As far as accidental bad movies go, this one has its moments. Characters aren't developed, the plot is nonsense and the acting is horrendous.Unfortunately I found myself bored somewhere around the middle but it does have a delightful final act. That's when it just devolves into shlock and over-the-top violence. It doesn't have a consistent 'the Room' level of bizarre scenes but there's enough in there to make it a fun group watch.

Miami Connection (1987) * 1/2 (out of 4) Some college kids from Central Florida not only play in a rock band but they're also masters at martial arts. Good thing for them because one of the members begins dating a girl whose brother just happens to be the leader of a violent motorcycle gang involved in all sorts of illegal activities.It's strange how movies are usually forgotten only to later be rediscovered for some reason. The history of Miami CONNECTION is pretty fascinating as it pretty much died as soon as it was released and no one even knew about it outside the filmmakers and cast. Twenty-two years later a programmer for the Alamo Drafthouse ended up buying a copy of the film on eBay for $50 and soon he was booking it and out of nowhere a large cult following started. Today, Miami CONNECTIOn has a rather large cult following and it even got a special edition released to DVD and Blu-ray.So, why do so many awful movies get forgotten and others ones like this end up with a cult following? My only guess is that some movies reach the "so bad they're good" level because the filmmakers went into the project not thinking they were making a low-budget bad movies but instead they go in thinking they're making the next CITIZEN KANE. I'm sure they believe that everything from the acting to the directing to the screenplay is just something special when it fact it's all very, very bad. This film is certainly awful on just about every level from the performances to the incredibly awful rock soundtrack but thankfully there are some moments that are so awful that you can't help but laugh.There are many highlights (or lowlights depends on how you see it) here including some stereotypes that are just so cringe-worthy that you can't help but laugh. The rock band has different ethnic members but the Asian and black guys are so laughable that you can't help but wonder what they were thinking. The subplot dealing with the black guy not knowing who is father is is just priceless. Another highlight is the over-the-top violence including a "death" scenes towards the end, which has to be one of the funniest ever filmed. I'm not going to ruin what major character it happens to but I dare anyone watch it and not laugh.Miami CONNECTION is an awful movie, there's no question about it but thankfully there are enough bad moments to make it worth viewing if you're a fan of this type of thing.

What do ninjas, bikers, drug dealers, and a martial arts themed band have in common? Well, everything, according to 1987's martial arts cheese-fest "Miami Connection"! It's a movie that I expected to be bad, but in a good way and man was I right. The basic plot of the film-if you can call it that-involves a gang of motorcycle riding ninjas taking over the drug connection in Miami with the help of their allies. For some reason, one of the drug big wigs has a real problem with a cool sounding (At least if you like cheesy 80's songs!) martial arts band Dragon Sound because his sister's in the band. Determined to shut them down, the crooks go to any lengths to shut the group down, even going so far as to supply some thugs to a wild-haired lounge singer who has an ax to grind with the band for stealing his show time! Taekwondo master Y.K. Kim stars as the band's leader and sensei Mark and you can tell the man's never had a single day of acting class in his life. Still, that doesn't stop him and his fellow cast mates (some of whom were his students, others just some bikers off the streets) from giving it their all. Can Dragon sound prevail or are they destined to fall?It's obvious this isn't an Oscar worthy picture folks. But with that said, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy this masterpiece of cheese. I mean who doesn't find the idea of a martial arts themed band battling a gang of motorcycling ninjas hysterical? The one true cinematic praise a person can say of this is the quality of martial arts used throughout the film. The part where Kim and his students are practicing their craft on the college lawn is simply breathtaking due to the amount of skill and dedication they have. Plus, it's a treat to see them riding around in their white Thunderbird (At least I think it was a Thunderbird), serving justice to any street scum that comes their way, including the leader of the biker ninjas himself, who's just as much at home in his dojo as he is in a dirty biker bar (For some reason I really get a kick out of that scene). While watching the film, though, I'm not going to lie when I say I feel a bit sorry for Mr. Kim. By all accounts, he's a real nice guy and really wanted to do a good film. Well Mr. Kim, if you're reading this just know that while the film may not get any praise from critics, in terms of entertainment value it rocks. When it's all said and done, folks, "Miami Connection" is one for the ages. True, it's no "Ben-Hur", but then again, did you really expect it to be?

It doesn't take long into watching "Miami Connection" to come up with a sizeable list of various kinds of ineptness to be found in it. But I want to start off by listing a few positive things about the movie. It is well photographed and lit, including the night sequences. Plus, the themes of friendship and loyalty found in the movie are commendable. And I can't say that the movie is *boring*. But more often than not, the movie gets away from being boring by being amusingly inept. The acting is incredibly bad; it's easy to see that none of the cast is a professional actor. The fight sequences are awkward. The songs are awful, but catchy enough that you won't be able to get them out of your head. And don't let me get started on the motorcycle ninjas! Is this a classic so bad that it's good movie? In my opinion, no - it isn't *quite* that aggressive in its badness. But with modern so bad that they're good movies being nearly impossible to find these days, this is adequate enough to feed your appetite for cinematic silliness.