Martin Kove stars as Steele, Vietnam vet, ex-cop turned Rambo meets Death Wish-esque avenger who declares a one man war on the Vietnamese mafia to avenge one his Vietnam War Buddy's family and protect said buddy's daughter. Along the way police detective (Ronny Cox), Military personnel (Joseph Campanella) and head cheese of the Vietnamese Mafia (Soon Tek-Oh) all acquire the wrath of steele vengeance. Bad Movie charm goes a long way with Steele Justice because if you're not a fan of the genre, this flick is going to be rough going. For me, I grew up with these movies and there's nostalgia involved. I don't think beyond that there's much else to the film. The action sequences are entertaining (as opposed to well-staged), Kove makes for a surprisingly likable if bumbling hero. There is a lot of Bad Movie charm to enjoy about Steele Justice, there is the infamous poison dart and frying pan scene, the fact that Kove has a poisonous snake as a pet that he deploys and the fact that the film is often funnier than most comedies, as the humor is so broad as to somehow be so stupid it's funny. Once again, it's a tough call as, quality wise it's sort of indifferently made, the bad guys don't really make sense and the way everyone seems to know everyone in what appears to be a big city draws attention to how bad the script is. That said, Rambo rip offs work in the same way Bruce Li films as simple absurd escapism. You know what type of person you are and whether you would watch such or not. I was not disappointed or bored watch Steele Justice. * * out of 4-(Fair)

Steele Justice (1987) is an underrated solid action flick from the 80's it is a cheap action film but it is a really good rated R action film from the 80's from Martin Kove this is his best role. Written and directed by Robert Boris. What can I say about this film? I like this film not love but like for a fun popcorn cheese action movie. I loved Martin Kove in The Karate Kid Trilogy as Sensei John Kreese he was really a bad guy and he become really famous by his role. A lot of people on the street yelled at Martin saying he hurt Ralph and they hated him, he played the bad guy Vietnam Vet and a karate "bad" guy instructor. A year later after the release of the first film The Karate Kid (1984) he went to play another Vietnam Vet character but this time Ericson in the action war flick Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) another bad guy who is a Vietnam Vet. I wish his character would had more to do. But this time he plays another Vietnam Vet this time he is "John Steele" wow what a cool character. An ex cop and a Vietnam Vet. Martin Kove plays this time a good guy in a cheap movie we can see he is a nice person not an evil guy like he got the roles on a screen. Martin does a fine solid job playing his character and I like this movie it is my favorite Martin Kove film.Plot: Steele is ex-cop and Vietnam vet who is determined to bring down Kwan, former South Vietnamese general and now rich and powerful drug lord.This is an action revenge film of the 80's and it is one-man army action hero type. We see like 1975 a mission that John Steele (Martin Kove) and his partner Lee Van Minh (Robert Kim) goes on a secret mission in the Vietnam only that they are set up by the nemesis Gen. Bon Soong Kwan (Soon-Tek Oh) who try's to kill them but John saves Lee and he wounds Kwan with a knife and leave's him for dead but Kwan survives. 12 years later Lee is now a detective by LAPD on a chase for a cocaine but he was set up Kwan is now the leader of Vietnamese mafia and he deals drugs and prostitution. John is now an ex washed up cop who can't keep a solid job and he is divorced now from his ex wife Tracy (Sela Ward) he get's arrested but Lee bails him out. Kwan sends assassins on Lee and his family to send a message but to everyone in Vietnamese neighborhood, they kill everyone but they miss John and Cami (Jan Gan Boyd), Lee's only daughter now Steele must protect Cami and get's his own brand of justice against Kwan. We have a great action scenes, practical blood squibs, there a few shootouts, Steele were Milk snake around his neck and he avenges his best friend's death in which he served in Vietnam together. Steele kicks ass two assassins in the prison then he escapes jail and he kills a lot of bad guys. He save's Cami and Tracey and other innocent life by killing Vietnamese assassins who start shooting at the music video spot they were filming. It is a rated R film and it is one man one-man army action hero type. One man against an army of Vietnamese mafia. For me it is a good cheese action movie not a boring or crap movie like some reviewers are claiming it is a fun popcorn film. I first saw this movie on VHS when I was 13. years old, years later I watch it on TV. I downloaded form the net and I watch it again and I had fun watching it. Here we have actors Soon-Tek Oh from Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985) who plays another Vietnamese soldier bad guy. In Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985) he played Colonel Yin enemy to Chuck Norris this time he plays a Vietnamese General Kwan another evil bad guy. We have Ronny Cox from Beverly Hills Cop 1 & 2, Robocop, Total Recall who plays another good guy and again a cop Bennett another good guy. We have Sela Ward from CSI: NY, we also have Sarah Douglas from Superman 1,2 and Al Leong from Die Hard. This a prototypical good action film but because it is cheap and cheese it get's a bad rap. My favorite scene is the end in which Steele and Kwan fight's with sword in a duel and we see a good samurai fights in which Steele uses two swords while Kwan uses one samurai sword. Practical real samurai demonstration. I like action films like are: Rambo films, Demolition Man, Cobra, Tango & Cash, Cliffhanger, Assassins, Hard Target, Hard Boiled, Broken Arrow, The Killer, The Last Boy Scout, Die Hard franchise, Commando, 48 Hrs., Red Heat, Missing In Action 1,2, Steel Dawn, Road House, Black Dog, John Wick, Speed, The Matrix Trilogy flicks, Terminator 1,2 & 3, Predator 1,2, RoboCop 1,2, Beverly Hills Cop 1,2, Death Wish 3, Universal Soldier, Cyborg and many more action movies. I really love the 80's the rating I am giving to this movie is a 6 a good solid movie. I can't give it more higher and I can't also an negative score F. Steele Justice is a 1987 film written and directed by Robert Boris.6/10 Grade: C Studio: Atlantic Entertainment Group Starring: Martin Kove, Sela Ward, Soon-Tek Oh, Robert Kim, Ronny Cox, Bernie Casey, Jan Gan Boyd, Peter Kwong Director: Robert Boris Producers: Thomas Coleman, Michael Rosenblatt, John Strong Screenplay: Robert Boris Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 36 Mins. Budget: $1.327.740

Beefcake actor Martin Kove joined the ranks of action genre stars with this routinely plotted but fairly amusing vehicle. Kove plays genial Vietnam veteran John Steele, who goes into action when his wartime comrade Lee Van Minh (Robert Kim), now a police detective, is assassinated along with most of his family. Helped and hindered by former colleagues like Bennett (Ronny Cox) and Tom Reese (Bernie Casey), John goes up against a wartime associate named Bon Soong Kwan (Soon-Tek Oh), who's now a drug lord in America masquerading as a crusading businessman.I'm going to give the filmmakers (led by writer & director Robert Boris) the benefit of the doubt here, and say that the amount of laughs to be had from watching this are intentional. If one does see it as tongue in cheek, it may yield greater entertainment than if they take it seriously. "Steele Justice" does have its moments. For one thing, it stops cold for a rock video that is eventually interrupted by the ongoing battles between Steele and Kwans' minions. But the unqualified highlight occurs when Steele is shot with a poison dart, and almost nonchalantly, he removes the offending dart, sucks up and spits out the poison, and does a fine job of improvising when it comes to cauterizing the wound. The action sequences are all reasonably well done.Kove is engaging as our sardonic hero, often to be seen with a smile on his face. Oh is an enjoyably hammy villain in the action movie tradition. Sela Ward is a lovely woman, but as the heros' ex-wife, she offers a pretty insipid performance. Ditto for Jan Gan Boyd (the young lady who was hot for Bronson in the movie "Assassination"), cast as Van Minhs' supposedly teen aged daughter. Watch this and you'll see why she never had much of a career. There's a pleasingly large amount of familiar faces in the supporting cast, although some of them have no more than cameos or walk ons: Joseph Campanella, Sarah Douglas, Peter Kwong, Al Leong, Shannon Tweed, Irene Tsu, David L. Lander, Asher Brauner, Phil Fondacaro, Kevin Gage.Any completist of 1980s action movies should have a pretty good time with this.Six out of 10.

I wouldn't pay a cent to see this movie, but if it's available free On Demand, there are worse ways to kill 90 minutes. Every 80s action cliché is on display, although there are a few fresh spins here and there; a car crashes through a trailer, and it's the trailer that inexplicably explodes into a huge fireball, not the car. Similarly, it's the police chief's recklessness (instead of his stupidity) that constantly undermines the hero. And there's a bit at the end where the bad guy is using the hero's ex-wife as a shield whose resolution was a nice surprise.For a low-budget piece of crap, the cast is halfway decent, although understandably they're not doing their best work here. Martin Kove seemed to have a sense of humor about the whole thing, and he's fun to watch. Ronny Cox does a neat riff on the aforementioned clichéd chief, and Bernie Casey is always welcome; he's one of the few guys I truly believe would be back at work two hours after taking a bullet to the abdomen. Sela Ward (aka the former Mrs. Gregory House) shows up to whine and try to stop Steele from doing what a man's gotta do, etc. And the mighty Al Leong manages to get blown away twice, and even has a few lines of dialogue this time around.Soon-Tek Oh is a decent bad guy, but like every other reviewer pointed out, once you see him in that blue muumuu, it's kind of hard to take him seriously. Hannibal Lecter in that muumuu? Not scary. Darth Vader in that muumuu? Not scary.As for Steele himself, it's worth noting that for most of the movie, he's falling-down drunk and is always on the losing end of every fight. Then when it's time for vengeance, cue up a sub-Rocky montage complete with a hilariously bad 80s rock song, and suddenly he's the Terminator. He even manages to infiltrate a secret Army testing center (which seems to be located right in the same neighborhood where everything else takes place) and steals a top secret Army tank-like thingamajig, driving right past a bunch of guards who don't even try to stop him.All in all, a classic piece of 80s b-grade nonsense.