Miami Connection is a 1987 independent martial arts film directed. By Richard Park and Y.K. Kim who also wrote and produced it. The film Centuries around a martial arts band who go up against a motorcycle gang of ninjas who are in control of the drug trade. Miami Connection is a great so bad its good film it is a hilarious romp of 80s insanity and is hilarious.
The direction in Miami Connection is hilarious right form the very opening and vey 80s. With a gang of motorcycle riding drug dealing ninjas killing a bunch of drug dealers and stealing their drugs with the opening title sequence being the bikers and the band doing marital arts the film is very over the top eighties. The film then. Cuts to Dragon Sound the band the main characters are in singing their song friends the over-the-top eighties nature is hilarious as this corny band is the only thing that can stop the ninjas. The film is full of weirdly awkward moments such as john flirting with jane and puling a funny face the film is so awkward it becomes funny. The show is full of these moments such as the gang leader jeff randomly hitting john one of the members in the band because his going out with his sister and then them all standing around the car park talking. Another funny scene is when two characters enter an empty club and randomly start shouting with the club manger randomly knowing Kung Fu.
Dragon Sound also sing the song Against the Ninja is another moment of 80sw hilarity with a brilliantly cheesy synth rock song as they are Miami’s only hope against the Ninja epidemic. There are so many great little bits of unintentionally hilarious direction such as dragon sound randomly driving up to large gang driving cars attacking them with baseball bats. This then leads to two of my favourite tropes in the film which is action scenes that come out of nowhere and actors constantly shouting. Another hilarious scene is b-roll of girls in bikinis with dragon sound trying to flirt with them on the beach which is hilarious. I love that the scenes have no correlation to one another scenes will just jump cut from one to the other, the editing in this film is terrible.
During one of the martial arts training sequences one of the members puts his fist in another guy’s mouth and grabs him by the nose with his toes the montage footage is honestly hilarious. I love that fact that in this universe everyone knows kung fu, there is a scene were a random shop owner beats up gang members and its hilarious. The film is full of fun action scenes such as dragon force fighting a gang in an industrial area. During this fight scene there is a bit were one of the henchmen tires to attack the bad members and shows off in a way like his spasming and ends up getting kicked and knocked out in one is hilarious.
The film is just full of hilarity such as the fact that the biker gang has their own theme song about being tough guys. There is a weird random scene were one of the gang members dance and talks in an incoherent language after kidnapping the guy is hilarious. When dragon sound stealthy take out the ninjas before engaging in a rescue operation is entertaining. The film has an epic emotional climax between dragon sound and the ninjas were Jim gets stabbed and is dying which although what should have been a dramatic moment is hilarious. There is a funny bit were the head ninja cuts the head of the last remaining ninja when he tells then there all dead is hilarious. The film then ends with an epic battle between the head ninja and Mark which is both epic and hilarious. The climax end with Jim being injured and being driven to the hospital is meant to be dramatic but it is hilarious. The film end in a hilariously brilliant way, an overly happy way of Jim living and him meeting his father. The films end title card “only through the elimination of violence can we archive world peace” is just the icing on the top of the hilarity.
The acting is bad in the best way possible. All the acting is enjoyably campy and bad. During the begging of the film a bad guy gets his arm cut off with a samurai sword is hilarious. All the acting is brilliantly bad, Vincent Hirsch as John is hilariously awkward. Kathrine Collier plays a good love interest as jane. Jeff plays a hilarious villain going from normal too crazy in one second after meeting John which is funny. All the acting is ultimately hilarious.
The writing in the film is hilariously bad in the best way possible. Just the concept in of itself of a taekwondo rock band going up against ninjas is hilarious. A hilarious part of the film is the idea of two different worlds colliding with one of the gang members having a sister that is in the rock band as a subplot of the film. I love how much exposition gets revealed through dialogue its hilarious. An hilarious moment in the film is the letter scene where Jim is very happy in receiving a letter from his father. The way that all the shirtless members of Dragon Sound hold him. Up is funny add adds to the unintentional homosexual undertones of the film. From this Jim goes into an unintentionally hilarious monologue about his father, which is meant to be the emotional core of the film but come across as unintentionally funny.
The climax of the film revolves around one of the members of dragon sound what gets kidnapped and tied up as bait four the other members of dragon sound to come. There is just so much unintentional hilarity in the film. I like that the main ninja boss is Asian, but his brother Jeff is white. The subplot of the film also wraps up hilariously with Jim receiving his letter hand his friends lifting him up with overly sappy music and sow motion. Also, the way the sister of the leader immediately forgives her boyfriend for killing her brother is hilarious.
The cinematography in the film is fine nothing amazing, there is a nice use blues with the night-time shadows. The special effects blood is cheap but ultimately it looks like any other 80s low budget film and works with the so bad its good theme. My favourite effect is when a guy gets his arm cut off which is hilariously campy.
Miami Connection is one of my favourites so bad its good films. It is a hilariously bad entertaining experience that any b-movie connoisseur should see.