L.A. Streetfighters

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')

Young (Jun Chong), Tony (Phillip Rhee) and three friends start up a security business and this results in them getting in fights a lot. The main plot doesn't kick in until an hour has passed when Young steals a ton of drug money from a client who hired them ("It was bad money and I would put it to a good cause"). Naturally, the dealer wants it back so he hires two assassins - Japan's Yoshida (Ken Nagayama) and New York's Kruger (Bill "Superfoot" Wallace) - to retrieve it and teach the boys a lesson.

This is an odd, yet enjoyable 80s action flick. Odd in the sense that it has no plot for the first hour and that lead tough guy Jun Chong spends a lot of time crying about his drunk mom not loving him. Oh, and there isn't a single ninja in NINJA TURF (its original title was LOS ANGELES STREETFIGHTER). I'm not sure if it hit theaters or not, but RCA/Columbia did release it on VHS. Director Woo-sang Park (under the name Richard Park) directs the action scenes well with an emphasis on the marital arts talents of the leads. This was Rhee's first lead role and he went on to star in the popular BEST OF THE BEST series. Brinke Stevens shows up as a drug dealer's girlfriend and supplies the film's only nudity. I was surprised when I looked up Chong's filmography to see I own 5 of the 6 films he's made, with 2 of them unwatched now. Why I was surprised is beyond me.

Looking up the supporting cast, it seems they have a real superstar in their midst. Mark Hicks is a member of Young's crew (aptly named Mark) and he achieved internet superstar notoriety as the famous Afro Ninja, the guy who attempts to do a flip with some nunchaku and falls on his head. I'm sure you've seen it.

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.

Am i glad i was recommended this film by a pal...i found it in the neglected bottom corner shelf at my local video rental store gathering dust...it cost me £1 to rent out and now that £1 investment is worth a million dollars in laughs.

Ever since watching it ..it has stayed wedged in my brain as a inspirational movie experience on par with the likes of Braveheart and Gladiator - but for different reasons.

I have to admit it may be one of the most talked about movies amongst my friends. When we talk about it we reminisce about it like a long lost funny fat friend ..with hilarious memories! The film is good for the same reasons why Barry White or Abba are now considered greats. Naff, untrendy and old skool but now has a cult following amongst fans.

It is so bad that it comes round in a full circle to become absolutely brilliant. Awful acting, mediocre effects, awful acting, simplistic plot, funny fight scenes, poor production value and oh, awful acting!

I could swear, in a scene, rather than do slow motion action playback the fighters fight really s...l...o...w! Cannnot recommend it enough ...the ultimate classic in Z grade movie experiences!

Ninja turf (AKA Los Angeles Streetfighter) stands as one of my all time fav b-movies. It's got everything you're looking for. Really bad lighting. 30 year old guys playing high school kids. Totally awesome action. Drugs. a horrible script and Philip Rhee! Only few stand this high on my b movie list. Check out Rock N roll nightmare, Let me die a woman, The Garbage Pail Kids movie and anything from the ninja kids series.