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Balance of Power

  • 19961996
  • RR
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
4.6/10
383
YOUR RATING
Billy Blanks and Mako in Balance of Power (1996)
Action
A peaceful karate instructor is propelled into the bloody, underworld kick-boxing circuit by the murder of a close friend. The man responsible is an Asian crime lord with a passion for gambl... Read allA peaceful karate instructor is propelled into the bloody, underworld kick-boxing circuit by the murder of a close friend. The man responsible is an Asian crime lord with a passion for gambling on the city's underground street fights.A peaceful karate instructor is propelled into the bloody, underworld kick-boxing circuit by the murder of a close friend. The man responsible is an Asian crime lord with a passion for gambling on the city's underground street fights.
IMDb RATING
4.6/10
383
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Rick Bennett
  • Writers
    • Phillip M. Good
    • Rick Bennett
    • Otto C. Pozzo(story)
  • Stars
    • Billy Blanks
    • Mako
    • Lisa Jai
  • Director
    • Rick Bennett
  • Writers
    • Phillip M. Good
    • Rick Bennett
    • Otto C. Pozzo(story)
  • Stars
    • Billy Blanks
    • Mako
    • Lisa Jai
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 7User reviews
    • 10Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos6

    Billy Blanks and Mako in Balance of Power (1996)
    Balance of Power (1996)
    Billy Blanks in Balance of Power (1996)
    Billy Blanks and Mako in Balance of Power (1996)
    Billy Blanks in Balance of Power (1996)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Billy Blanks
    Billy Blanks
    • Niko
    Mako
    Mako
    • Todo Matsumoto
    Lisa Jai
    • Jasmine Matsumoto
    • (as Lisa Boynton)
    Denis Akiyama
    Denis Akiyama
    • Hastishita
    James Lew
    James Lew
    • Shinji Takamura
    Adrian Hough
    Adrian Hough
    • Slater
    Lawrence Nakamura
    • Monk #1
    Peter Schindelhauer
    Peter Schindelhauer
    • Monk #2
    Adam Bonneau
    • Billy Scott
    Simon Kim
    • Tabata
    Christopher Lee Clements
    • Bodyguard #1
    • (as Christopher Clements)
    Phil Chiu
    • Bodyguard #2
    Scott Hogarth
    • Swordsman #1
    Dave Geneau
    • Swordsman #2
    Sasha St. George
    • Leo
    Sam Bennett
    • Little Joe
    John Liddle
    John Liddle
    • The Man
    Tommy Chang
    Tommy Chang
    • Referee
    • Director
      • Rick Bennett
    • Writers
      • Phillip M. Good
      • Rick Bennett
      • Otto C. Pozzo(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The title was changed to "Hidden Tiger" for the 2002 DVD UK realease to capitalise on the success of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

    User reviews7

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    2/10
    Bad Action, Worse Plot
    This can only be considered a horrible movie. Somewhere someone decided that they would use the basic plot of Bloodsport, put a well-known martial arts guy in it (Billy Blanks), and excrete it out onto VHS for others to accidently waste their time watching.

    The idea is that Billy Banks (Neiko) enters an underground fighting tournament that wealthy drug lords wager on. The final match of the tournament is to the death, and it is perfectly legal to kill any competitor if you get the chance. Neiko enters the tournament to both avenge a fallen student from his dojo and to rid the city of the evil drug lord.

    There are several horrible things about the movie. The student Billy is trying to avenge is shot like it is some planned event. Yet the kid is shot on a random corner, with Billy watching. How would they ever know the kid was there? Why not just have the kid get shot coming out of the dojo? These are the types of questions you ask yourself early and often during the thankfully short 92 minutes of the film.

    In the requiste cookie-cutter training sequence. Billy learns and trains in a remarkably short amount of time. Going from fighting with his anger to total monk like concentration in ..... 1 DAY. The other training is given a unmeasured amount of time and involves running on the beach and breaking wood. Things that you think a guy running a dojo and as ripped as Billy Banks was to start with could have already done easily.

    The acting is all-around shameful. The characters are sterotypical to the point of being almost racist. The worst part though is that the action sucks. I would equate the action sequences to first season Original Star-Trek action. Everything is very slow, with the standard "I hit you, you hit me" flow to every fight. I thought the flying jump kick, while the other guy stands there had been removed from modern action flicks, but it returns yet again....

    The most redeeming feature of the movie is that it might be so bad that it entertains you. The lines so corny you laugh, and plot holes so big they make you grin. This is the ONLY reason to watch this movie.
    helpful•1
    4
    • goldyjhu
    • Aug 26, 2002

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 25, 1997 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Canada
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Hidden Tiger
    • Filming locations
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Amsell Entertainment
      • Complete Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 32 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Ultra Stereo

    Related news

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