Customer Reviews

The Perfect Weapon [VHS]

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Desperately needing and deserving a dvd release, The Perfect Weapon takes itself pretty seriously, and is one of the highest quality B movies I have seen. Jeff Speakmen is a rare martial arts gem, appearing in only a few films, with this arguably being his best. The cast is pretty good, combining several familiar faces from various martial arts films. The story is about justice/revenge, but unlike most martial arts films, it is explored with more intrigue. The action, though not very plentiful, is top notch. The Perfect Weapon is one of the only movies I know of that also shows off the beautiful martial art, Kenpo.

The movie begins with a beautiful introduction of Kenpo, showcased by Speakman to the song "I've got the power". Though a cheesy scene, it really is beautiful. Following this are some flashbacks to Jeff's (Jeff Speakman's charcater name) childhood and development of Kenpo skills. In the present, Jeff's mentor Kim Kwan, is murdered by the Korean mafia, and thus the journey to find the killer begins. Interesting enough, we get to see the killer, but not the man who ordered the kill until much later.

The action, again is superb, and if there was more of it I'd give this 5 stars. There are 2 fight scenes that really stick out. First is early on in a gym, where Jeff takes on 3 men at once, one being played by James Lew (also appeared in Balance of Power, American Ninja 5, and several other martial arts films). The scene lasts a few minutes, but is exceptionally well done. The last is the final fight of the movi. Jeff takes on the huge bodyguard "Tanaka". The fight lasts about 3 minutes, and unfortunately, doesn't show off too much skills since Tanaka is just too big for flashy martial arts. There is also a decent car chase scene in the movie, which is much better than most poorly executed chase scenes in B movies.

Overall, The Perfect Weapon is one of the best B movies ever made. Everything is on the money. Unlike most martial arts B movies, there is not an over-abundance of action. Though I do prefer that, this movie makes up for it with more of an effort in all the other areas.

Although the movie gets a C- in acting and plot, this movie delivers some AMAZING American Kenpo action sequences, and does a competent job explaining the philosophy of a Kenpo martial artist in the beginning. It's apparent that Mr. Speakman is a talented martial artist FIRST and actor second, but he clearly and skillfully demonstrates the accuracy,usefulness, speed, and power of Kenpo. I mean, come on, he's a man of action in this movie, not a man of words.

Jeff Speakman displays awesome speed in his fight scenes, indicative of the lightning-fast techniques used in Kenpo Karate. A tribute to this amazing and effective martial art as much as it is an action flick, Jeff's precise and powerful moves far outshine his acting abilities. The language used in this movie makes it (in my opinion) unsuitable for young children, but the action is stellar! The villains in this movie are a who's-who of recent martial arts movies, including actors who will be recognized from Mortal Kombat, Goldfinger, and Bloodsport II. Tanaka (Oddjob from Goldfinger) again plays an indestructable man-tank who smiles while shrugging off blows that would cripple any normal movie character. His martial techniques are more developed than in Goldfinger, but he is still portrayed as a lumbering monster. Tanaka is a highly-ranked practitioner of Judo in real life, and should be cast in roles which alow him to display his technique, rather than simply being a massive behemoth. Martial-arts megastar Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (I might be misspellng this), who most recently played Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat, plays a minor role as a Korean thug who has a few good lines but was underused as a martial artist. If you are a fan of martial arts movies, this is definitely on your to-see list!

Background: I'm a former member of the IKKA and AKKI.

Short and dirty, if you wanna know something about American Kenpo and see it accurately demonstrated - GET THIS MOVIE! Mr. Speakman was (if *I* remember correctly) a Fourth Degree Black Belt in the IKKA at the time this movie was made. The movie is, on the surface, a martial arts action film. But VERY close to that surface is the story of one boy's/man's journey in the ART of American Kenpo. Although it's not protrayed specifically as an American art, this IS Senior Grandmaster Edmund K. Parker's American Kenpo. Mr. Speakman and my instructor, Mr. Keith Gorham, both studied under Mr. Parker. Mr. Gorham recommended this film to us, his students. The Kenpo IS real - not enhanced. A proficient Kenpo practioner at Mr. Speakman's level CAN and will perform at the speeds you'll see in the film.

I gave it four stars because it doesn't have "five-star" acting, but as a realistic martial arts film, it's VERY hard to beat. It clearly depicts the spirit of Ed Parker's Kenpo and, despite a few off-color words, I urged my own children to watch it when they were old enough.

As someone else said, I REALLY WISH this film was available on DVD. My VHS version is wearing out!

As a second degree purple belt Kenpoist, I too have watched many martial arts movies. I like this movie because it is more realistic, and I recognize the techniques Jeff Speakman uses. I especially like watching him perform his kata at the beginning of the movie, and the dedication to Ed Parker at the end of the movie. Anyone who studies Kenpo Karate will enjoy this flick. I would like to see it come out on DVD though.

After a long time here was a martial arts movie that was not with the same kick punch and kick plot but one that displayed real practical fight scenes with regard to the use of martial arts on the street.

There is no doubt that Jeff Speakman is a complete martial artist and a good actor who really knew how to express fight sequences in a manner that would catch the attention of the audience.

His moves are fluid Continuous and powerful and he has done great justice to the spirit of the late dynamic founder of Kenpo Karate Grandmaster Ed Parker.

I wish Jeff Speakman all the best and pray that he continues making such movies to show the world what is a real down to earth Martial art(In other words Kenpo karate)

Thank You

V.Ram Kumar 2nd gup Red Stripe Belt Tae kwon do(Korean Karate) Chennai,India.

This is Jeff Speakman's best movie and it stands up there with other great Martial Arts movies. Speakman's kenpo is very realistic in this movie. An action fan could not ask for more than this movie delivers! But why is this great movie not on DVD yet?!?

I thought that this movie pulls no punches when it comes to bringing killers to justice. I like this better then the Jackie Chan action films. When "Kim" is murdered by Someone in Koreatown, Jeff decides to go after his killer.

The action sequences were outstanding! The scene in the bar was a no holds barred kind of a fight. The only problem is the tense relationship with his father. I only wish that there was a scene where Jeff and his father could have made their peace with the past.

I would show this to any action fan that is tired of Jackie Chan. I like this film because it has a powerful edge to it..
One of my all time favorite action films of the last decade...
Jeff Speakman is the ULTIMATE ACTION HERO....

If you are looking for a good martial arts movie then this is one of the good ones. Jeff Speakman shows off the real Power of Kenpo (Shaolin Martial Art Style) Perfectly. It also shows the basic for escrema stick tecniques. It is one of my faorite Martial Arts movies created from the USA. It needs to be remastered and released on DVD.

A plea to the movie studio that owns it:
Please release a DVD version of this movie, I already own it on VHS, but I would really like it on DVD.
Thanks,
GD

One of the best martial arts movies of all time!!!!! The only problem with Jeff 's martial arts ability is that he is so fast that some of his movements are lost even when going frame by frame on a VHS tape. I'm really curious to see if that would be any better on a DVD. Get with it, movie studios! They are a lot of great movies on tape that should be on DVD.