Search - Sword of Honor on DVD

A B minus Martial Arts Action Flick

Steven Fujita | Long Beach, CA | 05/17/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The title, Sword of Honor, makes it sound like this sword is like the Ring in Lord of the Rings, especially when the opening scene takes place centuries ago as a prologue to the special quality of the sword. But it just serves as a prop to a standard B martial arts/action movie flick.

Cop gets killed on his last day of duty. His partner seeks revenge, and falls in love with his partner's sister. The bad guys have dirty cops planted in the division. Climaxes with a fight scene. Nothing wrong with formula films - I love B movies - but this one falls a little short. Plots are not what "B" action movies are about - Action sequences are - and the fight scenes, although there are quite a few, are not memorable, and quantity does not mean quality.

What I did like was Steven Vincent Leigh as the lead, and though known to play villians, thought he displayed the good guy qualities well. Leigh and Jeff Pruitt, who plays his partner have good teamwork, and it's too bad Pruitt's character gets killed in the beginning. Come to think of it, the fight scenes in the beginning of the movie where the two are fighting criminals are the better fight scenes of the movie. Female kickboxer, Sophia Crawford plays Pruitt's sister and a scene where she and Leigh scare off a group who want to steal Crawford's car is also a fight scene that is up to par.

To sum up, this movie is a standard B movie, not terrible, is satisfactory, but there are better choices out there in this genre."

At least its not completely unoriginal

dominion_ruler | Carolina, USA | 08/20/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is a typical B-martial arts movie for the most part, though I enjoyed some elements of the story more than anything else. Steven Vincent Leigh (Ring of Fire, To Be The Best, Deadly Bet) plays the lead, a cop named Johnny. This is probably the only martial arts film he has starred in as a good guy. After seeing his performance in Sword of Honor, I'd have to say he is better off playing a villain. The remainder of the cast is not too familiar, and mostly give so-so performances. There is plenty of action, but most of the fights are rather short and uninspiring. There is a scene that I crave with these American made films, where 2 guys fight on the dance floor at a club, but again it is kind of short and nothing too special.

What I enjoyed most about this film, and the only thing that saved it for me, was the focus around the bad guys and their boss. I won't spoil anything, but in the end it is not the underworld boss who ends up being the true villain. Some cops also get involved with the bad guys. Thats been done before, but it adds to the spice of things here. As far as the whole Sword of Honor concept, that didn't grab my attention very much, and supposedly whoever claims the sword is undefeatable. The story focused mostly on Johnny getting revenge on the bad guys for killing his partner - which is not an original concept at all.

Overall, the fight action was dissapointing. Steven Leigh usually gives more in many of his films, and his final fight in the film against the villain I thought was rather weak. It was obvious his opponent was no match for him, and therefore was not an evenly matched fight at all. But in the end, it wasn't the action that grabbed my attention from this film.

I would not recommend this film for great martial arts action. Even a fan of Steven Leigh might be disappointed. The story is about the most enjoyable aspect of the film, though certain elements are forgettable and others not."