've ever seen on a man.
Kenner: Thanks. I don't know what to say.
Murata: How about "Don't get killed"?
Kenner: Don't get killed.
Murata: You too.

This is just so much fun, exactly the way action movies are supposed to be, but rarely are these days. Lundgren and Lee are a seriously great combo – Mel Gibson and Danny Glover have nothing on these guys. And then there's Tia Carrere, who is gorgeous as ever and falls for Dolph after he saves her from committing ritual suicide.



Three thumbs up! 12 out of 10! Totally fucking awesome!

For some reason (which I'm sure is not completely legal), the entire movie is available for streaming on youtube. I strongly suggest you check it out.