The Challenge

An action B-movie that wants to be a modern variation on the samurai classic Yojimbo. The plot is quite similar and there's also Toshiro Mifune as a samurai mentor. While Sergio Leone swapped the original samurai for cowboys in A Fistful of Dollars, his western version of Yojimbo, and Walter Hill swapped the original samurai for gangsters in his western version, Last Man Standing, here some samurai have "survived" to this day and still maintain their traditions. The transformation of the initially ignorant boxer (Scott Glenn) into an old-school samurai who follows the moral code of Bushido is absolutely incredible. Nevertheless, the film offers solid action sequences that dazzle not only thanks to Frankenheimer's distinctive visual style, but also thanks to the solid melee fight choreography by a then-unknown Steven Seagal. The final scene is reminiscent of the over-the-top final “one-man-army” carnage in Commando (except that here Mifune makes do with a mere samurai sword against machine guns). Unlike Commando, however, The Challenge lacks the slightest humour and serves up unrealistic action with dry earnestness. But it still has something to it. (20/04/2017)