Review of Showdown in Little Tokyo

Introduction

The 1991 movie Showdown in Little Tokyo stars the king of the direct-to-video action movies in the late 80s and early 90s, Dolph Lundgren, alongside Brandon Lee who was just establishing himself as an actor and who tragically died three years later when filming The Crow.

The film features Lundgren as an American brought up in Japan and now working as a LAPD cop who is partnered with Lee, an Asian-American who knows nothing about his culture. The two stumble on a Yakuza drug smuggling operation and the man who killed Lundgren`s parents back in Japan...

Video

Video comes in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and is above average quality throughout the movie. For the most part the image is free of dirt and grain, although a slight lack of focus and detail is evident on a few scenes.

The film is from the same director that made Commando and features the same high body count and is quite violent at times. The numerous well-choreographed fight scenes are very entertaining, and Lundgren and Lee both make use of guns, swords, knives and a variety of other weapons as well as their hands, feet and occasional piece of furniture!

Audio

Unfortunately, Warner Home Video haven`t seen fit to remix the soundtrack into Dolby Digital 5.1, so we`re left with a Dolby Digital Stereo (Pro-Logic) mix instead, which is disappointing for an action movie made in the 90s.

Having said that, the soundtrack is perfectly adequate and good use is made of the mono Pro-Logic rear channel, although the lack of dynamic range and steering is noticeable.

Aside from numerous gunshots and the many sounds in the fights (which at times sound over emphasised and unrealistic), there`s a fairly cheesy action movie score with an oriental twist and the dialogue remains clear at all times.

Features

As with many other older titles in Warner Home Video`s range, the only extra in sight is the trailer, accessed from the static menu.

The film is packaged in a snapper case, which details the 22 chapter breaks.

Conclusion

I first saw Showdown in Little Tokyo on video when it was released and quite enjoyed it, but it hasn`t aged all that well, and it`s probably just as well that it only runs for 76 minutes as it would struggle to hold my interest for much longer.

The main problem is that the dialogue is pretty tedious, and much of it is a vanity exercise for Lundgren with comments about his muscles etc. Brandon Lee`s acting is also a little suspect in this film, with slightly wooden delivery of the numerous one-liners, but he makes up for it with a good physical performance in the fight scenes. Although made in 1991, this really is no different to the "classic" 80s action movie genre.

The fights and action are good, but a little too contrived at times for a "serious" film, with some of the moves being better suited to a Jackie Chan flick instead.

To summarise, the film has good picture quality, good sound (even though it is Dolby Digital Stereo) and is relatively entertaining despite several shortcomings. The suggested retail price is cheap, but this is probably one to add to the rental list unless you`re a big fan.