This is a straightforward Indiana Jones-inspired action-adventure flick that sees intrepid hero Richard Norton struggling with an American accent as he travels to Thailand in search of his missing grandpa. Along the way he beds a couple of beautiful women and, of course, reveals his fighting prowess as he battles off various opponents. THE SWORD OF BUSHIDO is a B-movie through and through, and it looks particularly cheap in the camera-work department; added to that, the filmmakers seemingly forgot to score the movie, so long scenes take place with no music to enliven them.
The film, however, has a couple of saving graces that stop it becoming completely bottom-shelf. The first saving grace is Richard Norton himself, a hulking Australian martial art who kicks ass in the few fight scenes that he gets to take part in. Added to that, Norton makes for a charismatic screen presence and it's a pity that he didn't get more leading roles, instead he usually found himself teamed up with the likes of Cynthia Rothrock or appearing as a bad guy in movies. The second saving grace is that the film was shot entirely on location in Thailand, so the jungle locations are totally authentic and add a level of atmosphere to the movie that would otherwise have been missing.
This B-movie is plagued with typical B-movie problems, from an overlong running time (lots of padding scenes and a main plot that doesn't even begin until the last half hour of the film don't help), a cheesy script, and some amusing bedroom sequences which date it badly. Norton begins the film by stripping off his research assistant (played by Judy Green, Norton's real-life wife) before the action shifts to Thailand and instead he beds the engaging Rochelle Ashana, best known as the love interest in the same year's KICKBOXER. For an action film, the fight scenes do come few and far between and there is little opportunity for Norton to show off his martial arts skills, although a brief battle with a Thai boxer is a highlight and the final clichéd-but-fun storm-the-bad-guy's-lair scenes are quite fun. Sadly many of the supporting actors seem amateurish at best and the Japanese villain, played by Toshiro Obata, is a good fighter but barely comprehensible when it comes to dialogue. Norton fans might sporadically enjoy his presence in this otherwise undistinguished B-movie, but even they will be looking at their watches long before the final showdown.
The film, however, has a couple of saving graces that stop it becoming completely bottom-shelf. The first saving grace is Richard Norton himself, a hulking Australian martial art who kicks ass in the few fight scenes that he gets to take part in. Added to that, Norton makes for a charismatic screen presence and it's a pity that he didn't get more leading roles, instead he usually found himself teamed up with the likes of Cynthia Rothrock or appearing as a bad guy in movies. The second saving grace is that the film was shot entirely on location in Thailand, so the jungle locations are totally authentic and add a level of atmosphere to the movie that would otherwise have been missing.
This B-movie is plagued with typical B-movie problems, from an overlong running time (lots of padding scenes and a main plot that doesn't even begin until the last half hour of the film don't help), a cheesy script, and some amusing bedroom sequences which date it badly. Norton begins the film by stripping off his research assistant (played by Judy Green, Norton's real-life wife) before the action shifts to Thailand and instead he beds the engaging Rochelle Ashana, best known as the love interest in the same year's KICKBOXER. For an action film, the fight scenes do come few and far between and there is little opportunity for Norton to show off his martial arts skills, although a brief battle with a Thai boxer is a highlight and the final clichéd-but-fun storm-the-bad-guy's-lair scenes are quite fun. Sadly many of the supporting actors seem amateurish at best and the Japanese villain, played by Toshiro Obata, is a good fighter but barely comprehensible when it comes to dialogue. Norton fans might sporadically enjoy his presence in this otherwise undistinguished B-movie, but even they will be looking at their watches long before the final showdown.