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The Perfect Weapon
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Editorial Reviews
Martial arts maven Jeff Speakman plays a drifter who returns to his hometown and finds that his old Kenpo mentor is being hassled by Korean thugs looking to use his store as a front for drug dealing. When the gangsters kill the shopkeeper, Speakman must defy his estranged policeman brother as he delivers his own brand of two-fisted vengeance. Wham! Bam! Speakman! Mariska Hargitay, James Hong, and Mako also star.
Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Package Dimensions : 7.4 x 3.9 x 0.8 inches; 6.4 Ounces
- Release date : July 16, 1996
- Date First Available : October 25, 2006
- Actors : Jeff Speakman, John Dye, Mariska Hargitay, James Hong, John Koyama
- Studio : Paramount
- ASIN : 630213014X
- Customer Reviews:
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The story: Jeff (Speakman) is a young delinquent who grows into an amazing martial artist with the help of his mentor, Kim (Mako, Conan the Barbarian ). When Kim is assassinated by the Korean mafia for not submitting to their whims, Jeff sets out to find the killer and avenge his old friend.
Granted, the plot deviates minimally from the standard tale of revenge explored by dozens of action heroes who came before him, but both he and director Mark DiSalle ( Kickboxer ) make it his own. Speakman has a light load to carry when it comes to acting, but in this case, actions truly speak louder than words. The martial arts are shown more respect in here than in your typical beat-'em-up flick, beginning with Speakman delivering a flawless kata and later delving into the history of kenpo; you certainly end up knowing more about the fighting style at the end of the movie than you did at the end of, say, Bloodsport . Of course, this wouldn't be nearly as impressive if the film didn't serve up some cool fight scenes, and these it has. Speakman battles a variety of well-matched opponents in several nicely-choreographed encounters, from a three-on-one competition against tae kwon do practitioners to a speed-against-strength bout with the tank-like Toru Tanaka ( The Running Man ). His real-life proficiency in fighting shines through and has been expertly translated to Hollywood cinefighting, easily putting him up there with the best authentic movie martial artists when it comes to making it look both real and exciting.
As said before, Speakman doesn't give a performance to rave about, but the rest of the acting instills no grief. John Dye ("Touched by an Angel") as his detective brother, James Hong ( Big Trouble in Little China ) as the Korean crime boss, Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") as the mandatory hot babe, and the indispensable Mako all leave a worthwhile imprint on the movie, playing their roles solidly. Even Tanaka is convincing in his role as an unstoppable human bulldozer. The only definitively weak player of the crew is young Dante Basco ( Hook ), whom nobody had the heart to tell that he quickly got very, very annoying. Like most other action movies, "Weapon" has more profound weaknesses, although these are of a less common variety than you'd expect: at times, the film attempts to be something it's not with a handful of lengthy conversations and monologues that both explain too much of the plot at once and try to prove that the actors actually can act. The cast's efficiency has already been vouched for, but the aforementioned scenes are simply too long and slow the movie down at times when this should not be afforded.
However, do we begrudge the movie these things? - of course not! It's an action movie, and at the end of the day, it's one of the most entertaining ones I have seen in a long time. If you just came upon this review by accident, don't let the fact that you don't know who Jeff Speakman is deter you from giving it a chance: Speakman is twice the action hero of many of the old codgers still hanging around today. Fans will already have this movie, since Jeff was never given a chance to top himself.


