Los Angeles Streetfighter (1986)

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

In recent years, South Korean cinema has improved greatly in quality and has become pretty popular. However, when this particular effort was made (with some U.S. involvement), South Korean cinema was often struggling - and a look at this film illustrates some of the reasons why. It's barely a movie - the first half of the movie doesn't seem to have a real story, instead consisting more of a series of boring and barely connected vignettes. The second half of the movie kicks in a little story and conflict, but it's too little too late. All that might not matter had the rest of the movie been well made, but it isn't. It's really cheaply made, with rock bottom production values (especially with the lighting of scenes). As for the action, while the martial arts occasionally have (a little) life, ultimately it's nothing you haven't seen before (and better.) There is some interest seeing martial art actors Phillip Rhee and Bill "Superfoot" Wallace early in their acting careers, but they're so wasted I'm sure they don't list this movie on their resume. By the way, it's obvious from watching the movie that seeing billboards and theater marquees in the background for movies from 1982 and 1983 that "Ninja Turf" (released in 1985) took a lengthy time to complete and find a distributor. No wonder.

Every millenia an event occurs that can change a persons life.This happened to me on a stormy December evening in 1994.That was when I was first introduced to La Streetfighter.I just don't know where to begin....The basic plot involves a youth named Young(played by a forty-something) who joins an inner-city gang which in turn leads to the usual high school japes(gang-fighting,stealing from drug barons,working as doormen,urinating on triad gangs car,etc).I wont go into detail with the plot because it is irrelevant along with the acting,directing,sound editing,fight choreography et al. In one one memorable scene the gang decides to plan an intricate drugs robbery.This highly complicated heist basically involves one gang member to open a door,run in,pick up the drugs and run out like sewer rat who's just found a slice of pizza with extra cheese.Ocean's 11 can't match these uber-criminal masterminds.The victim of this crime of the century decides to bring in a couple of professional assassins to help him gain revenge.One of them is a Japanese samurai who proceeds to hunt them throughout LA while dressed in a 14th century samurai outfit complete with huge sword.Inevitably, one of the gang member is captured by the assassins and ends up being strung up from the ceiling.The other assassin declares to him the immortal words..."i'm gonna break your balls".He then goes and does exactly that! He punches and kicks the poor guy exclusively in the nether region.Apparently this assassin is played by a former dick,sorry,kick-boxing champ called Bill'Superfoot'Wallace.This film contains a heart rendering moment too when one of the gang member has a birthday cake presented to him amongst all the chaos. He solemnly declares, "nobody ever give me anything before" and proceeds to wipe a tear.Even as I write this I have lump in my throat...I too had a tough upbringing as I was growing up in the mean streets of Welwyn Garden City. This film has changed my life.I suggest you watch this masterpiece so you too will have an accurate insight into life as a forty year old schoolboy who gets involved in stealing drugs,hunted by a Japanese in a samurai costume with a sword,kick boxed by a man with a groin fetish while having just eaten a birthday cake.

Now here is an unusual film.....Where to begin?.....Well intrinsically what we have here is a tale of high school student angst and gang related tribulations....well....sort of anyway.What we actually have is some hilariously poor directing, actors who have no idea of the concept of timing their lines correctly or of any remote cognisance of acting ability in general for that matter and a tacked on 'plot' that doesn't really kick in until almost an hour into the films running time!Basically the story involves Young, a pupil at high school (and an hilariously inappropriate name as the actor playing him is at least in his forties!!!) who befriends Tony and introduces him into his gang (although note that this is in fact a 'good guy' gang as opposed to the various stereotypical 'bad guy' gangs prevalent throughout the movie) In honourable capitalist style, the gang in question actually earns honest cash by taking on various security assignments.On one such assignment however, Young decides to indulge in a bit of theft and high tales it with some drugs money, thus prompting the dealer to send a Ninja and another sadistic character played by legendary kickboxing champion Bill 'Superfoot' Wallace after him.....Okaaayy......Actually as previously said, this actual story doesn't occur until almost an hour into the proceedings. Up until this point we are subjected to lots of impromptu gang fights and some hilariously woeful attempts at serious interpersonal drama designed to make us sympathise with the various protagonists' plights. For example, in one such supposedly touching scene we witness one of the 'good guy' gang members crying when he is presented with a birthday cake, the emotional gratitude just too much to bear....ahhhhh..... Far from wringing any empathy from me however, I found that such scenes curiously only induced uncontrollable laughter, certainly not what the makers would have wanted, for the film tries so hard to be taken seriously that it's just painful to behold.Still credit where credit's due, at least the makers of this tried to do something different from the usual martial arts revenge plot (the staple of about 99.9% of ALL martial arts films!)The ending is especially noteworthy in this movie in fact, and is surprisingly downbeat (and gory to boot!) Another accolade must be awarded to the martial arts choreography on display throughout, which is admittedly top notch.Overall then, whilst the disorganised and oddly structured nature of the film would ostensibly donate that the director was absent for most of the filming, this is actually against all odds, a rather entertaining movie with a particularly intriguing final half hour. Well worth a watch if you can track down a copy (note: The movie also goes under the alternative title of 'Ninja Turf')

DANIEL MANIA! COMMENTI thought that Ninja Turf could have been done alot better. Personally I would have worked on the cinematics because you could barely see the fight scenes and I also would have done the entire ending to this film differently. For one thing I would have had the rival gangs join forces with the drug dealers and have the main characters fight them all in the same building floor by floor. I also would have made it a lot more bloodier and made the choreography a lot more furious,complicated,wild and sophisticated. I gave this film a 7/10 because it could have been so much better and it was poorly written.