Review of selected filmography of Jeff Speakman from Uran

14.04.2016uranium

Compared to other B-action heroes of the 90s and 2000s, Master Kempo Jeff Speakman didn’t appear on the screen very often and is considered not only to have not taken off in this genre, but to have occupied the niche of B-S action films (straight-to-DTV) and in our open spaces the action film most often flashed "Russian Killer"featuring him. I asked the Fight-Films community for help, and they helped me choose 6 films with his participation.

I looked at them all without expanding/reducing this list and identified a number of common clichés:

• A special series of elaborate sweeping strikes, vaguely reminiscent of early Seagal - I called it the “Speakman combo”. Of course, for younger viewers this looks impressive, older viewers will have to turn off their inner “adult” so that this “Valdis Pelsh Style” combo does not cause them to laugh lightly. I did just that and count it as a plus. So, this combo was present in all the films we watched, besides, Jeff’s characters periodically perform this series of blows with a knife in their hands - it turns out no worse and even bloody. This is what sets Speakman apart from other colleagues in the industry.
• Speakman's main style is Kenpo Karate, but the further he goes in his filmography, the less of it he has. Jeff tries to be varied, avoiding Lots of High Kicking and trying to do more holds and chokes - unless, of course, his enemy can't get enough of his signature Pelsh Hand.
• Speakman does not shy away from using improvised weapons - in particular, Kali sticks, like the other Jeff, who Wincott - in Speakman, however, it occurs less frequently - but in the film "Ultimate Weapon"His fights with Kali don't look much more impressive, but they're more impressive. He's also not averse to working with a knife, forcing the movie's producers to run to the store for ketchup.
• Jeff's films often contain attempts to mix genres. Often unsuccessful, but more on that below.

Let's move on to his filmography.

"The Perfect Weapon" (1991)

Speakman's most famous film among action fans. According to the plot, the main character, as a child, shows a difficult character and his father, who cannot raise him, on the advice of an Asian friend (Mako), sends him to a Kenpo karate school, and the hero returns many years later to take revenge for this Asian friend - he did not want to pay tribute to the Korean mafia.

A simple and straightforward story with a couple of simple plot twists, an attempt to escalate the drama and a sufficient amount of action. Here Speakman shows his knowledge in full - he uses Kali, different ligaments, creases, clinch, and for almost every enemy he has different battle tactics, besides, his “Speakman combo” here is not so pretentious. There is also a stealth penetration into the lair of one of the mafiosi and a relatively good (for a B-action) chase - in general, there is enough action here (at least 35% of the total running time) and it is not bad, except for the sometimes unclear editing.

I think the best fight was the showdown in the Korean dojo with James Lew и Leo Lee, but also the final boss, the giant Toru “Professor Sub-Zero” Tanaka, looked very memorable and gave all the heroes shit. Guys like James “Eternal Old Man” Hong and Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa will also be caught in the rap.

I consider the weak side of the film to be the undisclosed drama in the main character’s family - there needed to be more “chemistry” between the brothers and the annoying father. Otherwise, it’s a good B-action movie with a minus, and therefore I recommend it.

"Street Knight" (1993)

The former cop, after being unable to save a little girl from the hands of a maniac, opened a car repair shop and almost does not interfere in the showdowns on the streets. But he will have to - someone is pitting two gangs, Latinos and blacks, against each other, brutally dealing with members of both. In this regard, the sister of one of the members of the Latino gang asks the main character to find his missing brother and find out who is behind all this. And behind all this is a sophisticated gang of former cops with a bunch of weapons, their own base and brainy gang members, which, using wiretapping and disguises, reduces the number of bandits much faster than they reduce themselves.

So the film is okay - there is a lot of action in it: Speakman uses improvised objects, his signature combo and all sorts of grabs and interceptions (the editing is the same), a gang of former cops consisting of colorful bastards led by a maniac Christopher Neame shoots a lot and uses a variety of, sometimes elaborate, weapons, like the “Free Hungter” released a little later with Lorenzo Lamas; some kind of plot and a little fan service - but everything is spoiled by various cliches. For example:

• The hero seduces the heroine already at the second meeting. Quickly, though.
• I didn’t sympathize with the local bandits and kept waiting for the epochal showdown between them - but it never happened - they suddenly became kinder in the end and everyone somehow forgot that they broke into other people’s apartments, beat people and sold drugs, but the hero got confused at the last moment all cards, refusing to cosplay Antikiller.
• Mercenary cops change their IQ depending on the screenwriter's imagination - either they competently plan a robbery and frame the main character, or they easily merge with the bandits and the hero. They can't figure out the location of the boy-witness.

In general, if it weren’t for this and some naivety of the film, it would be very good and the movie could compete with “Free Hungter” - but alas. Nevertheless, "Street knight"The film is interesting and you can watch it once. 4 with a minus for the B-action genre."

"Deadly Outbreak" (1995)

Terrorists seize an Israeli chemical weapons laboratory. But unfortunately for them, there is a guard there John Hetfield, proficient in the techniques of “Valdis Pelsh Campou” and able to shoot accurately. Yes, that's right - a typical plot of a Die Hard clone, the most popular subgenre of the B-action film of the late 90s. What makes this film stand out from the rest?

1. The stupidity and Batman-ness of the hero - he beats some enemies repeatedly, but does not finish them off, which is why people constantly die. In fact, he saved only a young woman professor (also a famous cliché) and his own son, who for some reason was kidnapped and brought to the hero by the villains right at the very end - the rest were killed.
2. The ambiguous behavior of the characters, especially the goatish chief professor of the laboratory, who fears for his life. This has an unexpected impact on the plot, which is a plus.
3. Speakman's fighting style with his special techniques. This is also a positive side, which at least somehow makes the film stand out - but there is noticeably less of it here than in other films.

That's it, there's nothing else like it here. The film itself looks like another action film for TV-3 and is inferior to its rivals in the genre: if you want to watch a film about the capture of something by terrorists, watch “The Peacemaker” with Dolph Lungren or “Capturing” by Seagal, “Deadly Capturing” is recommended only for fans of Speakman and the "B-action terrorist" genre itself. A C with a big minus only for Speakman's style and attempts to change the standards of the plot - without them it would have been a solid D.

"The Expert" (1995)

Speakman plays a police self-defense instructor who is a former military man who fought in Iraq. But suddenly a certain maniac kills his sister and the hero, having learned that they want to treat him and not execute him, decides to enter the prison and deal with him personally. This is the synopsis of the film, but the film itself will not follow the action movie canon at all.

The main problem of "The Expert" is the inability of its creators to mix genres in the right proportions for the viewer: in addition to the main plot, there is a second line of two extremes: the head of the prison, who considers criminals to be scum, deserving of execution, and his assistant, who believes that they have rights and that they should treat, and not drag into an electric chair at the first opportunity, and these extremes are shown too exaggeratedly, perhaps even deliberately. Along with them is the line of a maniac who is trying to defend himself in court, using the bugs of the justice system and take his place in the zone. So, in all these lines it was not possible to reveal anything:

• The action line is frankly weak. Yes, Speakman will fight, but the real juice of the action will be at the end, when he infiltrates the prison. This is not enough, and the editing is much worse than the above-mentioned films. The creators understood this by adding scenes of reprisals against the maniacal collective farm family of one of the defendants that were unnecessary for the plot.
• The thriller and maniac lines are also not pressed - you won’t see bloody massacres, they won’t be shown (and the beating and fight with the hero’s sister doesn’t count) and there’s almost no suspense either, although Michael Shaner did a very good job as the main villain.
• The line of the drama is also not revealed - everyone plays rather poorly for this and there are no dramatic-pumping tearful moments accompanied by sad music.
• The line of the eternal debate “execute-pardon” looks exaggerated - the head of the prison turns execution into a holiday, and his assistant is ready to justify even the most terrible maniac for the sake of her seemingly good goals. In addition, it is not noticeable how these heroes change their opinions under the pressure of circumstances.
• Cliched action (Seduction at the first meeting; a friend taking out any weapon; prison blunders like a tour for maniacs in the zone, weak security and violations of the regime).

As a result, I would not recommend this movie - there was no action movie, or even a beta version of Law Abiding Citizen with Battler (by the way, I didn’t like it either).

"Scorpio One" (Scorpio One, 1998)

There is a terrorist attack on the Scorpio-1 space station. The government sends a special forces team there to figure out what's what. There they begin to kill them one by one, and below government agents are trying to figure out who benefited from the terrorist attack.

Captivating? Perhaps, but in the end the film turned out to be very boring and unfinished - the intrigue disappears already in the middle of the film, when the movie goes from a well-started kosmotiller (the creepy atmosphere of a half-dead station) into an action movie about the capture of something by terrorists. In addition, the events below distract the plot too much from the main narrative - and even there the main intrigue was also resolved by the second half of the film.

There is little action and you won’t see too many fights, although the fight with the main terrorist is quite good (compared to all the other slag...) Although, who am I kidding, stop looking for candy in the shit, let Speakman show him all his tricks up his sleeve (which there are not enough of them this time), this will not satisfy the viewer.

As a result, another failed attempt to combine three genres: a political thriller, a space thriller and an action film about terrorists - was not opened and was not completed anywhere. It turned out to be an average TV-3 movie, which I don’t recommend watching.

"Russian Killer" (Running Red, 1999)

Speakman's most famous film in Russia, through which I once learned about his existence. In the story, the hero, as part of a special forces group, conducts an operation to destroy terrorists in Spain. The operation was partially successful, but the brother of the main character died, and one of the villains managed to escape. Time passes, the hero lives in America with his wife and daughter. But by chance his former commander (Stanley Camel) comes across him and forces him to carry out several murders for them.

Is it worth watching? On the pros and cons:

Pros:

• The film as a whole has an even plot and there are no peculiar plot twists or mixtures of genres here.
• Minimum cranberries.
• Speakman does show some of his arsenal, but mostly prefers to shoot.
• There is action in the form of a chase and several tough fights, as well as attempts to give the hero a couple of personal tricks (for example, a geometric shot).

Cons:

• There is nothing revolutionary in the film.
• The movie sags a bit in the second half.
• The protagonist's stupid and annoying wife.
• A villain who could be killed at the very first meeting.
• Knowledgeable people will find fault with the work of special forces.

According to the result: The film is strictly for one time, to kill time. You can’t call it bad - there’s nothing eye-catching here, but it’s also very much something new, too, the most typical B-action movie of the late 90s, when hand-to-hand combat began to give way to shooting.

I didn’t watch anything else from Jeff Speakman - there don’t seem to be any more films where he is the main character, and those that I reviewed don’t really stand out from the crowd that I reviewed earlier (except, maybe, “The Ultimate Weapon”); that is Speakman is another actor who did not take off, although there was every chance of this - signature style strikes and hidden advertising of karate-Kempo. The actor, apparently, also understood this, so he acted quite rarely. Traditionally, I end the review by wishing the hero of the article good luck and thanking the site users for the information they provide. Thank you all and see you again!

Author: uranium
Especially for Fight-Films.Info

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Tags: Deadly Outbreak, Running Red, Scorpio One, Street Knight, The Perfect Weapon, James Lew, Jeff Speakman, Leo Lee, Russian killer, Lethal Grip

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