The Perfect Weapon (1991 film)

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The Perfect Weapon
Directed byMark DiSalle
Written byDavid C. Wilson
Produced byPierre David
Mark DiSalle
Line Producer:
Marty Hornstein
Executive Producer:
Ralph Winter
Starring
CinematographyRussell Carpenter
Edited byAndrew Cohen
Wayne Wahrman
Music byGary Chang
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
March 15, 1991
Running time
87 minutes[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million[2][3]
Box office$14,061,361

The Perfect Weapon is a 1991 martial arts action film directed by Mark DiSalle and starring Jeff Speakman, Mako Iwamatsu, James Hong, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. Set in Los Angeles, the film relates the story of a young man (Speakman), who is trained in the martial art of American Kenpo, and his fight against the Korean mafia.

Speakman was a student of and was advised closely by Ed Parker in the making of this film.[4][5][6]

The film's taglines included "No gun. No knife. No equal." and "Just try him." and is the only well-known Hollywood depiction of Kenpo techniques on-screen.

The hit 1990s song "The Power" by Eurodance rap group Snap! is featured extensively in the movie's soundtrack.[7]

Plot[edit]

Jeff Sanders (Jeff Speakman) is an expert Kenpō student and master of his craft. After losing his mother as a child, he became an outcast and frequently lashed out at his family and society in an attempt to assuage his anger. His father, Captain Sanders (Beau Starr), gained the idea from a mutual friend, Kim (Mako), to enroll Jeff in a Kenpō school to better manage his rage and feelings. However, he lost his temper with a football player who punched his younger brother, and almost kills him. Displeased with this event, Jeff's father forced him to move out of their home. Jeff, now estranged from his family and living alone, continued with his courses in Kenpo and eventually adopted Kim as a mentor and father figure.

Jeff decides to return to his old neighborhood to visit Kim in Koreatown. Inside his shop, Kim is having trouble with local Korean mafia families, due to his refusal to pay them off and use his antique store to peddle drugs. Jeff manages to beat up the henchmen who attacked his store, however that night a mysterious hulking hitman named Tanaka (Professor Tanaka) appears and kills the lead henchman--due to his failure to force Kim to comply--by head-butting him. Tanaka then later kills Kim in the same manner and although Jeff tries to chase him down, Tanaka escapes.

Jeff vows to avenge Kim's death and is determined to find out who ordered Kim's murder. He remembers a boy named Jimmy (Dante Basco) who lived with Kim and tries to find him to ask if he knows about the murder. However, Jeff's estranged younger brother Adam (John Dye), now a cop, is investigating the case, and warns Jeff against trying to take matters into his own hands. In his hunt, Jeff is approached by a mafia boss named Yung (James Hong) who claims to be Kim's friend and points him to a fellow mafia boss named Sam. However, upon breaking into Sam's residence and attempting to kill him, Jimmy appears and reveals that Sam was one of Kim's closest friends and was the one who took him in for protection. Jimmy also clarifies that Yung is the one responsible for Kim's death, and was merely attempting to use Jeff as a pawn to kill his rival boss Sam.

Jeff now plans to kill Yung, but Jimmy warns him that Yung is always protected by his bodyguard Tanaka. In order to get Tanaka out of the equation, Jeff asks Jimmy to falsely testify to Adam that he witnessed Tanaka murdering Kim. Jeff has plotted to have Adam arrest Tanaka so that Jeff can get Yung alone to kill him. Adam and the police eventually capture Tanaka after a long car chase, but to Jeff's dismay Yung was absent from the car. Tanaka is knocked out with a taser, but later manages to escape from the police, breaking out of the police car and injuring Adam and his colleague in the process.

Jimmy overhears that Yung plans to escape the country by boat and tells Jeff about Yung's drug factory. Now in a bigger hurry, Jeff sets out to attack Yung's drug factory, using his martial arts skills and various weapons to defeat the guards and employees protecting Yung. He eventually subdues Yung, but is attacked by Tanaka. Although Tanaka dominates most of the fight, Jeff manages to kill Tanaka by setting him aflame when he is next to a gas tank. Despite initially wanting to kill Yung, Jeff decides to capture him alive (showing he has learned self-control) and turns Yung in to his father, Captain Sanders.

Later Jeff enters the Kenpō dojo to visit his former master and a former fellow student Jennifer.

Cast[edit]

Box office[edit]

The Perfect Weapon debuted at the box office at number six with a three-day box-office take of $3.9 million and had a total domestic box office gross of $14,061,361.[9]

Reception[edit]

The film was met with mixed reviews. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "moves well, and its many action and martial sequences are crisply staged. But unless you are a die-hard martial-arts fan, be prepared to be thoroughly bored by such a strictly by-the-numbers plot."[10] Rita Kemply wrote in The Washington Post that "Speakman, who studied under grand master Ed Parker, is introducing not only himself but the kenpo form to the screen. A fourth-degree black belt, he performs his own stunts, and that's important, as The Perfect Weapon is basically one long stunt."[11] Stephen Holden of The New York Times described it as "a macho fantasy of physical control, grace and invincibility in which women are all but absent", adding:

In keeping with the genre, Mr. Speakman, who has a carefully groomed chin full of stubble throughout the film, emerges remarkably unscathed from battles in which he often floors three or four antagonists in a matter of seconds. Fighting that is as balletic and nonvisceral as the tussles portrayed in "The Perfect Weapon," which was directed by Mark DiSalle, quickly becomes a bore. By far the most gripping scene in the movie is a car chase.[12]

On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 42% approval rating based on 12 reviews.[13]

Home media[edit]

The Perfect Weapon was released on February 14, 2012 on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

TV Version[edit]

On TV airings, deleted scenes involving Jennifer, Mariska Hargitay's character, were added back into the film.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Perfect Weapon - DVD Netflix".
  2. ^ "Martial Artist Ready To Fight The Good Fight". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  3. ^ David Mills (Mar 17, 1991). "Whomp--splat--hyah!". The Washington Post. ProQuest 140381977.
  4. ^ Schaefer, Stephen (1991-03-26). "Speakman's career kicks in". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  5. ^ "The Perfect Casting?". The Los Angeles Times. 1991-01-06. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  6. ^ Ketcham, Diane (1991-03-10). "LONG ISLAND JOURNAL". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
  7. ^ Holden, Stephen (1991-03-16). "Review/Film; Antiseptic Martial Arts". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
  8. ^ Krance, Magda (1991-03-03). "A 'Perfect' homecoming What's 'the next Bruce Lee' doing kicking around Hersey High?". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  9. ^ Broeske, Pat H. (1991-03-19). "THREE-DAY WEEKEND BOX OFFICE : 'Lambs' Is Still Roaring". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
  10. ^ Thomas, Kevin (1991-03-18). "A 'Perfect Weapon' With Limits". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  11. ^ "The Perfect Weapon". The Washington Post. 1991-03-18. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  12. ^ Holden, Stephen (1991-03-16). "Review/Film; Antiseptic Martial Arts". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
  13. ^ "The Perfect Weapon". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  14. ^ christophernguyen726 (2019-06-30). "The Perfect Weapon: DVD Vs. Reelz TV Version". Bootleg Comparisons. Retrieved 2019-06-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links[edit]

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