The Perfect Weapon

Jeff Sanders is a young man whose father enrolled him in a kenpo school in the hope that martial arts training would teach him discipline. Years later, Jeff's mentor, Kim, a shop owner, is being pressured by a Korean crime family that wants to store drugs at his store. Jeff steps in to help his old friend, but Kim is killed by an unknown assassin. Jeff sets out for revenge, working his way through the criminal organization. His investigation puts him at odds with his younger brother Adam, a police detective handling the case.

The Perfect Weapon was released in 1991 and was directed by Mark DiSalle, whose only other directing credit is the 1989 film Kickboxer. David C. Wilson wrote the screenplay, and Pierre David and DiSalle produced it for Paramount. Jeff Speakman, a kenpo practitioner, plays the lead in his screen debut, with Mako as Kim, James Hong as Yung, John Dye as Adam, Dante Basco as Jimmy Ho and Mariska Hargitay as Jennifer. The film runs eighty-five minutes.

Made for about ten million dollars, the film returned roughly fourteen million worldwide, a modest result against its cost. Its ratings sit in the middle range: on IMDb it holds a 6 out of 10 from about five thousand three hundred votes, and on TMDB a 6.4 out of 10 from one hundred and thirty-eight votes. A critics' score of 3.8 out of 10 from eleven reviews is markedly lower than the audience scores.