“No gun. No fear. No equal. No problem. Jeff Speakman is The Perfect Weapon.”
The late ’80s and early ’90s were a special time in American action cinema. Sure, the gunplay lacked the stylized insanity of John Woo and the martial arts displays lacked the wildness of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, but something was in the air. Whether it was the macho masterworks of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone or the B-movie pleasures of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, and Dolph Lundgren, it was a great time to be an action fan.
Between these titanic Terran temples of testosterone was a round of action heroes much lower on the totem pole, at least in terms of mainstream popularity. By definition, actors like Michael Dudikoff, Thomas Ian Griffith, and Gary Daniels are C-listers, but I find that term to be a disservice to the more memorable films they gave us back then. Instead, to me they are merely just action movie underdogs. Stars that, for various reasons, never quite broke through the cult movie barrier into widespread pop culture recognition. One of those gentlemen was Jeff Speakman.
I won’t sit here and pretend that Speakman is a great thespian. The important thing is he doesn’t need to be. The best action films of this era not only had fun plots, fist-pumping fights, and explosive set pieces. The best of the best also knew exactly how to cater to the strengths of their lead actor or actress. For instance, while Speakman does a good job of brooding and dishing out the occasional quip, I’m not sure I could buy him as a romantic lead. Lucky for us, the film knows this and utterly avoids such scenes.
We see a previous potential love interest for him (Mariska Hargitay, “Law & Order: SVU“) in fleeting glimpses, but only from a distance. Jeff’s journey is not only one of vengeance, but also a quest for self-control. As a result, he’s not yet ready for such a relationship and the film doesn’t even attempt to shoehorn one in. Smart move.
The basic plot of The Perfect Weapon involves Jeff Sanders (Jeff Speakman), former Kenpo student and the son of a cop, returning to his hometown. He rekindles his relationship with an old family friend, Kim (Mako, Conan the Barbarian), only to get caught up in some shenanigans with the local Korean mob. When Kim ends up dead over a business dispute with said scumbags, Jeff is out for blood. Also caught up in the drama are his cop brother, Adam (John Dye, “Touched by an Angel“), and a scrappy kid played by Dante Basco (‘Rufio’ from Hook). Not a bad lineup for a set of heroes, especially when you throw in Beau Starr (Halloween 4) as Jeff’s disgruntled father.
On the villain front, The Perfect Weapon is no slouch. Henchman-wise we have genre staples like Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Mortal Kombat) and Professor Toru Tanaka (The Running Man). The former is a sleazebag underling for the Korean mob. The latter is a massive hitman with a penchant for headbutting people to death in a single blow. It’s just as excellent as it sounds. As for goons, films like this are full of them, and you’ll absolutely see some familiar faces. Al Leong, Jeff Imada, Tommy Rosales, and James Lew all make an appearance.
At the head of the treacherous snake is none other than James Hong (Big Trouble in Little China). Seriously, what more could one ask for from an action movie? Oh, good action as well, you say? This film has that in spades as well. In addition to numerous hand-to-hand (and foot) combat sequences involving Speakman just tuning up baddies left and right, there’s plenty of fun weaponized carnage as well. There’s also a pretty rad car chase sequence involving a horde of police cars and Professor Tanaka in a limo. If that weren’t enough, it also showcases the song “The Power” by Snap!. Again, what more can one desire?
The Perfect Weapon is truly one of the unsung gems of the late ’80s/early ’90s action era. Cinephiles specializing in the genre are aware of its greatness, but not many outside of action-obsessed circles seem to be. Whether it’s a lack of Speakman stardom or just bad luck on the film’s part, it is a tragedy that this film doesn’t set alongside similarly great films like Above the Law, Double Impact, and American Ninja as a pillar of whiteboy martial arts mayhem. It’s a damn good action flick and well worth tracking down.
