The Perfect Weapon (1991) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)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.

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The Arena (2001) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Unlike the reviewers before me I was not familiar with the actresses in this movie. I was familiar with the original low budget movie from the early seventies. I bought this DVD hoping for an improved movie. I was quite dissapointed. This movie followed a similar but different storyline. Some of the original dialog and camera angles were used. They found some nice halls to film the "Rome" locations in. The Arena looked purpose built and they actually had crowds of spectators. Unfortunately everything else was worse. The original had two great catfights plus three arena duels plus the final rebellion/escape. This movie only repeated the last two arena duels, one of which was shot at night so dark I was unable to see what was going on. The girls in the original movie all have quite distinct and interesting personalities. Not so in this one. The voiceover narration used intead of showing the story did not help either. I suggest you buy the original Roger Corman classic instead - The Arena (aka Naked Warriors) (1973) -- DVD. This review was bases on the DVD versions of both movies.

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In an age of Gladiators, the power that was Rome held its empire together with the might of its armies, the sweat and tears of its conquests, and the cheers and bloodlust of its citizens - glorified in the deadly spectacle of The Arena. Stolen from their homelands, the fiery Druid maiden Bodicia, exotic slave girl Jessemina, and the powerful barbarian Flavius, are pitted against each other as gladiators by the sadistic Roman Governor Timarchus. Banished by Caesar, Timarchus unleashes his frustration on his gladiators, staging extravagant spectacles of combat, orgy and death. In a violent world where only the strong survive, love and hate, life and death, are separated by an instant. Format: Color, DVD, NTSC Language: English Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.) Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Number of discs: 1 Rated: R (Restricted) Studio: New Concorde DVD Release Date: August 28, 2001 Run Time: 92 minutes

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