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Samurai Cop

Blonde Gangster | Hollyweird, CA United States | 06/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sure to be a cult classic here in the states as it was in Europe. There's plenty of action and full breasted babes in action to keep you interested when the dialogue gets you laughing. Not to mention a mullet here or there. So, you may want to see it with Joe Bob's commentary on. A group of friends and I laughed our asses off to his comments. I guess there's no chance for a sequel since most of the cool characters die by hara-kiri, beheading, death by sword, fire or get shot off a roof. But our hero and his partner could always return..if there not in convalescent home by now. If you can't get your hands on the DVD don't despair, this film will surely show up on, "Dinner and a movie", or "Mystery Science 3000". weird blonde gangster"

Keep 'em coming, Joe Bob!

Tergaso Taylor | Minneapolis, MN USA | 06/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The only reason to get this dvd is for the Joe Bob Briggs commentary track. The film itself is laughable. There's even an introduction by Joe Bob! So, I'm sayin' "check it out" and if you like it, check out Joe Bob's other dvd commentary tracks on "I Spit on Your Grave (millenium edition)", "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter", and "The Double D Avenger"."

"I Will Bring You His Head, And I Will Place It On Your Pian

Robert I. Hedges | 02/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a real find. "Samurai Cop" is one of the all-time greatest bad movies in history. There is no possible way to review this film from a serious standpoint. Amir Shervan wrote, produced, and directed this monstrosity, so I hold him chiefly accountable. The DVD has great extras including an introduction and commentary track by Joe Bob Briggs, who is in even better form than usual here, as well as an interview with Robert Z'Dar, who is apparently attempting to follow the path of jocularity and girth popularized by Marlon Brando.

The plot concerns an undercover cop played by Matt Hannon who is attempting to break up the horrifying Japanese Katana Gang, of which Robert Z'Dar is the chief enforcer. There are so many problems with the film that I have no idea where to start. Well, now that I think about it, I do: let's start with Matt Hannon's hair. I have never seen a mullet like this in all my life. For the first half of the film I was actually asking myself if he was wearing a woman's wig from the Jaclyn Smith collection. This full, flowing mane of hair is as much a character in the film as any other actor, and seems to simultaneously represent the Samurai Cop's masculinity and femininity. If you don't think that's possible, watch him kiss the girls; it's disgusting.

Aside from the hair issues, the film features all the idiotic characters and plot points you would expect from a grade-Z film: the angry police Captain, the goofy sidekick (who laughs inappropriately on numerous occasions), extremely attractive women in hard to believe situations, and absolutely horrendous dialogue which, while gratuitous, fails to further the plot. To illustrate this point I direct you specifically to the exchange on circumcision, and the constant refrain of "keep it warm" which you just need to see for yourself to grasp how stupid, yet un-sexy a statement it is.

There are some great monologues about good and evil from Samurai Cop (my favorite is in a restaurant where he contrasts the Katana Gang with honest, hardworking Japanese-Americans) and, of course, the obligatory fight scenes. These generally come down to gun play, knife play, and karate. In the gun fights, I am constantly amazed that people in a gun battle find the most exposed place possible to stand (the middle of a door; an open field) when firing. This contributes to the extremely high body count in the movie as everyone and their brother gets shot by the end. There area couple of knife episodes, including a very lame ritual suicide (remember, death before dishonor). And then there is the karate. This is by far the best part of the movie. The scenes are moderately well choreographed, but to make them appear more professional Shervan constantly speeds up the film so that the action goes way faster than would be possible. This is, I suppose, an attempt to improve the dynamic energy of the film, but in reality makes it look more like a cartoon. These karate scenes (and a couple of the high-speed sword fights) are delightfully hokey; do not turn away even for a second during them. Please also note the bacon grease torture. Truly a scene of restrained understatement.

Again, the commentary from Joe Bob is one of his very best pieces of work, and I recommend watching the movie first without it then with it. For a wonderful piece of mid-1980s junk cinema, "Samurai Cop" absolutely cannot be beat. I highly recommend this one to any and all lovers of bad movies.

Keep it warm.
"

Mifune Needn't Be Worried

Stanley Runk | Camp North Pines | 03/21/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, everything you've heard about Samurai Cop is true(that is considering you've heard anything at all). There's no reason why anybody, cult film fan or not, should like this film, but as reviewers have stated already, it's just too horrible not to be captivated by it. It's the kind of film a film course would show to it's class as a lesson in what not to do when making a film.
The simple plot is about a Japanese yakuza gang called Katana that finally meets their match in a newcomer police officer who is supposed to be a samurai. The Samurai Cop and his wisecracking black partner, Frank(they remind you of a micro budget Crockett and Tubbs), set out to bring the evil thugs down, but priorities are priorities, and it seems as though Samurai Cop's need to get laid is the top priority. Meanwhile, the lovable Robert Z'Dar is the evil second in command of the Katana gang and has made it his mission to slice the Samurai Cop into sushi.
You could call this a B movie, but that's giving it way to much credit. Maniac Cop was a B movie, and this doesn't even come close to that film. It looks only a hair above home movie picture quality, the dialogue is simply jaw droppingly bad, the fight scenes and car chases are accomplished by speeding up the camera, the sound(the spoken dialogue anyway) was obviously recorded after the shooting and dubbed back in(giving it an odd sound I might add), the fx were bad(one guy is obviously being shot with red paint pellets), hell it was all bad. Nothing was done right. And for a so called samurai movie, it had very little as far as martial arts go.
The Samurai Cop himself is a long haired piece of muscular beefcake played by Matt Hannon in his only film role. Of course Robert Z'Dar is the only person in this film who can even remotely be considered a star(okay Melissa Moore is in it too, but that's not saying much) Z'Dar does well at playing the typical Z'Dar role, and I will say that it's easier to buy him as a samurai than Matt Hannon(but I will say that Hannon knows a move or two).
The disc has an interview with Robert Z'Dar, which is always a treat because he has such a quirky sense of humor. He's well aware of the kind of films he makes, and while he never says that Samurai Cop was good, he does seem to have pleasant recollections of making the movie. Another plus to this disc is the funny intro and MST3K type commentary with Joe Bob Briggs. Very entertaining I must say.
Well, that's about it-A nice DVD package for a not so nice movie. Samurai Cop is one horrible friggin' movie, but in the end, that's the best thing it could be."