Street Knight has Speakman as a cop who, after seeing a girl die at the hands of a hostage taker, quits the force and aims for a quiet life as a mechanic in the barrio. As is usually the case, trouble has a way of finding these guys, otherwise I guess we wouldn't have a movie; the problem is, when it finds Speakman, trouble's gonna wish it picked a different barrio to haunt. As Speakman gets in deeper, he realizes this is no simple LA gang violence that we read about in the 90s and which led to all kinds of mandatory minimums and the militarized police force we have now. Nope, these baddies are Caucasian opportunists, and now he just needs to see the opportunity they're looking for and stop them.
The Washington Post reviewer was a little tougher on this than everyone else, saying it should have been titled "Sleep Tight" instead, but he makes some valid points. First and foremost, it could have had more action. He made fun of Speakman's patty-cake style, but I actually liked that. I do think the idea of setting it in the barrio and having it be "white guy cleans it up" is a bit tired, and they could have done something else; also, the baddies' motive for setting off the gang war was a bit thin as well. By the same token, for 90s bad action, this is pretty much what you came for, and it delivers.
This is only the sixth Speakman film we've done on the site, and of those other five, most only have him in small supporting parts. The thing about this one is, after The Perfect Weapon, it was supposed to be his follow-up and further push him into the mainstream, but it was also the last film Cannon Pictures made, so it died on the vine a bit, and I don't know that Speakman ever recovered. I think that's too bad, because he could have been a good one, he had the skills, and I think he also had the screen presence. He hasn't done a film since 2006, in part because he contracted throat cancer in 2013, which he fully recovered from, and in part so he can focus on his Kenpo karate school. That means he'll probably be one that would make the Hall of Very Good, but not the DTVC Hall of Fame--though with some of the names that the MLB Hall of Fame has let in recently, maybe he has a shot. Would you say he's the Larry Walker or Harold Baines of DTV if we're saying Dolph is the Babe Ruth?
While this is definitely cliche ridden--which isn't necessarily a bad thing--it does do something that I'm not sure I've seen before. So we have the standard damsel in distress, which we also combine with the weird damsel in distress but the baddie forgets the concept of restraints--or kind of does--so she gets away, but that's when they throw a curve ball. She thinks everything is over, so she goes to hug Speakman, but he yells "no, it's not clear!" which kind of makes no sense, "like what's not clear?" but as she gets in the way, the baddie picks up a plastic oil drum and throws it on Speakman. That's a plot device I don't think I've ever seen before, the newly freed damsel getting in the way and allowing the baddie a chance to get back at the hero. "No, it's not clear!"
Another device this uses is one I can't stand, and that's when the friend who helps the hero gets killed for his trouble. Bernie Casey is said friend here. It's a trope that only serves to diminish the hero, yet so many films use it. I'd say the most dangerous person in an action movie is the hero's best friend. Ask Sam Elliot about that knife in his back in Road House. Who really stuck that knife there, Garrett's men, or Dalton? Exactly. Heroes get to save the day and get the girl, while their friends end up on a slab in the morgue. And yet, movie after movie does it. Stop doing that.
I would say a third device this film uses which also diminishes the hero, is when the hero needs to use underhanded tactics to beat an evenly matched baddie. In this, Speakman has a one-on-one battle with one of the baddie's hatchet men, and isn't able to beat him in a fair fight without stabbing the guy with a screwdriver. Speakman's character is supposed to be a man of honor. The baddie is supposed to try to stab him with the screwdriver, not the other way around. Why not just have Speakman slap him a bunch of times in the head and chest? Isn't that enough?
I'm realizing I'm starting to go all Washington Post on this movie, so maybe I need to take a step back and wrap up before I totally kill it. This isn't a horrible one, it's a good time for what it is, which is a 90s actioner. Right now YouTube is the only streaming option, otherwise you'll have to dig it up on VHS or DVD.
For more info: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108234
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