Cinema’s Goofiest Car Chases: ‘Samurai Cop’
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It’s no secret that even the most objectively bad movies can make for great, hilarious viewing. And when it comes to the weird and wonderful world of “so-bad-it’s-good” cinema, there’s nothing quite like Samurai Cop. One look at that ridiculous title, and you know you’re in for an over-the-top good time. Thanks to its bad acting, silly plot, inept directing, and all-around insanity, this bonkers 1991 buddy-cop flick has gained a cult following in the decades since its release. And wouldn’t you know it, the first thing that happens in the movie is a goofy car chase.
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The car chase in ‘Samurai Cop’
Samurai Cop tells the action-packed tale of a cop named Joe tasked with ridding Los Angeles of a violent yakuza group called the Katana Gang. Just what is it that makes Joe so qualified to take out these bad guys? Well, in addition to being a cop, Joe is also an honest-to-goodness samurai. How exactly that happened, I’m not sure. But there’s no arguing with the hysterical results.
The film kicks off with a brief intro to the Katana Gang before introducing us to Joe and his partner, Frank. The two are hot on the trail of a group of villains piloting a blue van, and if you guessed a car chase is forthcoming, you’d be correct.
What follows is one of the most ineptly directed car chases in the history of cinema. Our heroes pursue the baddies down a pier and then through a residential neighborhood, bullets flying in both directions. As Joe drives his crappy 1979 Chevy Caprice — which in some shots has a flat rear tire — after the van, Frank shoots back at the van’s occupants. The first guy he hits takes a tumble out of the van’s back doors, and is then run over by Joe’s Caprice. The resulting gore is too hilarious to be gross.
Things get hot
The chase then suddenly shifts location to an abandoned quarry. In one of the film’s most memorable moments, Joe spends the next few minutes telling Frank to “Shoot him!” Frank, who hasn’t stopped shooting since the chase began, takes out two more bad guys. One guy falls back into the van, and the second guy — who bears a suspicious resemblance to former MMA fighter Don Frye — falls down a hill.
The chase ends when the last guy — the van’s driver — pilots his ride directly into the side of the quarry. Despite the impact being pretty light, the van abruptly explodes into a fireball. Joe and Frank extinguish the burning driver, spew out a few tough-guy quips, and then call it a day.
And that’s when you realize that there’s still an hour and 20 minutes of Samurai Cop left to watch.
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If watching a buff dude with a Cher wig and a baseball cap chase people around with a sword is your idea of a fun time, give Samurai Cop a try. It might just become your new favorite “so-bad-it’s-good” flick.
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