After watching this movie, I was disappointed that they could've done better with the action with gang members using melee weapons such as Mob hit men armed with retractable cross blades and gang members performing in-your-face matrix-style fist fights on villains, making it from a shoot-em-up to a beat-em-up action adventure.The transitions are too old-school and would be better if they were replaced by bullet holes being shot across the screen as if it was in a video game. And the action should be downright violent and extreme to make it a cutting edge film from other movies. If they were to make a sequel to American Yakuza 2, the name should be titled "B2B:Back 2 Back" (Spelled with an inverted number two) since it would give character to the story and make it more chill.D.H. should be cast in place of Michael Rooker's role as a thug/all-girl gang leader with a lethal fighting ability who rages out when she fights using a set of glowstick-like nunchakus who later cracks heads with a Yakuza hit-man to rescue her father from the government-ruling mafia.Also, the soundtrack would be a blast if it were replaced by a Techno/Electronica score other than Rock and Country for the action scenes because it would fit well with the movie and make it look cool. A good example of this would be the opening of the movie being replaced by JXL's remix of Elvis Presley's "A little less Conversation" followed by Squarepusher's Paistow flex out for Hideo's on-foot-journey to the strip club followed by The Orb's remix of Blue room as he enters the club, immediately following that, a track from the band Tempest titled "Deepsky" as he sits down about to die as he draws out his shades.I Also think that it would be interesting if Danielle Harris were to put her Scream-Queen persona aside once and for all and star in a role where she finally fights back and gets downright brutal with her enemies. I'm for once, sick and tired of seeing her be a victim in all of the action movies she's in and would like to someday see her As a lead character in an action/thriller flick (No comedies or children's movies) fighting villains.Believe it or not, this may sound like I'm trying to damage the original but If the director is reading this, I think this should be an awesome and exciting idea for a third sequel or series to this movie.

Back to Back: 5/10: Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? Is it a sequel? (American Yakuza 2?) Is it a rip-off of Pulp Fiction? Why it’s all these things and more.Too silly to be a crime drama and to serious to be a comedy; Back to Back is all over the map. What can you say about a film with the always super cool legend Ryo Ishibashi kicking and shooting it old school and an exploding Bobcat Goldthwait in the same movie?... heck this movie has them in the same scene.Yes watching Bobcat go all Islamic Jihad is worth a rental at least. And the cast such as Fred Willard, Tim Thomerson and Stephen Furst actually behave themselves. Heck Leland Orser practically gives a one man show as wheelchair guy. (Seriously he could have had an Off-Broadway monologue with that character.) The blood squibs and bullets get a good workout and the movie has some pretty decent action scenes.So why not more love? Well the script is disjointed to say the least. The good news is if you are bored wait five minutes and it is practically a different movie. (A father daughter comedy, no a kung-fu actioner, no a one man drama, no now it’s a stoner film... make up your mind damnit.) The film also commits some cinematic sins. First of all, if you purposely hide the identity of Mr. Big till the end he better be a character we have already met or a Frank Sinatra cameo. Second if you already have an R rating why are the dancers in the strip joint fully clothed. And last there is nothing cheaper than the ethnic character that idolizes Elvis. I hate that crap. Especially when the soundtrack is filled with twanging like we were in 1950’s Arizona not 1990’s L.A... If I wanted to see a bad Nicholas Cage film I would have rented one (There are plenty to choose from after all.) Bottom line defiantly worth a look and it is entertaining but certainly not something I would go out of my way to see. Well except for the Bobcat explosion.

Back to Back is movie made in the same vein as the American Yakuza. Ryo Ishibashi plays role of Yakuza again. Bob Malone (Michael Rooker) is an ex-cop who has anger issues living with his daughter (Danielle Harris) in LA. There're three plots going on at the same time. One with Malone with his daughter Chelsea, and another with Yakuza Koji (Ryo Ishibashi), and Hideo (Koh Takasugi) where they are trying to make delivery of who knows what, and Leonardo (Vincent Scavelli) the gangster and police Sargent Dussecq (John Laughlin) who's actually working together.The event that brings all of them together is the bank robbery by robber Psycho (Bob Goldswaith) that goes awry thanks to Malone bludgeoning the guy waiting in the getaway car to a pulp during the heist. Psycho gets away and ends up in a restaurant Koji and Hideo is having coffee. This restaurant is also the meeting place for Leonardo and his associates. The funny twist to the story is that no one at the restaurant knows that Koji is an Yakuza including Psycho, Leonardo's associate and the restaurant employee who all in their own way belittles Koji and Hideo and tests their patience. Psycho is the first to get the taste of Koji's violence Yakuza style when he gets his hand chopped off with a cooking knife. Police arrive at the scene and Psycho with his hand chopped off goes out firing his machine gun in a hail of fire. Flagship killing (in my opinion) of this movie happens shortly afterwards.From there Koji, Chelsea, and Malone meet in the police station and the plot builds up to the final confrontation between Malone + Koji vs. Leonardo and Dussec. the story is well told from the view of people living in the back side of the society, with friendship, and loyalty which is an universal code between warriors of two countries. Ryo Ishibashi and Daniel Harris steals the show with their acting. A hidden gem of a movie I'm sure you'll agree if you've seen it.

"Back to Back" didn't stun the world with its market impact when released. Watching it five years later there doesn't seem to be much wrong with it, there's sufficient action and plot to stop most people falling asleep on the sofa. It has an "R" rating, but for me the violence is in context and doesn't detract from the entertainment value of the movie.The director, Roger Nygard, obviously knows his job. As a piece of film making, "Back to Back" is well put together. The cast and crew do a good job with a neat script. Admittedly, coincidence does have a field day in the story line. The script boasts two yakuza hit men (one a disciple of Elvis), suitably evil mafiosi, a disgraced ex-cop, his much exasperated daughter, a mad bomber bank robber and, last but not least, an obnoxious, corrupt detective who you just know has been responsible for everything that has gone wrong for years.The cast is definitely above average. Some of the names are regulars among the ranks of supporting players featuring in bigger budget movies. There's Michael Rooker (Bob Malone), who I last saw making a fair job of Stan Zedkov in "The Replacement Killers" (1998). Sci-Fi enthusiasts will I'm sure be pleased to spot Stephen Furst, Vir Cotto from "Babylon 5", in the minor role of Jimmy, one of two no-accounts planning to sell Hideo back to the Mob. Also, a real inspiration in the casting of "Back to Back" has to be offering Bobcat Goldthwait the part of the psycho bank robber. Villainous and comic, he's great!Danielle Harris is much more than eye candy as daughter Chelsea Malone: wayward fathers need a firm hand! It is entertaining to see the changes brought about by advancing years (at least in this young lady's case it is!). I remember DH as little Melissa, the younger daughter of the Crandell family in "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" (1991). By 1996 she certainly had looks and screen presence aplenty. I recently spotted her again in "Urban Legend", dating from 1998, a movie in which costume and make up render her almost unrecognizable.I have not seen the two Japanese actors before who play Koji and Hideo. The mentor and his pupil scenario is nicely done. If I didn't know from experience how difficult it is to find the work of Japanese actors, it would be interesting to see other things they've done. Look out too for the enjoyable cameo from Leland Orser as the Wheelchair Guy. His brief screen appearance is a realistic peek into the precarious existence of someone surviving on the street.TV movies are sometimes bland, this one is well worth seeing.