“Ya know, it’s kinda like one of those video games. You just defeated the first wave.”

Justin’s rating: Don’t always have to wear pants in Act 3 if you’re the hero

Justin’s review: Heightening the tragedy of Brandon Lee’s death during the filming of 1994’s The Crow is the fact that he was only just starting to take off as an actor and action movie star. It’s absolutely haunted fans to think of what Lee might’ve done in Hollywood had he been around in the remainder of the ’90s and the 2000s. As it stands, he made but a scant handful of films between 1986 and 1994, so there’s only so much you can go back and appreciate from his oeuvre.

However, perhaps one of the more excellent and overlooked of his pre-Crow projects was a fun little action flick he did with Dolph Lundgren (Red Scorpion) called Showdown in Little Tokyo. Or as I like to call it, Abdomens in Cultural Exchange.

This is your no-frills buddy cop flick that was already a bit stale by the early ’90s — and to be fair, there isn’t a huge twist on the variation to recommend this on its premise alone. Dolph is Kenner, a cop raised in Japan who’s not that fond of American culture, and Lee is Murata, a Japanese-American who’s not that fond of Japan for some reason. Also, they don’t like each other for Act 1, because that’s what Buddy Cop Law says.

Anyway, the two of them get pitted against the Iron Claw Yakuza, which has moved into L.A.’s Little Tokyo and is beginning to terrorize the inhabitants while also pushing a new drug that’s super-addictive and deadly and packaged in beer bottles for some reason. Tossing in some tawdriness and torture, this movie sticks to the Lethal Weapon script as if it’s a bible.

Derivative as it may be, Showdown in Little Tokyo has quite a bit going for it. Lundgren and Lee have some actual chemistry and spend a chunk of their runtime trying to impress each other with their respective martial arts and comeback quips. It’s all good natured, if sometimes awkward, and Lee’s more personable and graceful side plays well off Lundgren’s hulking threat.

During their investigation, they also bump into Minako, played by a pre-Wayne’s World Tia Carrere. Unfortunately, she’s not much more than a damsel in distress, but it’s still nice to see her.

While there is some gunplay, every chance this film gets to trigger fisticuffs and martial arts, it does so. That definitely plays to Brandon Lee’s strengths, and Dolph isn’t too bad either. At some point — pretty much minute 30 — they stop being cops and go full vigilante. Rock out with their Glocks out and all that.

I also got a hoot out of the main bad guy, who’s of the Super Over the Top School of method villaining. He really likes chopping off limbs and heads, sometimes in the middle of sex or business negotiations, and you really can’t wait to see him get his. I honestly think that this dude ends up killing more of his own team than our heroes.

Showdown in Little Tokyo cruises on a wave of bro energy, cultural ignorance, and a peppy soundtrack. It’s way fun in an absurd, turn-off-your-brain way. It may be one of the best things I’ve seen Dolph and Lee in, and that includes the time the Crow killed Apollo Creed.

Intermission!

• So many muscles in these opening credits. So many tattoos.
• “Haven’t I told you this is illegal and it pisses me off?”
• Anyone can jump over a moving car if the editor says so
• Yeah just demolish half of your friend’s restaurant trying to defend her. Thanks, I guess?
• Little wooden tables make invincible bullet shields
• “POLICE DROP IT!” jinx
• All of Kenner’s ex-partners saying “good luck!” to Murata was funny
• Guy just broke his own neck? How is that possible?
• Death by auto compactor never looks that fun
• Beheadings are not as easy as they look
• “You know, this is a weird part of town.”
• Topless sumo wrestling with masks?
• “I’m partnered with a homicidal maniac on a personal vendetta of family vengeance!”
• “When we’re done, we’re going to go eat fish off those naked chicks!”
• Angry racism gets your arm chopped off
• What decade is that sports car from, the ’40s?
• Killing yourself requires very careful candle placement
• Yes, Dolph can turn over a car bare-handed, why do you ask?
• A severed pinky is not enough of an apology sometimes
• “Toss the finger in the trash.”
• “I’ve got a witness and you’ve got a bad habit of taping things.”
• So… many… dudes… in… thongs
• FIREHOSE ATTACK!
• Underwater Wilhelm scream
• That was the fastest lovemaking scene ever
• “I saw you strip down for that hot tub, I’d be frightened too.”
• Right before a big fight is the perfect time to compliment your partner’s Little Dolph
• Electro-shock torture right from Lethal Weapon
• The torturer rolling his eyes at the lame jokes
• “Well done.”
• “Heavy metal sushi!”
• There’s always time for a pre-fight preparation montage!
• I don’t think you’d be getting up after having your ankle broken and getting a kick to the crotch, but this guy is a glutton for punishment
• If a bullet goes “straight through” you’ll be fine for a full-on fight with swords
• If you want to kill someone flashy, impaling them to a fireworks pinwheel that explodes for some reason will do the job
• I do wonder what the paperwork would be on this “case.” Is there a checkbox for “I had a swordfight that ended in a fireworks homicide?”