Miami Connection
1987; directed by Park Woo-Sang (credited as Richard Park)

After finding a 35MM print of Miami Connection on eBay, two people from the Alamo Drafthouse theatre in Austin, Texas went through the process to get the rights and remaster the movie, which they subsequently released through their Drafthouse Cinema label. Since then, word has spread across the internet and via festival showings, and Miami Connection -- a picture that was panned by critics and audiences alike, making only a few thousand dollars at the box office during its' initial run in 1987 -- has become a cult hit. Do we have a case of something that is truly a "good" bad movie, or plain old over-hyping?

In this reviewer's opinion, it's a combo platter of both. Miami Connection's director, Park Woo-Sang (usually credited as Richard Park on his English-language productions such as this), has helmed some truly awful movies, such as American Chinatown and LA Streetfighters. These films were so poorly made and, most damningly, just plain boring, that they could not even serve to provide Mystery Science Theatre style fodder. Miami Connection is at least a step up. It certainly does have its' moments. The premise about a new wave band that practices taekwondo taking on drug smuggling ninjas is certainly enticing.

But even with this goofy plot and dialogue which features gems like "they don't make buns like that at the bakery" uttered by John Oates' evil twin as he lecherously stares at babes on the beach, Miami Connection doesn't quite do enough differently (in either a good or bad way) to truly separate itself from a million other low-budget releases that came out around this time. If you're an old fart like me and remember whiling away Saturday afternoons as a youth perusing basic cable TV listings or the dusty martial arts section at your local mom and pop video store, you've seen this sort of stuff before. It's mullets, bad acting, cheesy synths, and spurting kool-aid blood. As fun as that can be, there's nothing all that unique or exciting.

For those younger readers out there, or for those alive in the 1980's who had better things to do than stare at a TV, Miami Connection may indeed be a breath of fresh air. For better or worse, they certainly don't make films like this anymore, and this just may be the key you need to start going down a different cinematic path, experiencing things that would normally be outside of your comfort zone. Even the more jaded viewers out there will have to note that as inept as the core film-making elements are, there is an earnestness and determined nature behind this picture which is refreshing in this day and age of sanitized pre-packaged squeaky clean PG-13 excuses for action films.

RATING: 6