Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Mark L. Lester

Writers (WGA):

Stephen Glantz (written by) &
Caliope Brattlestreet (written by)

Release Date:

23 August 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

One's a warrior. One's a wise guy. They're two L.A. cops going after a gang of drug lords. Feet first.

Plot:

For 400 years, Japan has been home to a secret criminal organization dedicated to its own supremacy in the underworld...

Plot Keywords:

Yakuza | Little Tokyo | Drugs | Violence | Sushi

Cast

Dolph Lundgren	...	Sgt. Chris Kenner
Brandon Lee	...	Johnny Murata
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Funekei Yoshida
Tia Carrere	...	Minako Okeya
Toshirô Obata	...	Sato (also as Toshishiro Obata)
Philip Tan	...	Tanaka
Rodney Kageyama	...	Eddie
Ernie Lively	...	Detective Nelson
Renee Allman	...	Angel Mueller (as Renee Griffin)
Reid Asato	...	Muto
Takayo Fischer	...	Mama Yamaguchi
Simon Rhee	...	Ito
Vernee Watson-Johnson	...	Nonnie Russell - Coroner
Lenny Imamura	...	Kickboxer #1
Roger Yuan	...	Kickboxer #2

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Germany:18 (re-rating) (JK/SPIO) | West Germany:18 (video premiere) (cut) | Finland:K-18 | Iceland:16 | Australia:R | France:-12 (video premiere) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:(Banned) | UK:18 | USA:R | New Zealand:R18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Little Tokyo Productions

Trivia:

All of the swords used in the film were replicas, with the exception of the one used by Dolph Lundgren's character when he slices through bundles of bamboo: this was an authentic samurai sword.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Kenner carries a .44 Magnum Desert Eagle. This weapon only holds seven bullets in its clip + 1 in the chamber, for a total of 8 consecutive shots. During the shootout scene at the house, Kenner fires 17 shots before finally crouching behind a car to reload.

Quotes:

Johnny Murata: [sees Japanese businessmen eating sushi off of a naked woman] You know that thing I said about the fish? I can change my mind...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hollywood Stuntmakers: Fantastic Fights" (1991)

Soundtrack:

The Woman in Me

A classic!

This is one of the action-movies i grew up with. Seeing it again on TV just brings back a lot of memories. And actually the movie itself is not all crap either! Kenner (Lundgren) and Murata (Lee) both have trouble keeping their partners. Now they team up together to fight the Yakuza in Los Angeles.

Buddy cop pictures are not the most uncommon movies to say the least. But this is a movie that has it all. Campy acting, the worst one-liners ever, nicely choreographed fighting, evil Asians and heroes that are always on each others case. Not to mention the super-evil villain played here by the legendary Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa who should be quite used to these kinds of roles by now.

So, this is not exactly quality and it's not exactly good. But still it contains all the elements that made it an instant classic when i saw it for the first time. Half-naked women, cool heroes and loads of action. So the rating is based more on the memories than the actual movie. But for me this will always be a 7/10.