Bullet Points: Back to Back (1996)

If I had to describe the 1996 TV movie, Back to Back, in just four words those four words would be… never a dull moment.

• Our Soon To Be Heroes: Michael Rooker plays Bob Malone, an ex-cop with the LAPD that has anger issues, financial issues and family issues. When we first meet Bob he’s at the bank trying to square things away with the loan officer so he doesn’t lose his home and doing so unsuccessfully… When we first meet Koji (Ryo Ishibashi) he has just arrived in Los Angeles to collect a debt for his Yakuza boss. Koji is accompanied by his friend and business associate, Hideo (Kô Takasugi). After the two Japanese men get into town, they pick up a briefcase from a gentleman’s establishment, get a 1968 Pontiac GTO out of storage and decide to have lunch at a restaurant owned by a mafia don that owes their boss money… The Bob and Koji characters are worlds apart when the movie begins, so you immediately begin to wonder what crazy circumstances are going to bring a former police officer and a member of the Yakuza together?

• Psycho Circus: As an angry Bob Malone leaves the bank, a group of bank robbers led by a guy named Psycho (Bobcat Goldthwait, Hot to Trot) enter the bank. Bob is oblivious, but does notice that there is a car that has blocked him in on the street… and not just any car, the getaway car for the bank robbers. Bob gets into it with the wheelman, then Psycho and his gang show up expecting to hop in the getaway vehicle so they can get away… but instead they find themselves in a shoot out with the former cop. During the melee, Psycho manages to escape which kicks off a high speed chase with the cops. Meanwhile, Lt. Dussecq (John Laughlin, The Rock) arrests Bob since it is apparently frowned upon when a guy starts shooting bank robbers in the streets…. Cut back to the high speed chase that ends abruptly when Psycho crashes into a 1968 Pontiac GTO parked outside an Italian restaurant, Psycho survives the crash. Gets out of his car and heads into the restaurant with his AK47 ready for action. Once inside, Psycho immediately arms the bomb vest he is wearing and takes everyone inside the restaurant hostage… including Koji and Hideo.

• Crazy Like a Fox: Psycho seemingly has a fool proof plan as he demands the customary helicopter to take him to freedom from the cops who now have the restaurant surrounded. The bomb Psycho is wearing is triggered by a detonator in his hand, so if the police decide to shoot Psycho, his finger would go off the switch and the bomb would detonate and everybody around Psycho would die. One thing that Psycho could not have possibly planned for however is running into two members of the Yakuza… Koji and Hideo manage to subdue Psycho long enough, that Koji cuts off Psycho’s hand holding the detonator. Now it is Koji who has the detonator hand in his hand which leads to a pretty spectacular death once the action moves outside and Koji detonates the bomb and blows Psycho to pieces. But once again Lt. Dussecq is there and he takes Koji in to get his statement about the extraordinary events that just took place.

• Fancy Meeting You Here: Now Koji finds himself in the waiting room at the police station as Lt. Dussecq makes him sweat it out. It is there that Koji meets Chelsea Malone (Danielle Harris, The Last Boy Scout), Bob’s daughter who is there to bail her dad out and take him home. Moments later Koji is called into the interrogation room by Lt. Dussecq and when Koji realizes Dussecq isn’t buying his story that he is a Japanese tourist vacationing in Los Angeles and after Dussecq starts asking what happened to Koji’s friend Hideo (an injured Hideo slipped away after Psycho was blown up, looking to complete the mission that he and Koji were on), Koji realizes he has to get the hell out of there so things get physical and Koji makes a daring escape… once outside the police station Koji bumps into Chelsea and Bob and is able to convince the father and daughter to take him home with them… funny how a gun can get people to do things they would not normally do.

• Common Ground: The Bob/Koji relationship obviously got off to a rocky start… but when the two men realize they are now both being targeted by the mob (thanks in great part to dirty cop Dussecq) they come together, form a team built on a mutual respect, hatch a plan and step into the lion’s den to take care of business. Bob and Koji prove to be a formidable duo… something the bad guys end up finding out the hard way.

There is always something of interest going on during the entire 86 minute duration of Back to Back. But even with a frenetic pace, Back to Back manages to tell a well thought out story with strong characters that you’ll actually give a damn about.

Now why don’t you give a damn about these Bonus Bullet Points…

• AKA: Back to Back was released as American Yakuza 2 in some parts of the world. It is a sequel in name only to 1993’s American Yakuza. Although both films do star
  Ryo Ishibashi (playing different characters).
• Familiar Faces: Fred Willard plays the loan officer at the bank that Bob Malone threatens… Stephen Furst (Silent Rage) and Tim Thomerson (Iron Eagle) play two characters who come to the aid of the injured Hideo.
• If You Ever: …wanted to see Michael Rooker beat the crap out of an ATM, then this is the movie for you.
• False Advertising: One of the locations in the film is named Snapper’s Topless Entertainment, yet all I saw were tops.
• Elvis Impersonator: Many of the songs featured in Back to Back purposely sound like some forgotten Elvis Presley hits… in fact, the songs in question were performed by Jimmy “Orion” Ellis, one of the most famous Elvis impersonators of all-time.