Truly Dreadful Film

Absolutely brilliant

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Bob Malone (Rooker) is an L.A. ex-cop who is having a very bad day. First his daughter mouths off to him, then some guy blocks in his car, and after that he gets into a battle with his local ATM. His Loan Officer (that's his name, evidently) (Willard) won't even give him any more time. To make matters worse, two Japanese gangsters named Koji and Hideo (Ishibashi and Takasugi, respectively) show up in town brandishing a mysterious suitcase. It seems they're in the midst of a gang war with the Italian mafia, and thanks to the inadvertent intervention of a psychotic man named...well, Psycho (Goldthwait), the unlikely pair of Bob and Koji end up teaming up in the name of some sort of justice. But will Bob repair his relationship with his sassy daughter? And is there corruption that goes all the way to the top? The only way to find out is for Bob and Koji to get BACK TO BACK results! Possibly one of the earliest of what we call "Tarantino Slogs", that's somewhat of a misnomer here as Back to Back may be quite Tarantino-esque with the constant jawing of its characters in a crime comedy/drama scenario, but there's nothing sloggy about it. One of the best aspects of the movie is its brisk and peppy pace, and the whole thing is quite freewheeling. And because it was the 90's, back when movies were well-lit, you can actually see what's going on. On the one hand, you have violent action scenes with plenty of gun-shooting and such. On the other hand, you have comedians such as Bobcat Goldthwait, Fred Willard, and Jake Johannsen making appearances, and the mix of the two is uneasy, let's say. The two worlds collide in scenes where Bobcat is shooting cops with a machine gun. You won't see that anywhere else, that's for sure. Whether that's a good thing or not is ultimately up to you. Interestingly, this was touted as a sequel or semi-sequel to American Yakuza (1993), and indeed it is known as American Yakuza 2 in many territories around the world. Apparently calling it that didn't have much cache in the U.S., where it garnered the rather lackluster title it has here. As far as we can tell, the only cast or crew member that made it over from American Yakuza 1 was actor Ryo Ishibashi, though he plays a different character in this one. His star power overseas must be big, as that's a pretty tenuous thread to tie the two movies together. He has been in some things that have gotten some play over here, such as Miike's Audition (1999) and Beat Takeshi's Brother (2000), but he's just one of many cast members on show here, competing for screen time with the likes of Fred Willard, Vincent Schiavelli, Tim Thomerson, Stephen Furst, and others. Fan favorite Michael Rooker gets not only a rare starring role, but an equally rare chance to show off his comedic chops. He also does action scenes well, so a lot was demanded of him here. His daughter, played by Danielle Harris, is almost the same character she played in the great The Last Boy Scout (1991). While that also was an action movie with humor, it had the power of Shane Black behind it. Back to Back, while entertaining, doesn't have the depth, power, or quality writing of Boy Scout. But certainly fans of it would probably enjoy Back to Back as well, as they are cut from the same cloth. So, if you like spotting B-movie stars as they come and go in small roles, and you like your action with a heapin' helping of laffs, by all means check out Back to Back. If you keep your expectations low - and don't mind the whole Tarantino-esque thing - you will find some enjoyment here.

After watching this movie, I was disappointed that they could've done better with the action with gang members using melee weapons such as Mob hit men armed with retractable cross blades and gang members performing in-your-face matrix-style fist fights on villains, making it from a shoot-em-up to a beat-em-up action adventure.The transitions are too old-school and would be better if they were replaced by bullet holes being shot across the screen as if it was in a video game. And the action should be downright violent and extreme to make it a cutting edge film from other movies. If they were to make a sequel to American Yakuza 2, the name should be titled "B2B:Back 2 Back" (Spelled with an inverted number two) since it would give character to the story and make it more chill.D.H. should be cast in place of Michael Rooker's role as a thug/all-girl gang leader with a lethal fighting ability who rages out when she fights using a set of glowstick-like nunchakus who later cracks heads with a Yakuza hit-man to rescue her father from the government-ruling mafia.Also, the soundtrack would be a blast if it were replaced by a Techno/Electronica score other than Rock and Country for the action scenes because it would fit well with the movie and make it look cool. A good example of this would be the opening of the movie being replaced by JXL's remix of Elvis Presley's "A little less Conversation" followed by Squarepusher's Paistow flex out for Hideo's on-foot-journey to the strip club followed by The Orb's remix of Blue room as he enters the club, immediately following that, a track from the band Tempest titled "Deepsky" as he sits down about to die as he draws out his shades.I Also think that it would be interesting if Danielle Harris were to put her Scream-Queen persona aside once and for all and star in a role where she finally fights back and gets downright brutal with her enemies. I'm for once, sick and tired of seeing her be a victim in all of the action movies she's in and would like to someday see her As a lead character in an action/thriller flick (No comedies or children's movies) fighting villains.Believe it or not, this may sound like I'm trying to damage the original but If the director is reading this, I think this should be an awesome and exciting idea for a third sequel or series to this movie.

Back to Back: 5/10: Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? Is it a sequel? (American Yakuza 2?) Is it a rip-off of Pulp Fiction? Why it’s all these things and more.Too silly to be a crime drama and to serious to be a comedy; Back to Back is all over the map. What can you say about a film with the always super cool legend Ryo Ishibashi kicking and shooting it old school and an exploding Bobcat Goldthwait in the same movie?... heck this movie has them in the same scene.Yes watching Bobcat go all Islamic Jihad is worth a rental at least. And the cast such as Fred Willard, Tim Thomerson and Stephen Furst actually behave themselves. Heck Leland Orser practically gives a one man show as wheelchair guy. (Seriously he could have had an Off-Broadway monologue with that character.) The blood squibs and bullets get a good workout and the movie has some pretty decent action scenes.So why not more love? Well the script is disjointed to say the least. The good news is if you are bored wait five minutes and it is practically a different movie. (A father daughter comedy, no a kung-fu actioner, no a one man drama, no now it’s a stoner film... make up your mind damnit.) The film also commits some cinematic sins. First of all, if you purposely hide the identity of Mr. Big till the end he better be a character we have already met or a Frank Sinatra cameo. Second if you already have an R rating why are the dancers in the strip joint fully clothed. And last there is nothing cheaper than the ethnic character that idolizes Elvis. I hate that crap. Especially when the soundtrack is filled with twanging like we were in 1950’s Arizona not 1990’s L.A... If I wanted to see a bad Nicholas Cage film I would have rented one (There are plenty to choose from after all.) Bottom line defiantly worth a look and it is entertaining but certainly not something I would go out of my way to see. Well except for the Bobcat explosion.

Retired cop Malone finds himself caught up in a battle between Japanese Yakuza and local mobsters when a psycho bombs a restaurant. He joins forces with Koji in order to protect his daughter and not only discovers that he was framed by a corrupt cop but also discovers a lot about honour and friendship.When I saw this as American Yakuza 2, I didn't expect much, and I wasn't disappointed. The story relies on unlikely events to get moving and keep moving. For example the whole chain of events that bring Malone and Koji together is set off by a psycho's unlikely hostage situation in a diner! This is typical of the story, in that big dumb situations are used to drive the plot. However, I have to admit that it wasn't terrible. Yes, it's very predictable and quite silly but it is generally quite entertaining and actually has some genuinely good moments.Rooker is an OK actor but rarely gets good leads - here is no exception. Danielle Harris is quite good as his daughter, while Ishibashi is good as Koji. The rest of the cast are nothing more than cop and mobster stereotypes that fill out the cast.Overall it's not great but if you're in the mood it's reasonably enjoyable without being too demanding on the old grey matter.