The Perfect Weapon

The Perfect Weapon (1991)

Runtime: 84 minutes

Directed by: Mark DiSalle

Starring: Jeff Speakman, John Dye, Mako, James Hong, Dante Basco

From: Paramount

In a better world this would have a better reputation than "cult favorite", but alas... I talk about this below: 

This is another one of those movies I enjoyed back in the day yet hadn't seen in many years. Shame on me in this instance, as this is still a lot of fun and should be watched by those that enjoy the American martial arts films. They tried pretty hard to make Jeff Speakman (a real life Kenpo Karate expert) into the next Seagal or Van Damme, someone who would have some success at the box office. Like what happened with most, it did not turn out as planned and instead they were relegated to the direct to VHS world. It's a shame as the people involved deserved better as they did a pretty nice job in creating what should have been a bigger hit.

After the opening credits where you see our hero working out to Snap's The Power, we get to the plot: Speakman plays Jeff Sanders, who is great at Kenpo Karate but he's not a superman who is infallible. In fact, he is enrolled into the martial art as a kid because he did not take his mom's death well. Even after that, he couldn't control his temper so he becomes estranged from his family. That was all in flashback; present day, someone he knew for most of his life (Mako!) is killed and he is looking for revenge, but it's a difficult task.

This has plenty of actors I know: Mako, Beau Starr, James Hong, Mariska Hargitay, Professor Toru Tanaka, Clyde Kusatsu, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Branscombe Richmond, and Al Leong. Of course, many of them were supposed to be Korean but none of the Asian actors were actually Korean... I am used to that in Hollywood so I wasn't distracted and instead I was happy to see all of them. The movie was made well: the action scenes are all exciting and unlike in modern times you can actually make out what's happening; Kenpo Karate made for an exciting style to watch. As expected, there are some silly moments, but it's what I expect from the genre. Special note has to be given to the sound design: it helps you feel all the blows that land and make the film more effective in demonstrating the beating that many people take throughout, including our hero.

Like I said, it's a shame Jeff Speakman did not become a bigger star. Alas, at least this should work for those that love the genre and you're tired of rewatching the old movies of people like Van Damme or Seagal.