Young (Jun Chong), Tony (Phillip Rhee) and three friends start up a security business and this results in them getting in fights a lot. The main plot doesn't kick in until an hour has passed when Young steals a ton of drug money from a client who hired them ("It was bad money and I would put it to a good cause"). Naturally, the dealer wants it back so he hires two assassins - Japan's Yoshida (Ken Nagayama) and New York's Kruger (Bill "Superfoot" Wallace) - to retrieve it and teach the boys a lesson.
This is an odd, yet enjoyable 80s action flick. Odd in the sense that it has no plot for the first hour and that lead tough guy Jun Chong spends a lot of time crying about his drunk mom not loving him. Oh, and there isn't a single ninja in NINJA TURF (its original title was LOS ANGELES STREETFIGHTER). I'm not sure if it hit theaters or not, but RCA/Columbia did release it on VHS. Director Woo-sang Park (under the name Richard Park) directs the action scenes well with an emphasis on the marital arts talents of the leads. This was Rhee's first lead role and he went on to star in the popular BEST OF THE BEST series. Brinke Stevens shows up as a drug dealer's girlfriend and supplies the film's only nudity. I was surprised when I looked up Chong's filmography to see I own 5 of the 6 films he's made, with 2 of them unwatched now. Why I was surprised is beyond me.
Looking up the supporting cast, it seems they have a real superstar in their midst. Mark Hicks is a member of Young's crew (aptly named Mark) and he achieved internet superstar notoriety as the famous Afro Ninja, the guy who attempts to do a flip with some nunchaku and falls on his head. I'm sure you've seen it.
This is an odd, yet enjoyable 80s action flick. Odd in the sense that it has no plot for the first hour and that lead tough guy Jun Chong spends a lot of time crying about his drunk mom not loving him. Oh, and there isn't a single ninja in NINJA TURF (its original title was LOS ANGELES STREETFIGHTER). I'm not sure if it hit theaters or not, but RCA/Columbia did release it on VHS. Director Woo-sang Park (under the name Richard Park) directs the action scenes well with an emphasis on the marital arts talents of the leads. This was Rhee's first lead role and he went on to star in the popular BEST OF THE BEST series. Brinke Stevens shows up as a drug dealer's girlfriend and supplies the film's only nudity. I was surprised when I looked up Chong's filmography to see I own 5 of the 6 films he's made, with 2 of them unwatched now. Why I was surprised is beyond me.
Looking up the supporting cast, it seems they have a real superstar in their midst. Mark Hicks is a member of Young's crew (aptly named Mark) and he achieved internet superstar notoriety as the famous Afro Ninja, the guy who attempts to do a flip with some nunchaku and falls on his head. I'm sure you've seen it.