80s Martial Arts Flop Lost For Decades Now A Modern Cult Classic
It’s amazing that even today, there’s still “lost media” out there in the world, movies and shows that may have aired once and then were never seen again. For decades, Miami Connection was one of those films, airing for a few weeks at a theater in Orlando, Florida, and then vanishing, never to be seen again. That is, until it was rediscovered in 2012, and now, more people than ever before are able to appreciate the incredibly goofy, low-budget film that has more passion and earnestness dripping off of it than most modern blockbusters.
Martial Arts Rock Band Vs. Ninjas
Miami Connection tells the epic tale of the band Dragon Sound, which runs afoul of a gang when a gang leader, Jeff, confronts their bassist over his relationship with Jeff’s sister. Somehow, that ends up spiraling out of control into multiple martial arts street battles, and a bloody, deadly duel against a gang of ninjas in a public park. There’s not a lot of plot to the movie, and even then, it’s easy to lose track of what’s happening and who’s who, but honestly, that’s a large part of the film’s charm.
Against The Ninja
Directed and produced by Richard Park, Miami Connection was a passion project for the real-life Taekwondo instructor, who had never made a movie before. I say this with love, but you can tell from shots that linger for far too long to the odd camera angles during the “Against the Ninja” performance, which goes through the entire song. The acting is amateurish, which makes sense, as most of the cast had never acted.
You’ll Laugh At It, But It Wins You Over
Between the direction and acting, it’s really easy to laugh at Miami Connection, which is how I first watched it through a Rifftrax (the original Mystery Science Theater 3000 performers) show, but at some point, you go from laughing at the film to enjoying its offbeat charms. Park may have had no clue how to make a movie, but he loves taekwondo and wanted to share it with the world, and it’s that bizarre enthusiasm that will win you over in the end.
Rediscovered And Reevaluated
Park never found a distributor for Miami Connection, limiting its initial theatrical run to the central Florida area. It would have faded away into obscurity if not for Alamo Drafthouse coming across a copy of the film and deciding to host some screenings, which caught on. All of a sudden, this tiny fan-made film caught on and started to become a sensation.
When Rifftrax hosted a show devoted to Miami Connection, the cast, and crew felt honored, even if they were going to be made fun of, because it meant that more people would get to see their work in a theater. How can you not root for people who are that good sports?
Found In Pop Culture
As the years have gone on, Miami Connection started to show up in pop culture, from Ubisoft using one of the movie’s songs, “Friends,” in Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, to a Dragon Sound t-shirt appearing in Pharrell Williams “Happy” music video, which was inescapable in 2014. The Red Letter Media team honored the movie by naming it “The Best of the Worst,” and countless movie podcasts have done episodes devoted to it.
Lots Of Ways To Watch The Best Worst Movie You’ll Ever See
REVIEW SCORE
I never thought I’d recommend Miami Connection to anyone, but after paying money to see Borderlands in the theater, I have to redefine what a bad movie truly is. With poor acting, lighting, camera angles, and an inability to keep anyone in focus, this microbudget film from Florida should be a bad movie, but it’s not. It has heart, it has a soul, it has a cast that is clearly stoked to be making a movie, and these days, that’s enough to make it a fun watch compared to the majority of the drek in theaters today.
From lost media to being found on countless free streaming services, if you want to check out Miami Connection, you can stream it right now on Pluto TV, Plex, and Amazon FreeVee. You can also watch the Rifftrax live show on Tubi.
And if you really want to, you can even find a Miami Connection 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray with some of the most amazing cover art known to man.
