Showdown (1993)
The late eighties and early nineties were a boon for both martial arts films and violent school dramas, so first-time screenwriter Stuart Gibbs decided he would smash the two genres together and Showdown is what popped out.
From the back of the Blu-ray…This classic martial arts blockbuster from the director of Best of the Best features an all-star cast that includes Christine Taylor (The Wedding Singer), Patrick Kilpatrick (Death Warrant), James Lew (Best of the Best) and Brion James (Blade Runner) in the movie the proves there's not a problem in the world that a good roundhouse kick to the face can't solve.
We get a bit of a cold open as two cops go to break up a house party that’s getting out of control because two violent brothers are getting handsy and breaking bottles on people’s heads. One of the cops, played by Tae Bo’s best friend Billy Blanks, accidentally kills one of the brothers while defending himself, so he hangs up his police boots in favor of a future unknown.
We then cut to a high school, as Ken Marx is dropped off for his first day at his new school. He and his mother have moved to town because she lost her job and needed to go to where the work was…which is a little odd, considering we find out later on that she’s a waitress at a diner. He immediately feels unwelcome, as the entire school starts looking at him like he’s got a second head growing out of his shoulder. On his way into class, he dodges a couple of skateboarders, brushes past a group of burnouts wearing shirts that say ‘Kill Yourself’ while one of them is polishing a fucking handgun, and runs into Vice Principal Kowalski who asks Ken, “Do you like sex?” The inside of the school isn’t much better, it’s like an all-white version of Michelle Pfeiffer’s Dangerous Minds classroom. A guy is sharpening his pencil with a straight razor, another brandishes a bright yellow slingshot, and there’s a drawing of a face on the blackboard that says, Potatoe, bye bye Dan, which has to be some kind of inside joke between the set decorators.
It’s here that we are introduced to Ken’s eventual rivals, Tom, Rob, and Gina, a few stereotypical ne’r-do-wells who just try to be as uncouth as possible at every turn. As Ken walks in, he sits in the vacant desk behind Julie, played by the absolutely radiant Christine Taylor, and is quickly told to steer clear of her, because she’s Tom’s girlfriend and anyone who talks to her has their face rearranged by the troublemaking trio. He’s warned by our final puzzle piece, Mike, the typical oddball geek friend who knows everything about the ins and outs of the school and looks like a Goodwill clearance rack was dumped on top of him and a few articles of clothing just ended up sticking on his body.
We almost immediately learn that Ken doesn’t follow advice because he tries to talk to Julie, so Tom and his gang touch him up a bit and tell him to stay away. Ken still doesn’t follow directions and does it again the next day, but this time he’s saved from an ass kicking by the janitor, none other than Billy Blanks! He went from cleaning up the streets to cleaning up the cafeteria, a man seemingly haunted by the fact that his fists are lethal weapons. In one final setup twist, we learn that Tom and his gang are part of a brutal karate dojo, led by Sensei Lee, who just so happens to be the surviving brother from the first scene in the film. Obviously this sets up some interesting conflicts for the rest of the film, as it appears we’ll be working toward both teacher vs. teacher and pupil vs. pupil showdowns during the climax.
Showdown is literally a Karate Kid remake, with Ken playing the role of Daniel and Billy Blanks in the Mr. Miyagi role. Kenn Scott, who plays Ken, is not a great actor. This was his first big shot at a lead role after playing ‘Talkative Foot #2’ in 1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and being upgraded to the role of Raphael in the sequel, ‘Secret of the Ooze’, but aside from a few B-movies after this like Star Hunter and the pretty entertaining Cynthia Rothrock film Sworn to Justice in 1996, he kind of disappeared. In my opinion, Billy Blanks has always been a terrible actor, and comes off more as an alien trying to appear like a human than an actual human being in his films, and unfortunately we don’t get to see many of his fight moves here. With all of this martial arts talent, the amount of fight scenes are pretty scant. More importantly (and more disappointing), the quality of the fight scenes are severely lacking. They feel very slow, very choreographed, and lack the impact that many martial arts films provide. The rest of the cast is serviceable - Patrick Kilpatrick chews the screen as Lee the evil Sensei, John Asher is amusing as the doofy sidekick, Christine Taylor has little to do but looks great doing it, and the fantastic character actor Brion James is kind of wasted as the Vice Principal who seems like he thinks he’s running a tight ship, but isn’t.
The Blu-ray I watched was from MVD and the picture looks pretty good, all things considered. There’s considerable print grain which comes through in the dark moments, particularly those in Billy’s basement janitor hangout spot, but it was never distracting. The audio is great as well, with two separate mixes, a 5.1 and a 2.0. In terms of special features, it’s actually pretty packed for a film like this. There’s a feature length making-of documentary that clocks in at over an hour and a half, plus a featurette detailing the fight choreography that runs just over 45 minutes. There are also a few interviews and a small poster in the case.
In terms of a recommendation, it’s kind of a tough sell. The most amusing things are happening in the background. The underground fighting crowd full of soccer moms by day, carnage fans by night, pumping their fists full of wagered money into the sky as teenagers slowly trade sweep kicks. The house party extras, half dressed like they just left prom, the other half dressed like they just left the set of Saved by the Bell. And the school, oh the school. There are so many funny things happening in the background at the school, like a guy making out with a girl while covering her with his trenchcoat, a kid randomly running around snapping photos, kids (including the main characters) who are clearly 25-30 year olds posing as students, and ADR’d teacher lines throw in in passing like, “Put away that knife!” and “No guns in class please.” For martial arts films fans though, there just isn’t enough fighting to make this seem worthwhile, and the fighting that is present feels slow and sloppy.
