Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991)

Two cops have to work together to bring down the Yakuza, while trying to protect a beautiful woman.

Director:

Mark L. Lester

Writers:

Stephen Glantz, Caliope Brattlestreet

Stars:

Dolph Lundgren, Brandon Lee, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dolph Lundgren	...	Sgt. Chris Kenner
Brandon Lee	...	Johnny Murata
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Funekei Yoshida
Tia Carrere	...	Minako Okeya
Toshishiro Obata	...	Sato
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	...	Nonnie Russell - Coroner (as Vernee Watson-Johnson)
Lenny Imamura	...	Kickboxer #1
Roger Yuan	...	Kickboxer #2

Storyline

Detective Chris Kenner was orphaned as a child as his father was in the service and was killed and lived in Japan. Now he is on the trail of ruthless Yakuza leader named Yoshido, who helped establish a small Japanese area in Los Angeles and is now running a drug ring disguised as a brewery. However, Kenner must team up with a Japanese-American detective named Johnny Murata, and he also must protect a witness named Minako who would testify against Yoshido. But what Kenner will soon discover that he will be in a lot more than what he bargained for.

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Plot Keywords:

yakuza | detective | japanese american | little tokyo | violence | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, and for language, sensuality and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Warner Bros [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

23 August 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sgt. K.

Filming Locations:

Long Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$649,809, 25 August 1991, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,275,557

Company Credits

Production Co:

Little Tokyo Productions,Original Pictures,Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the crime scene, when Kenner is shown the decapitated girl's dead body, the church in the background is the same building seen in Prince of Darkness (1987). It's a historical landmark, the first Christian church in Little Tokyo, that was repaired and became the Union Center for the Arts after the 1994 earthquake.

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Goofs

When Murata moves to grab Kenner's knife during their fight, there is a bald Japanese guy in a car holding a submachine gun. In the next shot he is inside the restaurant, running out.

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Quotes

Chris Kenner: I liked that car. And I liked that girl. And I'd like to cut off certain parts of Yoshida's anatomy.
Johnny Murata: Ya know, you've got a fixation, pal...

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Alternate Versions

The German version was heavily cut. All other european versions are based on the unrated version of the film. The american version was also cut to achieve an R-rating. New german DVD release is completely uncut.

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Connections

References Seven Samurai (1954)

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Soundtracks

Round and Round
Written and Produced by Kris Kurry
Performed by K.K. Wilde
Courtesy of Platinum Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Fun Actioner

It's not the best action movie or one of the top movies of the 90's or anything like that but hey, its a fun flick starring the macho Dolph Lundgren and the late great Brandon Lee.

They basically play two LA cops working on a case in LA's Little Tokyo involving Drug Lords that were linked to Lundgren's past. Dolph and Brandon give great kung fu performances as they utilize their martial arts skills and beat some serious crap outta the drug lords. Especially with the sword fight at the end end between Lundgren and the head drug lord.

The script is pretty cheesy though and the story not very original and I could name a bunch of things that aren't too realistic about this picture but the fun never lets up and their are some good one liners. Just as long as you don't take it serious its a good old fashion B-Movie martial arts flick.