gerry barnaby Film Reviewer I find this film really good despite the cheesiness of this film, I can relate to the character of ken in this film as I was bullied my self, it is hard to make friends n school when you get some ass picking on you.The thing that most people don't know is that the actor that play ken is actually one of the turtle in the teenage ninja turtle film back in the 1990.I found this film to be like a karate kid type film where he get fed up with being bullied for trying to make friend with a beautiful girl that is the girl of the bully's it come to a big fight between them.Billy banks is a brilliant performance in this film as well as a retired cop trying to keep himself to himself after an incident from he past but as they say your past will always catch up with you an old enemy pops up his force to train the kid to defend himself &find himself fighting for his own self respect.I think this film is so underrated for a 4.5, I would at least say this film is a 7 for what it is, you be hard pressed not to like this film to be honest, this is one film tho that your find hard to find as its a rare film.

dee.reid You have to admire any movie that willingly acknowledges its source material right there in the dialogue. In the case of "Showdown," directed by Robert Radler and written by Stuart Gibbs, that source is "The Karate Kid" (1984). You also have to admire star Billy Blanks. The guy tries so hard and yet never really comes off as anything more than just Billy Blanks, that Karate/Kickboxing/Tae Kwon Do master who would later find fame as the founder of the popular exercise system Tae Bo.The movie plays pretty much like a watered-down version of "The Karate Kid," except "Showdown" seems more and more like some lame after-school children's special though obviously it's aimed more at teenagers. In the beginning of the movie, Ken Marx (Kenn Scott) arrives on his first day of school after moving from Kansas with his mom. From the get-go as the new kid, Ken doesn't fit in with the other students, his only friend being Mike (John Mallory Asher), another local outcast who shows him the ins and outs of his new environment.Right away, Ken makes the mistake of hitting on the pretty blonde Julie (Christine Taylor), instantly making mortal enemies out of her extremely possessive boyfriend Tom (Ken McLeod). Of course, Johnny... er... Tom, is a violent Karate black belt, instructed in a macho, unethical form of martial arts under the macho, insane Lee (Patrick Kilpatrick). Ken takes several brutal beatings from Tom, until one day he's saved by the school's janitor, Billy (Blanks). Billy decides he's going to teach Ken to defend himself, so that he can finally stand up to Tom and win over Julie."Showdown" plays out more than just a repeat of "The Karate Kid." Gibbs's script combines elements from several completely separate genres and places them in one movie, the two most noticeable being the cop movie and the bullied-teen movie. Yes, I said the cop movie. As it turns out, Billy's an ex-cop with a tragic past that eventually comes back to haunt him in the present. Using his old partner who's still on the force, the two work together to bring down a full-contact fighting circuit organized by Lee that pits teenagers against each other for money. In the meantime, Billy doesn't know that Ken has accepted a challenge to face Tom in this same arena."Showdown" also aims to poke fun at the high school movie genre, but doesn't quite succeed at this either. There are plenty of lame sight gags, the usual bullies, cliques and reversals, and even Brion James drops in as the stereotypical hard-nosed principal. But none of this really gets the attention you think it deserves, since the filmmakers went to some lengths to put this stuff there in the first place.On the plus side, I guess the acting is good from this cast and the movie seems to have a heart and a good message, but it's weighed down by the fact it's been done before. Radler seemed to be onto something when he made the otherwise excellent "Best of the Best" in 1989, but "Showdown" proves to be another tedious entry into an overdone genre. It's best that you save "Showdown" for an afternoon where you have nothing to do, or just want a late-night feel-good martial arts flick where the good guys win, and the bad guys go to jail. Now, isn't that what we all want?4/10P.S.: Is also available in both "PG-13" and "R"-rated formats. This review was based on the "R"-rated version.

Mike Verderosa Showdown, starring Billy Blanks and Christine was an excellent movie and I recently purchased it at my local video store. Although some of the acting wasn't up to par, the movie had great action and an excellent storyline. The violence scenes are a mixture of karate and UFC- style fighting. Most of the movie centers around Ken's new high school or the fighting dojo. This is a must watch. Some of the actors such as Ken Marx and Christine Taylor performed excellently though others such as Master Lee were a joke. This independent film is currently out of print and is hard to find. You may purchase on Ebay or Amazon or get lucky like I did.

Brian T. Whitlock (GOWBTW) I've seen this movie one time, and all I can say is the star Ken(Kenn Scott) was sorta like Daniel Russo of "The Karate Kid" only there were a few things his sensei(Billy Blanks) did that Miyagi didn't do. Billy helped enhanced his speed, and reflexes to go against Julie's controlling boyfriend, who was taught by a deranged sensei named Lee(Patrick Kilpatrick), who people there seem to totally dislike. The fight scene was nothing like the KK, especially when the other students saw what Lee did to his own pupil. Kenn tried to help only to land a sucker punch to the lower lumbar. Then it was Billy vs. Lee. And guess who the other team root for? Billy of course. When the other group of students told Billy about their dissatisfaction of Lee. Billy never decline an offer like that. Would you? The others were very happy to have a new sensei. I DON'T BLAME THEM! I liked the girl who wore the half-shirt. She was hot! Kenn Scott is very good in karate, is because I was taught by the same sensei he did in real life. It was here in North Carolina! Sorry, you'll have to see the movie, it may be cheap, if you see it that way, but I enjoyed it very well for many reasons. Rating 3 out of 5 stars.