Asian Connection (2016) starring Steven Seagal, Pim Bubear, John Edward Lee, and Sahajak Boonthanakit

ASIAN CONNECTION opens with a somber, sleepy voiceover from Avalon (Pim Bubear) as she wistfully recalls her first encounter with Jack (John Edward Lee who looks like the genetic car crash of Josh Duhamel, Steve Zahn and Walton Goggins), an American ex-pat living in Thailand who sports Asian tattoos, rides motorcycles, and robs banks with his trigger-happy Brit buddy, Sam (Byron Gibson).

Unfortunately, Jack and Sam make the mistake of hitting a small Cambodian bank packed to the gills with marked bills from the cache of crime lord Gan Sirankiri (Seagal) and his brother. From there it doesn’t take long for Sirankiri’s henchman Niran (Sahajak Boonthanakit) to track Jack down and make him an offer he literally can’t refuse—rob the banks I tell you to rob and cut me in for half or I spill the beans and do unspeakable things to your girl.

From there the D-grade blend of POINT BREAK and TRUE ROMANCE (with partial story credit to the late Tom Sizemore, who appeared in both of those better flicks) lurches from plot point to plot point as Sam does boneheaded things and Niran plots his ascent while Jack and Avalon find themselves caught between the cops and Seagal’s gang.

While not a waste of time like some post-prime Seagal outings (I’m looking at you AGAINST THE DARK), ASIAN CONNECTION suffers from material that feels a bit too familiar as well as flat acting from both Bubear and Lee. The script, credited to D. Glase Lomond, never establishes the deep connection Jack and Avalon are supposed to have, and saddling Bubear with lines like “Do me on this pile of cash…” only makes matters worse.

Kudos to the casting director and director Daniel Zirilli, though, for juicing the flick with guys like Gibson and Boonthanakit (HARD TARGET 2), both of whom bring an energy to their performances that keeps the leads from sinking the whole endeavor. Also watch for action icon Michael Jai White in a brief role as arms dealer “Greedy Greg” and then sit back and wonder, like I did, how he isn’t a big star. Better yet, track down White’s NEVER BACK DOWN: NO SURRENDER (2016) or FALCOLN RISING (2014).

Fellow Seagal completists will be happy to hear that our hero is used sparingly and never embarrasses himself. Oh sure, you’ll snicker at his blousy outfits, avert your eyes during a slow-motion martial arts foreplay session and audibly gasp when he gets really mad and flips over a food-filled table (I swear I saw a tear trickle down his cheek). But I’d like to see him play against type more often since he’s reached the point where his ever-increasing bulk, shoe-polish goatee and menacing wheeze make him far more suited to a villain than a vengeance-seeking hero. – Dan Taylor 

This review previously appeared in Exploitation Retrospect #53, still available from Amazon.