Jay Leno? Yep comedian Jay Leno stars alongside Pat Morita (of "Karate Kid" fame) in director Lewis Teague's fundamentally nonsensical, but likable cross-cultural (there's plenty of gags stemming from that) action comedy that sees the mismatch pair team up to chase down a new turbo charged engine prototype that was illegally smuggled into the US. With murder on the cards, it doesn't look like its going to be easy for these two Tokyo and Detroit detectives. No surprise, but a genial Leno really chews it up with his wittily side-splitting dialogues and the script rapidly keeps it coming. Morita's dry style works off him well enough making a dynamic duo. Everything else (including its intrusive material that gets topical with its industrial backdrop of motor companies) feels secondary to their comical bickering and investigative follow-up. Sadly from that, the rest of the stellar cast are overshadowed. Tom Noonan (a survival nut) and Randall "Tex" Cobb make impressive henchmen thugs, who work for Chris Sarandon's seamy businessman. Also joining in is Ernie Hudson, John Hancock, Al Waxman, Denis Holahan Richard Grant and a blink-and-you-miss-it Mike Starr. Formulaic conventions aside, it's well shot, moves at a good pace and engineers some excitingly loud action (where it even rips Norris' famous jump-kick through car windshield) in this very much flamboyant 80s buddy cop product.
"I don't get paid to be civilised".
"I don't get paid to be civilised".