Customer Reviews

American Samurai

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Since Cannon films pretty much ran the Ninja craze into the ground (especially after the rather dismal American Ninja 5), they decided to exploit another Asian icon, the Samurai. Here we get David Bradley (American Ninja 3-5) playing, oh my gosh, an American Samurai! When he was a baby his parents plane crashlands somewhere in Asia where he is found and raised by a Samurai and in turn is taught the Samurai fighting style. Sounds like American Ninja you say? You betcha! His 'addoptive' father is even the same actor that played Michael Dudikoff's 'addoptive' father in American Ninja! While growing up, his 'step-brother' gets jealous because his father gains more of a liking for Bradley and a blood feud occurs. Sounds like The Octagon you say? You betcha! When Bradley grows up and moves to L.A., a string of bizarre murders in Turkey garner his attention as they feature his brother's signature cut. He travels to turkey with an annoying "photographer" (who his very attractive) to hunt him down. He gets caught and is forced to join in a "fight to the death" tournament. Sounds like Bloodsport you say? You betcha!

As you can tell there isn't much originality in this movie but you shouldn't expect there to be. The story rips off countless other Cannon and Martial Arts pictures. Bradley gives his usual stiff performance and the love scene between him and the women photographer has to be one of the most "awkward" love scenes ever filmed with body doubles. Though the film is silly and cliche, director Sam Firstenberg (American Ninja 1 & 2) makes this an enjoyable Cannon outing that will sure to please fans of such films as American Ninja and Bloodsport.

The DVD, just like the other recent Cannon film releases by Warner Brothers, is as slim as they come. This means NO special features what-so-ever! Not even a chapter selection! The picture is full frame and rather grainy which makes this film hardly worth the $14 price tag. But us fans of cheesy action films such as this are happy to finally see get released!

This sort of movie is always a bit difficult to review. I mean, the acting is hardly worthy of the word, the story is threadbare, and it is still very enjoyable. As martial arts movies go, this one is top of the bill. The fighting is spectacular, especially the way different fighting styles got mixed. There is even a bit of a plot even if the usual stepbrothers competing for championship has become a little rusty by now and the score is just great. Mark Dacascos as the villainous brother does quite a good job being evil. Fortunately his rediculous overacting doesn't really matter in this sort of movie. David Bradley as the good guy is less convincing, but once the fighting starts he is quite in his element. All in all this is a treat for fans of martial arts. Anybody else will probably wonder if he isn't accidentally watching some sort of Manga.

The story: raised in Japan by a samurai master after his parents died in a plane crash, Drew Collins (David Bradley, American Ninja 4 - The Annihilation) is honored by receiving his adopted family's sacred sword - much to the chagrin of his jealous half-brother Kenjiro (Mark Dacascos, Brotherhood of the Wolf), who steals the heirloom and leaves Drew for dead. To regain it, Drew must travel to Turkey to participate in an underground fighting tournament where Kenjiro reigns supreme.

I wish I could note this movie for its action scenes, but all of the karate and swordfighting in "American Samurai" plays second fiddle to the film's immeasurable weirdness factor. In other martial arts B-movies of this era, unintentional onscreen absurdity can become a minor part of the appeal, but here, it's the film's major highlight. It starts out fairly innocently via awkward staging of the plane crash, but within the next 20 minutes, you've got Kenjiro literally hissing like a snake at Drew, a psychedelic dream sequence in which Drew is attacked by a demon fellow, and more unaccounted-for voiceovers than in recent Steven Seagal fare. Even the standard romance between Drew and his reporter colleague Janet (Valarie Trapp) becomes a matter of "WTF?" when they're snarling at eachother one minute and suddenly making out in the street after a trip to the police station the next. This is followed by one of the strangest love scenes ever, featuring 100% body doubles; David Bradley's lay-in doesn't even have the same body type as him!

I could go on about this for the rest of the review, but some words need to be written for the action content. By large, it's tournament-based weapons fighting similar to Shootfighter. I get the impression that others would be more impressed by it than me, but even as a fan of low-budget fight flicks, the eight encounters didn't impress me. Though the fighters and their respective weapons are a varied and interesting-looking bunch - including international action choreographers Dion Lam (Spider-Man 2) and Antony Szeto (Wushu) in rare onscreen roles - only a handful of the battles last longer than a minute and even fewer feature any choreography other than random swinging or slicing. In some instances, it's rare that the two opponents even appear in the same shot. The Mark Dacascos/Antony Szeto showdown is an exception to this, but the final match between Drew and Kenjiro is a shot in the bucket: some of its shots have clearly been recycled from a previous fight. Thankfully, David Bradley gets to do some hand-to-hand stuff earlier in the movie and utilizes some traditional karate throws and holds that aren't often seen onscreen. That's cool, but it doesn't save the picture.

The movie also makes a point of being ambiguous: Kenjiro's supposed status of Yakuza isn't expounded upon, nor is there any attempt made to perpetuate the insinuation that he's dealing drugs; the relationship between Drew and his adopted father is merely touched on via a series of disorienting flashbacks in the beginning, but they obviously have a strong enough connection to communicate telepathically before Drew's showdown; and at one point, out of the blue, Drew starts narrating...for about a minute. The acting would've been largely decent for a B-movie were it not for the usually-reserved Mark Dacascos' demonstration that he too, at one time, could atrociously overact. In light of all of these compromising snafus taking precedence over what could've been some very promising fight scenes, I can't give this movie my blessing, but as far as all aspiring David Bradley fans go, you might as well snatch up everything you can. Dacascos devotees, however, can leave their hero's debut for later; this is far from his best offering.

When a plane crashes, a young boy is the only survivor and is raised by a samurai master. Marc Dacascos plays the samurai's real son and grows up always being jealous because his brother (David Bradley) trains harder and passes him in samurai skill. Dacascos becomes a crazy Yakuza gangster who holds death matches and forces his brother to fight.

While cheesy and not exactly a deep story, it's tolerable, but just barely. The overacting by Marc Dacoscas could not be laid on any more thick at the beginning, but the acting really does get a lot better for everyone after the opening scene. David Bradley is not too bad. He is OK at acting but above average in fighting. All of the fights are good and the tournament scenes are very fun. The extreme graphic violence was my favorite part of the movie. There is a guy that makes Mike Tyson look normal! All of the fights are really weird. One guy dresses like Conan, David Bradley fights a guy dressed as a viking or something, and in one match there is a pirate vs. a hillbilly. Seriously though, the fights are really good for the most part. The final fight is a bit of a letdown, but not bad. The story is really pointless and the ending couldn't have come any sooner, but this is a good movie to just fast forward through to see the fights.

2.5/5

The DVD from Cannon Video/Warner Brothers is full screen with good picture quality.

David Bradley (American Ninja series) stars in this film as Drew Collins, an American raised in the art of the Samurai. Drew heads to Turkey with a reporter, to uncover a murder mystery presumed to be done by a Samurai. Drew is caught and forced to fight in a tournament where he finds his step brother (Mark Dacascos) participating.

The first half of the movie is a bit slow, but fortunately picks up once the tournament action begins. The best thing about American Samurai is you won't find many martial art movies with a weapon filled tournament (Shootfighter 1 & 2 are the only others I know of). Although not quite as intense as Shootfighter, the tournament in American Samurai is fairly brutal, with lots of blood, deaths, and the occasional loss of a arm. There is not a large variety of fighters, but most are enjoyable to watch, varying in sizes and styles. The arena is actually a pretty decent looking locale too.

This is the first movie Mark Dacascos has starred in. He plays a good, convincing villain during the tournament, but overacts terribly throughout the beginning of the movie. David Bradley does an ok job, but nothing spectacular. As for the rest of the cast, everyone is pretty bland.

If you love martial art films with tournaments, this movie pleases. The best thing going for it is that it is rare to find a tournament movie with focus on weapons, American Samurai delivers there.

AMERICAN SAMURAI is one of those martial arts films that follow the formula of two brothers raised amidst jealousy and disharmony with one telling the other: 'Someday,I must kill you.' This plot has been done a tiresome number of times and is further muddied by odious comparisons to death duels announced by a slimy emcee, most recently in BEST OF THE BEST 2. Directer Sam Firstenberg updates this tale of sibling rivalry with David Bradley and Mark Dacascos as the two brothers who spend most of the movie preparing for their climactic meeting in the Arena of Death. The most pressing problem was the choice of Dacascos as the Japanese brother. Dacascos is not Japanese, yet he is supposed to be a full-blooded Japanese. Dacascos, as Kenjiro, has the requisite fighting skills, but his motivation to kill his brother based solely on jealousy has only the flimsiest basis for justification. One would think that a lifetime of illwill ought to be more clearly defined other than from not receiving the family sword. David Bradley as the adopted American son can fight but can't act. His ability to radiate emotion exceeds only that of Steven Seagal's. Another weak point is Bradley's relation with a female American photographer who accompanies him to Turkey to investigate the sword murder of a Saudi prince. They balk at each other's presence but predictably wind up in bed quickly enough. The real selling point of this movie is the fight sequences. Imagine the Ultimate Fighting Championship with bladed weapons and no referees. Very few viewers probably have seen or have participated in such edged encounters but it seems likely that such duels can not possibly be the ballet-like pirouetted gymnastic slug fests that marked each performance. Still, they are remarkable for their visual audacity. Rex Bryon, as the hulking bearded American competitor, is the good old country boy entrant with a Bowie knife. The movie points toward the final meeting between Bradley and Dacascos, which exits as overly brief and far less interesting than the preliminaries. As a martial arts sword movie, AMERICAN SAMURAI is interesting enough to hold your attention even if you withhold that willing suspension of disbelief at the cutting up of an otherwise honorable history of blade edged fighting.

This was a movie that chronicled the last encounter for two step-brothers raised by a noble samurai. Drew was found by the Samurai(Sanga) after a plane crash. He was taken into his home and taught Bushido ( the way of the warrior) along with Sanga's blood son Kenjiro. Drew actually became closer to Sanga, and a better student. After a falling out with his family Kenjiro becomes Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) while Drew goes to the U.S. and becomes a reporter. Drew then goes to Turkey to investigate the murder of one of his fellow reporters, and meets back up with his brother who has vowed to kill him. Drew is forced to engage in "live Blade" or mortal combat. This was a great story for anyone who enjoys samurai swordsmanship and the martial arts. I highly recommend it.

Though this is my first time seeing this movie, I believe that like the Ninja craze in the U.S. in the 1980s, the Samurai craze came as well here in America. In fact, these two Martial Art disciplines could be no more if there are no people interested in learning and teaching these two disciplines. Though the movie's fiction, it does feature Samurai Jujutsu in this movie in which I believe that you should check it out, it'll be cool and a learning experience.

I brought this movie hoping to see more of Melissa Hellman. I was so disappointed only three scenes. She did not speak english and I do not understand any French ?????? The best part of the movie for me was when she got to slap around the assistant-the photographer. She should have grab her by her hair and slammed her head into the wall or at least kicked her in the guts.... The writing for this movie was very bad - the dialogue was dry. Even better quality of actors would not have helped make this movie a success. The lighting was very bad. There was so much more that could have been done with this movie that would have made it so much better. The director should have had villians that were villians. Villians that wanted to cause great bodily harm. Even the final fight scene between the two brothers was weak - should have had more fencing scenes. That would have been a great climax to the movie. I did like all the different fighting styles even if the american cowboy should have stay in American with his Bowie knife. If you are a martial arts fan you will like this movie

This movie is amazing,I've considered it a classic for a long time.

We need more movies like Rambo, Kill Bill And American Samurai.