American Yakuza

American Yakuza (1993) was probably destined to slip through the cracks. Marketed as a “mafia vs yakuza” thriller, first time director Frank Cappello’s film feels more like it was a holdover from the Miami Vice era with its internecine gangland warfare, undercover operatives and unmotivated mood lighting. All that’s missing is a Phil Collins drum solo and a couple of commercial breaks. But, taken as a whole, the film is a plain-spoken bit of mid-‘90s direct-to-video action fare, much like its plain-spoken star: Viggo Mortensen.

Ingratiating himself with the second-in-command, Nick (Mortensen) manages to work his way into the inner circle of the L.A. yakuza who are at war with the Campanela family, homegrown mafia regulars. While he attempts to lower the temperature between both factions, Nick finds himself torn between loyalty towards his new employers and his official job as a federal agent. Add in an exotic love-interest and some agency meddling and Nick is forced to choose between the lesser of two evils…with a gun in each hand!

Hungry for work after the box office failure of Sean Penn’s The Indian Runner, Viggo is an odd choice as an action lead. But his mumbled line delivery and steely glare make you stop and pay attention even if the script is strictly by the book. Co-star Ryo Ishibashi, a rock-star in his home country of Japan, makes for a solid partner as well. And their relationship echoes the “heroic bloodshed” films of Hong Kong in fine fashion. Which also serves to point out the irony that American Yakuza’s action scenes feel inspired more by the work of John Woo than any of the Japanese V-cinema titles released around the same time (including the obligatory firing-two-guns-whilst-jumping-through-the-air sequence). It may not be original, innovative or all that memorable, but Cappello’s film isn’t a complete cop-out either.

Arrow’s limited-edition Blu-ray features a 2K restoration, brand-new audio commentary new interviews with director Frank Cappello and co-star Ryo Ishibashi, trailer, stills, booklet and reversible sleeve. But the 45-minute archival sit-down with Viggo Mortensen might be the most surprising and illuminating extra of all as the actor explains his motivation for taking the job and the friendships he developed on set.