STREET SOLDIERS (1991)
April 7th, 2011 by Mr. C
Director: Lee Harry
Actors: Jun Chong, Hwang Jang Lee(Jason Hwang),Jeff Rector,David Homb
Genre: action, martial arts
I went rummaging into my VHS collection that I was about to set a blaze to & pulled out this gem, Street Soldiers in ‘it’s so bad that it’s so good’ category of film! STREET SOLDIERS is a 1990’s production that is a result of offspring when THE KARATE KID meets THE WARRIORS who are armed with guns then gets ejaculated on by DEATH WISH forefathers while a ROCKY & THE BEST OF THE BEST like soundtrack is being played in the background! The skinny of the film revolves around a ragged street gang called the JP’s who’s leader, “Priest” played by Jeff Rector gets released from prison after doing hard time. The JP’s terrorize the streets & swap meets of L.A., smacking down ho’s & chumps along the way. The gang also gets an extra boost of balls & a triple shot of testosterone when their fearless leader slithers his way back onto the scene! In comes some high school raggamuffins donning varsity jackets called the Tigers who interrupt the flow of JP street swagger. Teenagers get jumped, faces get spray painted, misfits get tae kwan do kicked, girls get smacked up, people get shot, & fools get stabbed! The Ed Mcmahon sweepstakes get turned up a notch when one of the Tigers has a hankering for one of PRIESTS’ old flames with which he wants to rekindle the fire with. Tae Kwan Do, knives, snakes, condoms, handguns, oozies, & bar brawl style bashings are the weapons of choice when getting to know one another! Jun Chong who plays Master Han teaches the Tigers the korean specialty of Tae Kwan Do to defend against the street neanderthals. Master Han would also have a purpose in his rage against the Priest & the JP’s. Jun Chong of course is the real life Tae Kwan Do/Hap Ki Do master from the Los Angeles area! Some of you might recognize Chong from the film, L.A. STREETFIGHTERS playing a role as a high school kid turned bouncer! Hell, if Dustin Nguyen can do it in 21 Jumpstreet, why not?
Another Tae Kwan do legend that graced this film was no other than, HWANG JANG LEE! On the ending film credits, he was acknowledged as Jason Hwang. Jason who? Hwang Jang Lee is better known & recognized as the kickass villain in Jackie Chan’s SNAKE IN THE EAGLES SHADOW & DRUNKEN MASTER amongst his vast filmography! You know…that guy that can use his legs for weapons as easy as you and I can eat a folded NY slice of pizza with a slight hunchback to drain the oil on the ground & walk at the same time! He is highly regarded as being one of the best martial art kickers that the film industry has ever seen! HJL plays a mute & crazed sidekick assassin to the psychopath, Mr. Priest in the film. Hwang also has a pet cobra snake that he commands on will to spew out venom to the opponents eyes! What? Like his kicking wasn’t enough! It’s really cool seeing HJL in street wear as opposed to period piece costumes. He dons a hat in the movie that even ODDJOB from GOLDFINGER would be jealous of & even shows a bit of his solid man cleavage with a buttoned down shirt & vest!
With Jun Chong & Hwang Jang Lee playing good vs evil, you know that a martial arts wetdream is in the horizon! Unfortunately, the end fight is a little bit underwhelming in my opinion, but you can’t deny the excellency of their techniques when these two famed Korean tae kwan do legends mix it up on the screen! That alone is worth the price of admission! The soundtrack of the film was also a knockoff throwback to a blend of similiar sounding tunes to the BEST OF THE BEST, ROADHOUSE, ROCKY, & THE LAST DRAGON! Especially during the training sessions & street chases! Guess they couldn’t afford the Kenny Loggins, Eric Carmen, or Blues Traveler of the world!
Jun Chong Martial Arts : 6340B Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA. 90048
Tags: david homb, hwang jang lee, jason hwang, jeff rector, jun chong, lee harry, street soldiers
Posted in movies, mr. c | Comments (0)
