Showdown

Karate Kid much? That's my review. Kid moves to new town with his single mom and gets bullied by a kid that's in a karate dojo. kid stands up for himself with the help of the school janitor. guess mr miyagi was busy

Showdown, starring Billy Blanks and Christine was an excellent movie and I recently purchased it at my local video store. Although some of the acting wasn't up to par, the movie had great action and an excellent storyline. The violence scenes are a mixture of karate and UFC- style fighting. Most of the movie centers around Ken's new high school or the fighting dojo. This is a must watch. Some of the actors such as Ken Marx and Christine Taylor performed excellently though others such as Master Lee were a joke. This independent film is currently out of print and is hard to find. You may purchase on Ebay or Amazon or get lucky like I did.

With a combination of Billy Blanks, an engrossing storyline, Billy Blanks, 80's synthesizer music and Billy Blanks, "Showdown" has easily emerged as the best movie of all time. Did I mention Billy Blanks was in it? Well he is, and he chews up the screen time by beating the hell out of anyone and everyone. He's a bad mother! If you're looking for a movie with heart pounding action, knuckle bruising fights and tear-jerking drama, "Showdown" is your movie. The Godfather? Stinks! Pulp Fiction? Stinks! Star Wars? Stinks! Showdown is the best movie ever made. 10/10

For starters: This movie is nothing without Billy Blanks. Although the main character really is OK, it's Blanks who give this movie all the musclepower it needs. Initially, the whole movie seems like the most low-budgeted and poorly acted (and written) high-school movie ever, but all of that changes when Blanks comes into business. I really liked his role in this one, as the calm and lone janitor who long ago retired from the fighting scene (of course). When he decides to help our hero, we get the classic training scenes with great background music. Pretty standard like many other movies of this kind, but it always works. Cool fighting at the end, even though I've seen better. This movie proves that you don't need that much money to make an entertaining movie.

I really like this movie because it reminds me a lot of myself. I only lived with my mom after her second divorce which is what happens in this movie. Also this kid gets picked on a lot and that has happened o me to. This is a great movie for teenagers. A low budget film that manages to teach you morals. Billy blanks takes a co starting role as a former cop who killed someone while in the line of duty. He then becomes a janitor and helps a kid by training him physically and mentally. You will see plenty of martial arts fights and what it takes to get in shape. What are you waiting for go see this movie!

This is twice in one day. First I tuned into the Chinese film A Touch of Evil and got the Orsen Welles B movie Touch of Evil. No problem as it was a great film. Then, I tune into Showdown in Little Tokyo and get Showdown, a Billy Banks film that barely could be called entertaining. Cinemax needs to hire people that know what they are putting in the descriptions. I hung in there just to see Billy Blanks. I vaguely remember him from Lionheart. The film was basically a remake of The Karate Kid without all the "wax on, wax off" garbage. At least the Karate Kid worked for months to get in shape. The kid in this film was able to do it in 10 easy lessons. The one redeeming character in the film was Brion James as Asst. Principal Kowalski. He really seemed to be having fun with his role yelling at the kids for smoking or just looking stupid. James managed 156 films before his life was cut short at 54. Don't bother.

Billy Blanks headlines in this hilariously cheesy Karate Kid rip off as an ex-police officer turned school janitor(!) who makes it his mission to break a cruel kickboxing tournament whilst simultaneously teaching one poor wimp how to defend himself against the local school bully. Well, if you enjoy movie clichés then you'll absolutely LOVE this little gem! Yes, it's all here; new kid getting bullied by karate bad boy who trains under a psychopath; both share the same love interest; kid learns karate to defend himself and is an expert in about......um.....all of what appears to be a about a week(!!!!) Of course the newly trained student must inevitably meet up for a climatic showdown with his bullying nemesis whereupon by seeming contractual obligation he is subsequently beaten to the point of apparent near death but suddenly, as if by some divine intervention an ostensible miracle transpires and he subsequently leaps back to his feet (plus rips off his shirt to reveal his macho, oiled down physique) and administers a miraculous and victorious come back (wow!!!!!!) then for the grand finale the psychopath instructor by clichéd obligation of course faces off against the kids teacher - cue our Billy in turn taking a brutal beating to near coma before suddenly realising that good guys are supposed to win and getting back to his feet (now obviously sans his shirt in order to show off his macho, oiled down physique) and forgetting his pronounced injuries, wins in style (with a series of lovingly shot, slow motion spin kicks no less!) Great Scott! - This doesn't have an original idea in it's body but frankly who cares - it's pure dumb fun of the highest calibre. As a final note (or is that insult?) although this was made in 1993, judging by the hair styles and clothing the students (who curiously all look as though they are actually in their thirties and forties!!!!!) wear, it looks more circa 1980's! Tremendously daft stuff and a real hoot if you're in the correct frame of mind.

I'm only here cuz my step-dad told me about a movie that was shot at PV high school where I graduated in 94 and I never heard of a movie being shot there. So I did some research and here it is!!! Too funny! I actually went there for my freshmen year, then they shut the school down for construction for two years and moved us to the new school, then we got to come back to the original "PV" for our senior year. So apparently they shot this movie while we were at the other school. Why the hell didn't I ever hear about this??? You would've thought everyone who lives near there would've been talking about this. Oh wait I know why....cuz it's a low budget straight-to-video B movie! LOL!!! Now I HAVE to see it!!! Bring back some memories! Peace out!

Putting all of this film's cliches aside, there is nothing left to watch. And, frankly, that's what makes it the entertaining piece it is. This one feels like you've seen it twenty times the first time you see it. The plot of Showdown is an integration of two main subplots: 1) a retired cop/school janitor joins his old partner to bust an illegal fighting ring lead by an old enemy and 2) a high school senior tries talking to the wrong man's girl at his new school and has to learn martial arts from the school janitor to defend himself from her aggressive boyfriend/fighting champ. Sound like the Karate Kid? You got it, but this time, Mr. Miagi is a ripped black guy (Billy Blanks, creator of Tae-Bo) who used to be a cop, but quit when he accidentally killed a kid at a party break-up and is now the school janitor. Meanwhile, the master of the local dojo, Lee, plays it rough with his students and offers much more than friendly wagering at his illegal fighting ring. Karate Kid meets Baywatch Nights in this 1994 classic about a nice guy who's just trying to finish first. The acting in this one is excellent for the type of movie it is, but the production, namely the editting, ran into a couple rough spots. It's nothing you'll notice if you only see it once, but I don't recommend seeing it less than ten times. Try fast forwarding to your favorite parts and you'll end up watching the whole movie. What is most surprising about this film is its script. So bad, it's good; you'll literally laugh out loud at Vice Principal Kowalski's no-nonsense attitude toward his unruly students. And Lee's anger allows him to deliver some of the best lines in a movie ever. To be honest, the only thing Showdown is missing is sex, but I guess this was a time in Christine Taylor's (Melody from Hey Dude) career when a sex scene would've been going overboard. As a side note, I have heard there is an uncut version wherein there may be a sex scene between Lee's business partner and his best fighter (there's room for it at the dojo), but they don't show that one on Showtime. The characters may be typical, but it's impossible not to like them, and the scenes outside the school can't be beat; every moment is entertaining. Plus, they even tried to deliver a few moral lessons as suggested by the text at the start of the film, so pay attention. Also, see how many small-time actors you can point out because this one is full of familiar faces, young and old.

I've seen this movie one time, and all I can say is the star Ken(Kenn Scott) was sorta like Daniel Russo of "The Karate Kid" only there were a few things his sensei(Billy Blanks) did that Miyagi didn't do. Billy helped enhanced his speed, and reflexes to go against Julie's controlling boyfriend, who was taught by a deranged sensei named Lee(Patrick Kilpatrick), who people there seem to totally dislike. The fight scene was nothing like the KK, especially when the other students saw what Lee did to his own pupil. Kenn tried to help only to land a sucker punch to the lower lumbar. Then it was Billy vs. Lee. And guess who the other team root for? Billy of course. When the other group of students told Billy about their dissatisfaction of Lee. Billy never decline an offer like that. Would you? The others were very happy to have a new sensei. I DON'T BLAME THEM! I liked the girl who wore the half-shirt. She was hot! Kenn Scott is very good in karate, is because I was taught by the same sensei he did in real life. It was here in North Carolina! Sorry, you'll have to see the movie, it may be cheap, if you see it that way, but I enjoyed it very well for many reasons. Rating 3 out of 5 stars.