Director John Frankenheimer has made some great features; some not quite so and there are those which have fallen down the cracks. "The Challenge" happens to be one those forgotten oddities, but grippingly awesome pulpy martial arts entertainment. Establishing the violently vigorous action with the dramatically thoughtful material (a westerner coming to respect the traditional ways of eastern culture) --- as Glenn's washed-up American boxer Rick finds himself caught up in a family feud when smuggling a sacred samurai sword back to Japan. There he encounters trouble, so he wants out and gets the owed money for doing the job. However there's a change of heart as he wants to learn from Toru Yoshida at his school, but secretly his paid to steal the sword for Toru's brother, Hideo. Who's a businessman more concerned with modern methods, than anything traditional.It's an outrageously sharp, but meditatively-laced screenplay by Richard Maxwell and John Sayles, which packs plenty of punches (also humour), plot surprises and sets up some memorable set-pieces (bug-munching anyone?) within its Tokyo backdrop. Composer Jerry Goldsmith contributes a flavorers, flighty musical piece. Frankenheimer's lean and mean directorial style, goes down well with the superbly staged action (helping out as a material arts supervisor was Steven Seagal) and his leering camera covers numerous creative angles that don't shy away. What we have to sit through is well worth the wait for an outstandingly honourable climatic samurai battle (swift, blood-gushing and intense confrontations -- even a stapler can be dangerous!) within a futuristic-like building between the likes of Scott Glenn, Toshiro Mifune and Atsuo Nakamura. The characters are well-defined with tremendous performances to make that possible. Glenn's rough, dogged persona simply works, but there's also a compassionate side with the relationship he shares with a young boy. Mifune brings a respectable temperament and Nakamura perfectly pitches a callous edge.Possibly overlong, but "The Challenge" is cracking entertainment.

This is a captivating picture that is deeper that your average martial arts picture. This is a story of honor and culture that takes no prisoners.Scott Glenn starts out as a down and out boxing trainer who gets caught up in a plot to smuggle a samurai sword into Japan. During this film he goes from a washed up slob to an warrior steeped with honor.Toshiro Mifune is such a presence here, simply riveting performance as the teacher who turns Scot Glen into the warrior.The film has such a minimal feeling, filmed in quieter parts of Japan, not in the glitz of the Ginza. The only extravagance it the ultra modern office building where the final scenes take place.There is violence, lots of it, but none of it is gratuitous. It is part of the story. From the beginning with the hijacking of the handicapped van (where they throw one of the couriers out of the back to the office scene at the end...and what a scene it is. Scot Glen and his nemesis (Mifune's evil brother) go at it with two samurai swords. In a large office suite they slash and pummel each other like you can't believe, including usage of staple gun into one's forehead, the knocking down of a very large wall unit, and electrocution via a power cord ripped out of a computer terminal. And of course the final devastating blow at the end where Scot Glen kills his opponent by splitting his head in half.The final scene where Scott Glen emerges from the office bloodied and battered presents the two swords (finally united as a pair)to Mifune, who nods in recognition - talk about saying a million things without saying a word - such power! I first saw this on cable in 1983 and have loved it ever since. It is compact, taught and unflinching. We learn about Japanese culture regarding honor and tradition and how one can redeem themselves and earn honor and respect. A great piece of film making especially the Stephen Segal martial arts choreography.

I must confess to a particular fondness for thetwo films of John Frankenheimer's that he himself didn't seem to have much affection for: Prophecy(about mutant bears in the woods of Maine) and his one, The Challenge. I remember seeing this in theaters back in '82 and really digging it. The script by John Sayles moves along at a nice clip and Scott Glenn is well cast and well used ( for once) as the down on his luck American boxer who finds himself involved in an age old blood feud between two opposing ways of life in Japan; there is an interesting tension between the good guys and the bad guys: East/West as well as Modern/Traditional. (Clever fellow, that Mr Sayles.)The major character arc for Scott Glenn's American pug is not at all dissimilar to that later adopted by Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai. Not only does this film have one of the last major performances in a western film from that towering figure of Japanese cinema, Toshiro Mifune, but it boasts what remains one of the all-time classic modern sword fights in the climactic showdown in a giant gleaming glass and steel Japanese office building. Scott Glenn and Atsuo Nakamura slash each other to ribbons with samurai swords then resort to stapling each other's faces and shocking each other with severed computer cables during the final battle and it is choreographed, shot and edited, with a snappy sense of kineticism. Bravo to all involved.

There are certain movies on IMDB that are enigmas. The ratings are low, but the reviews are GOOD. Such is The Challenge. Frankenheimer, who had a string of masterworks in the early 60s with Seconds, Manchurian Candidate, The Train, and at least the race parts of Gran Prix stumbled badly on several films thereafter. This, and French Connection II, helped get him back on his feet. So which is right, the low ratings or the high comments! Duh. Always go with the latter in this case. The Challenge will make you feel like you were in Scott Glen's shoes, immersed in an alien culture that you come to respect and even fight for. And any film with a Goldsmith action score is already a plus.