Entertaining enough movie about a cop turned vigilante. (Drummed off the force as a fall guy in a scandal--Detective Blade--yes that his name--roams the streets taking out the gangs and keeping the peace in the neighborhood his own personal way) (Literally he drives around the town in a giant van which the local street kids recognize--at one point these two guys get the none too bright idea to try and break into it, and the other guy goes "Hold It--That's Blade's Car!!!!") A ridiculously young John Leguizamo is here as a wannabe shot caller/kingpin who hooks up with a group of out of work militia types to try and waste his various enemies so he can control the gangs and criminal activity of the area, but of course he's not very well aware that the leader of the militia he's working with is going to cede any actual power to him. (It doesn't help that he looks like he's about 12, that's how young Leguizamo looks here!) Anyways the plot is ehh--the plot doesn't really matter....you mostly watch a movie like this for the strength of the persona of the lead--and Steve James is awesome as Blade here. I actually feel bad that the man didn't get more (or any) recognition during his life (James died at the tail end of '93 according to imdb--weirdly one of his last movies was Weekend at Bernie's 2 where he played one of the two Jamaican guys tasked with resurrecting Bernie from the dead which is--I genuinely love Weekend at Bernie's 2 but that might not have been the best role to go out on for the man) Anyways he is just awesomely charismatic here, and you can't help but wish he had been given more chances to play the leading man in a whole bunch of B movies. He could've had an awesome career as a B movie hero, (I mean outside of his various sidekick roles in the American Ninja series of course) and well just based on his work here he would've 100% deserved it as he totally makes the movie watchable.

Logan Blade (James) is an ex-cop turned bounty hunter who always gets his man. He drives around New York City in his tricked-out van, and always has his trusty dog Munch by his side. Blade gets caught up in a gang war between the Diablos, led by the energetic Angel (Leguizamo) and the Italian mobsters led by Don Mario Romano (Vincent). But Angel and the Diablos (interesting name choices) have an ace up their sleeves: the emotionless, rigid, ex-Special Forces mercenary Col. Walsh (Brown), who demands victory at all costs and is a history buff constantly referring to historical battles. Things come to a head when Blade's girlfriend Denise (Pettiford) is kidnapped. Add to this his many troubles with his old police contacts, and it sets the stage for a serious confrontation with the STREET HUNTER! Street Hunter is classic 90's action as we all know it and love it. Plus it features a top-billed Steve James, finally. James even co-wrote the screenplay. We've always touted his work, and this is just further proof of our contention that he was one of the best and most underrated action stars of the day. He gets a great introduction, and there are plenty of shots of him looking cool and/or saying cool things. In case you ever forget how cool he is, his name is Logan Blade. So James' coolness factor is turned up to 11, and why not? It's his project. He even wears a Jack Abramoff-style hat throughout most of the movie. And lest we forget his duster coat with sleeveless shirt underneath. Reb Brown as the baddie provides the ultimate nemesis for him. This is one of our favorite Reb performances, he's just great as the history-loving killing machine, and the movie wastes no time giving us his famous yell.We enjoyed the New York City settings, and there are plenty of shots where the World Trade Center is clearly visible. It certainly brings us back to a certain point in time, especially when Blade says "Now it's personal", which in 1990 - hard as it is to believe now - wasn't the cliché it is known as today. It's thanks to movies like Street Hunter that it became the classic cliché we all take for granted these days. If we have any complaints about the movie, it would be that it is a tad bit too long - if the film had been tightened up by only a few minutes, it would have helped and made it seem more intense. Also the movie suffers when Reb Brown isn't on screen. We realize he can't be in every scene of the movie, but his performance and presence is so magnetic you want to see more of it.Thanks to the presences of Reb Brown and Steve James, two titans of the DTV industry, and some better-than-average acting, Street Hunter comes out a solid winner. It's a consummate example of 90's video-store action so go and see it.For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com

Street Hunter is like a kind of Punisher meets Lone Wolf McQuade...the classic renegade / loner cop (in this case a bounty hunter), bearing a grudge and with a point to prove...well maybe not. Logan Blade, whilst having resigned from the force, kept his dignity and remained level headed enough to single handedly (with the help of a Doberman, called 'Munch') take out all the garbage in New York City.The story whilst filled with all the clichés is a bit mindless but as the film goes on it does become entertaining. First of all there is a bunch of what appear to high school aged gangsters popping off rivals left right and center. The gang is lead by a very young John Leguizamo, (who overacts the part so badly it is hilarious),and a lunatic called the colonel, who seems to spend most of his spare time studying wars - more on that guy in a moment.Some of the films most entertaining parts include the fight scenes, involving Logan, his adversary Wellman. Logan's relationship with his lady is a funny one - she is put through the mill, all in a nights work. The bad guys are all stereotypical New York trash. The acting is at times diabolical.Frank Vincent is an interesting casting as a mob boss in this film and although he does not have too many scenes it is a good part in the film when the colonel and his unit storm his restaurant.As the film goes on, the Colonel is in a lot more scenes and actually takes over the gang lead by Leguizamo. From that point, he recites past wars and battles - educating his 'flock' in the process on things like Alexander The Great, Napolean and the Trojan Horse. He does not stand for failure or insubordination and follows it up with a pithy one liner. During his fight with Logan he is even reciting past victories whilst wrestling on the floor. Its pretty funny really, so fair play to the writers.Only disappointing part of the film for me was the colonel did not get a big send off during the Logan fight. You sense it is gonna happen but it doesn't.The script and look of the movie could easily have been adapted from a comic book and I would place it with the likes of The Shadow, Punisher and so on in terms of entertainment.

I'm a guy, but I'm also fairly intelligent. When I want a riveting storyline with an interesting plot, great character development and Oscar winning performances, I know to go elsewhere. Its kinda a waste of time to give this movie a bad review. Look at the cover art, what else did you expect? That's way I love this movie, it doesn't try to be anything else than what it is, and I admire a movie that's honest. This movie is a perfect example of the martial arts explosion of the late 80's and will always hold a special place in my heart. Again, this is an action movie. Bad guys getting shot and getting their necks broken for 1 hour 45 minutes. Keep that in mind and I'm sure you'll enjoy