Back to Back (1996) (TV)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Roger Nygard

Writers:

Lloyd Keith (writer)
Scott Nimerfro (writer)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

It's time to clean house

Plot:

An ex-cop finds himself caught up in a battle between Japanese mobsters and local gangland thugs and...

Cast

Michael Rooker	...	Bob Malone
Ryo Ishibashi	...	Koji
Danielle Harris	...	Chelsea
John Laughlin	...	Dussecq
Koh Takasugi	...	Hideo
Bobcat Goldthwait	...	Psycho
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Leonardo
Stephen Furst	...	Jimmy
Tim Thomerson	...	Thomas
Fred Willard	...	Loan Officer
Frank D'Amico	...	Delorenzo
Leland Orser	...	Wheelchair Guy
Jake Johannsen	...	Officer Jones
Yasushi 'Bert' Kojima	...	Joe Snapper
Michael Ray Miller	...	Deviant

Also Known As:

Back to Back: American Yakuza 2

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence.

Runtime:

86 min | Argentina:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Australia:MA | UK:18 | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:18 | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | USA:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

NEO Motion Pictures

Movie Connections:

References "Star Trek" (1966)

Soundtrack:

Every Time You Touch Me

If you're angry about the state of justice system, watch this movie

Back to Back is movie made in the same vein as the American Yakuza. Ryo Ishibashi plays role of Yakuza again. Bob Malone (Michael Rooker) is an ex-cop who has anger issues living with his daughter (Danielle Harris) in LA. There're three plots going on at the same time. One with Malone with his daughter Chelsea, and another with Yakuza Koji (Ryo Ishibashi), and Hideo (Koh Takasugi) where they are trying to make delivery of who knows what, and Leonardo (Vincent Scavelli) the gangster and police Sargent Dussecq (John Laughlin) who's actually working together.

The event that brings all of them together is the bank robbery by robber Psycho (Bob Goldswaith) that goes awry thanks to Malone bludgeoning the guy waiting in the getaway car to a pulp during the heist. Psycho gets away and ends up in a restaurant Koji and Hideo is having coffee. This restaurant is also the meeting place for Leonardo and his associates. The funny twist to the story is that no one at the restaurant knows that Koji is an Yakuza including Psycho, Leonardo's associate and the restaurant employee who all in their own way belittles Koji and Hideo and tests their patience. Psycho is the first to get the taste of Koji's violence Yakuza style when he gets his hand chopped off with a cooking knife. Police arrive at the scene and Psycho with his hand chopped off goes out firing his machine gun in a hail of fire. Flagship killing (in my opinion) of this movie happens shortly afterwards.

From there Koji, Chelsea, and Malone meet in the police station and the plot builds up to the final confrontation between Malone + Koji vs. Leonardo and Dussec. the story is well told from the view of people living in the back side of the society, with friendship, and loyalty which is an universal code between warriors of two countries. Ryo Ishibashi and Daniel Harris steals the show with their acting. A hidden gem of a movie I'm sure you'll agree if you've seen it.