Miami Connection (1987)



When I finished watching Miami Connection, I wasn’t sure how to start writing about it.  Nothing quite seemed right when I tried to start.  Something was stopping me from being able to write about it.  Now, I’m writing about how I couldn’t figure out what to write.  It might not be the best way to start writing about it, but it’s a start.  That has to count for something.  I should probably write about Miami Connection though, and not how I couldn’t figure out how to start writing about it.

For those of you that don’t already know about Miami Connection, I’ll tell you about it right now.  Miami Connection was originally released in 1987.  It was written by, directed by, and starring Y.K. Kim.  It is currently the only movie that he has ever been involved with, and for good reason.  When it was originally released, reception of the movie was terrible.  Apparently, the critics of that period were not interested in a movie about ninjas, drugs, and rock and roll that was not well crafted.  There is no need to worry about this movie being forever hidden though.  It was recently released theatrically and on blu-ray by Drafthouse.  Yes, that’s the theater chain that most movie lovers know about, though many don’t get to go to them.  Anybody can see this tae kwon do fest now.  And people seem to love it in the present day.

Admittedly, Miami Connection is a poorly made movie.  There’s bad acting, bad writing, and a lot of editing problems.  But there is also a lot to like about the movie.  The choreography in the fight scenes is well done and highly enjoyable.  The music in the movie is catchy and well done.  The effects are good for the lower budget of the movie.  However, the real charm comes from the mixture of this good stuff with how bad everything else is.  This is a movie that truly defines “so bad it’s good.”

I’ve talked about the idea of a movie being “so bad it’s good” before.  This is the idea where you either love the movie for all of its badness, or you love making fun of the movie for its badness.  Miami Connection, for me, falls under the first part of that.  All the bad parts are just charmingly entertaining.  They may be bad, but they’re filled with energy and joyousness.  It gets difficult to not have fun with what you are watching because it is so enjoyable.

There isn’t much more I can say about Miami Connection without spoiling parts of it.  I don’t want to spoil this movie for people.  Find a way to see this movie and see it.  You will understand what is to love about it and you will probably enjoy the hell out of it.  It’s a great bad movie and one that is well worth checking out if you are even the smallest bit into bad movies.
A more recent picture of the main cast.
There are some notes that I would like to make:

  • If you have any suggestions, leave comments.  I like to see comments.  Or talk to me on Twitter.
  • The “so bad it’s good” idea has been discussed in the posts for Starcrash and Backwoods Bloodbath.
  • Here’s the trailer for the movie: 


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