The Challenge (1982)    Embassy Pictures/Action-Thriller    RT: 109 minutes    Rated R (strong violence, language, brief sexual content)    Director: John Frankenheimer    Screenplay: Richard Maxwell, Marc Norman and John Sayles    Music: Jerry Goldsmith    Cinematography: Kozo Okazaki    Release date: October 1982 (Philadelphia, PA)    Cast: Scott Glenn, Toshiro Mifune, Donna Kei Benz, Atsuo Nakamura, Calvin Jung, Clyde Kusatsu, Sab Shimono, Kiyoaki Nagai, Kenta Fukasaku, Shogo Shimada, Yoshio Inaba, Seiji Miyaguchi, Miiko Taka.    Box Office: $3.6M (US)

Rating: ***

 Here’s a picture I’ll bet a lot of you forgot even existed. It’s hard to believe that The Challenge, a martial arts actioner starring Scott Glenn (The Silence of the Lambs), is directed by John Frankenheimer, the same guy who did Birdman of Alcatraz, The Manchurian Candidate and Black Sunday. He’d go on to direct criminally underappreciated films like 52 Pick-Up, Dead Bang, The Fourth War and Ronin. You’d think he’d have better things to do with a resume that impressive. After all, it could have easily featured Chuck Norris or David Carradine in the lead role. However, The Challenge is hardly a routine chop-socky flick. Frankenheimer sees to that by taking a more serious approach to the material especially where family tradition and honor are concerned. Don’t let that give you pause; there are also some very nicely orchestrated action scenes choreographed by Steven Seagal (Above the Law) before he became a star.

 Glenn stars as Rick Murphy, a washed-up boxer just fired from his gig as a sparring partner for young contenders. Luckily, he catches the attention of a Japanese guy in a wheelchair, Toshio (Shimono, Gung Ho), who offers him a lot of money to smuggle a sword into Japan. What’s so special about a sword? It’s one of a pair of swords called “The Equals” passed down through the generations until the treachery of one son caused it to be lost during WWII. Now that it’s been found, Toshio wants to return it to its rightful owner, his father Toru (Mifune, Seven Samurai). The problem is his uncle, a rich businessman named Hideo (Nakamura, The Ceremony), wants the sword too and will stop at nothing to get it.

 Upon arriving in Japan, Rick finds himself in the middle of a feud between brothers Toru and Hideo. After being injured by one of Hideo’s henchmen, he’s taken to Toru’s martial arts training school to recover. All he wants is the money promised to him by Toshio. He’s ready to leave Japan when he’s offered more money to steal the sword and deliver it to Hideo’s right-hand man Ando (Jung, RoboCop). Initially tempted, he has a change of heart when he begins to realize how much the sword means to Toru. After that, he’s on the side of good as Hideo challenges his brother to a duel, a fight to the death to determine ownership of The Equals.

 The Challenge sags a bit in the middle and it’s predictable. For example, it’s obvious from the start that Rick will end up in the sack with Toru’s daughter Akiko (Benz, Pray for Death). The moment she tells her brother that the American isn’t worthy of bringing home their family’s legacy, you just know the two will fall for each other by movie’s end. Then there’s the matter of who in Toru’s school will eventually betray him to Hideo. I didn’t trust this guy from the first moment I saw him. The Challenge has a fair amount of clichés like the little kid (Fukasaku) that bonds with Rick and the student (Nagai) that dislikes Rick, eyeing him with contempt until they finally duke it out mano-a-mano. Of course, there are the mandatory training scenes where Rick learns to perform feats like cutting down bamboo trees with a single swipe of the sword. There’s also the predictable character arc of the American loudmouth who comes to appreciate and respect a new culture. This is all stuff we’ve seen before, but The Challenge is good enough that you don’t mind.

 Glenn is a decent stand-in for Norris and Carradine who were busy making Lone Wolf McQuade when The Challenge was in production. Or maybe they weren’t even approached by Frankenheimer to star. I really don’t know. I do know that Glenn is a total bad ass once he gets going. Mifune, of course, is great as Toru. He encompasses honor and tradition as he tries to protect his family’s legacy from his greedy, corrupt brother. As the villain, Nakamura represents all that’s corrupt in Japan. He rarely leaves his well-fortified stronghold of an office building. Benz is pretty good as the daughter who would like to be the recipient of the family’s birthright, something that’s typically denied to women. Sadly, this aspect of the story is barely touched upon. Why bring it up if you’re not going to explore it? It would have added an element of depth to the proceedings. Instead, Akiko serves only two purposes: (1) love interest to the hero and (2) damsel in distress. When all else fails, Hideo has her kidnapped and holds her hostage until her father agrees to fight. Who didn’t see that coming?

 The real reason to watch The Challenge is the sword action. The climactic scene is AWESOME! My inner gorehound loves it. The good guys rack up a nice body count. Guards are hit with arrows and throwing stars. One guy is disemboweled. Another is decapitated. One guy’s head is split in half. What can I say? I live for stuff like this. There’s also a decent chase scene through a fish market in the early part of the movie. The martial arts (aikido style) stuff is cool. Action junkies will not be disappointed by The Challenge. I didn’t even know it was on DVD/Blu-Ray until recently. I was glad to see it again after so many years. I have to revert back to 15YO Movie Guy and say it’s a cool flick.

TRIVIA TIDBIT: When The Challenge aired on TV, it was retitled Sword of the Ninja even though there are NO ninjas in it. It was the early 80s and ninjas were in. I like its original title better.

 

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