#also artists and writers do crack ships all the time. its fun not serious

[littlerebels]

On Sugar's recent sketches

"Pearl is kissing Greg because she's suddenly genuinely interested in men now and our lesbian rep has been ripped from our han-"

"Pearl is kissing Greg because she's grieving, she doesn't love Greg but she needs to know what Rose saw in him, what about HIM warranted Rose to leave Pearl and die, they act like divorced parents but they're the only two who understand each other, Rose would have wanted them to move on so why not try with each other even if it's doomed, it's messy and horrible, she can still be lesbian rep because some lesbians have tried things with men and are still valid"

[best-enemies]

For the fandom ask meme thing can I request the whole damn alphabet or is that not very cash money of me? I’m nosy lmao I wanna know all of them!

AHDKAJSDKJAHSKDA JACK YOU’RE THE BEST

A - Your current OTP(s)/OT3(s)/OTX(s)

I’ve had my current OTP for like almost 8 years and it’s, obviously, Thoschei (Doctor/Master). My other current obsession is the Gallifrey OT4 hehehe

B - A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind

It’s funny because I didn’t ship Hannigram at first... I’d thought the idea of a cannibal having a relationship was terrifying because what if they had sex and Hannibal got hungry in the middle of the act? Lmaoooo 

But yeah they’re my endgame now. I watched the show when it first aired and I was about 14/15 years old so now you see why I thought that. Although I’m still afraid I’m gonna be reading a fic and Hannibal will suddendly bite Will’s dick off or smth AKJHSAKJSAHSASKAJ

C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will (be nice)

Uhhh Doctor/Clara. Mainly because I don’t like to ship the Doctor with companions (there may be one or two exceptions but I don’t ship them enough to actually say I ship them lol) and I don’t know I just never vibed with it

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t (again: be nice)

Doctor/River. I mean, I did like it for a while years ago but now it’s just... eh. I think she has a waaay better chemistry with the 12th Doctor, but still don’t ship it. I might give it a try once I listen to the River audios but so far meh. I’m not much of a multishipper anyway.

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what

God. I’ve written a couple of Academy Era (focused on the Deca) crack fanfics and I still have to translate them to English. They’re pure garbage but I love them. I have a lot of fun writing crack fics because they’re easier and I can ignore whatever piece of canon I want just for the laughs

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom

Guess it’s Doctor Who, been here (in and out of the fandom) for over 8/9 years

G - Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it

Uhhhh I think it was Han Solo and Leia, since I was a kid really. I wanted to marry both of them lol

H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., tv shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)

I had to google what a source text is and still don’t know

I - Has tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why

I don’t think so, but Twitter definitively has. I remember a couple years ago I was curious to see what voltron was about and watched a few episodes, it was ok, fun and cute but the fandom was so annoying I stopped watching it for good and don’t care about it enough to pick it up again

J - Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblr

I had definitively forgotten about supernatural until I saw it all over my dashboard in the year of our lord 2020 lmao like in my wholock days I tried to watch the show because everyone on my dash (is it still called dashboard?) was talking about it and I watched about 8 episodes before dropping it. But seeing it again on the dash was actually a happy surprise because the memes are too funny hahaha

K -Say something nice about someone in any of your fandoms

I’m extremely shy irl and on the internet as well but I wanna say that  @janeturenne is one of the best authors ever and her fanfics are a blessing in my life; also @thebraxiatelcollection who brings awesome content to my dash and is also one of the best authors. And of course, you, Jack, also one of the best authors god I’m so BLESSED

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves (chars you’re neutral on are fair game, as are chars you dislike)

Uhhh I guess I’m neutral about the current companions. They’re not my favorites but I don’t really dislike them - they had a lot of potential and chibs came up with some good storylines but did not develop them well in my opinion. I think Graham is a fun grandpa whom I’m going to miss when he leaves; Ryan is cool and could’ve done a lot more if the writers had kept a few things, it’d be awesome if he vlogged all of their adventures. He’s like the one I was curious to see more but sadly didn’t feel a connection; and Yaz, I hope she’ll keep growing and that her friendship with the Doctor will finally be developed to a level we can connect to her.

It sounds weird because with the fam it’s always ‘what I wish could have been’ because I never felt really connected to them :(

M - Say something genuinely nice about a ship that you don’t ship (or its shippers, or anything related to you)

Ok... I don’t really ship Rey/Finn but I think it’s one of the sweetest ships ever, and if they ended up together I’d be happy. They love each other and are there for each other always so, yeah :D

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice)

I don’t know if I got the question right but it’s three things I wish I saw more in my main fandom? Well, if it’s that, then, 3 things about the Doctor Who fandom: 1) people having more civilized or light-hearted discussions about things. Like, I genuinely disliked an 8th doctor audio I listened once that my friends loved, and they made fun of me and we joked about it. Also once we were in a live twitch video playing among us and discussing doctor who, and then we got into a ship “discourse” as a joke and nobody really cared and just laughed because everyone knew it’s fictional shit so why get mad over it? 2) Doctor Who has a titanic amount of content, it’s all canon but at the same time it’s not, so who cares? If you want to listen to Big Finish audios and if you can afford it, then lisiten; if you can’t, it’s okay, no one has the right to tell you you’re less of a fan. Just tell them to fuck off; 3) The best way to keep fandom alive is by creating content. Here in my local fandom we have several podcasts dedicated to all areas of the whoniverse (the show, the expanded universe, the audios, etc), those old fandom websites who do serious work to bring news to the fans, people who make subtitles for the classic series (we don’t have it available here so they do their best to make it accessible to other fans), accounts dedicated to promoting dr who fans who create content, and we even have people making their own audiodramas with dw characters and writing book-lenght fanfiction to help explain the show to people who’ve never watched it, and a great variety of things. I’ve seen a few of these things in the international fandom, mostly by older fans, so I wish younger fans about my age who have the means to make this kind of stuff would make it too. Maybe there’d be less twitter drama out there lol

O - Choose a song at random, which ship or character does it remind you of

“the killing moon” by echo & the bunnymen reminds me of thoschei. yep it was totally random

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas)

The fact that we don’t have a pride and prejudice AU for brax/romana yet is driving me insane

Q - A ship you’ve abandoned and why

I’ve mentioned it before but doctor/river, don’t really remember why idk I just don’t vibe with it anymore. But also because thoschei has so many different pairings in 1 ship that I don’t really feel the need to ship them with anyone else lol

R - A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships

GOD I NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT’S SO SPECIFIC ok fellow academy era stans gather around if you have read Divided Loyalties there’s a scene where it SHOWS that Magnus had a crush on Ushas. And NO ONE HAS EVER TALKED ABOUT THEM and the power couple they would’ve made. I write them into all my fanfics in hopes of making other people ship them but I’ve had no success so far

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

The Master is a big fan of musicals and in the 77 years he spent on earth he watched every single one ever. I’m gonna be bold and say that when he was young, still Koschei, he was an artist, and thought about dropping everything to become an actor on Gallifrey. Time Lords do appreciate art, and have their own plays, but it’s just the same old and boring ones the young people don’t care about. The Master then created a shocking performance that was way ahead of its time and the older Time Lords were so appalled they banned him from writing and presenting plays and that’s his villain origin story

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending, about anything at all (gender identity, sexual or romantic orientation, extended family, sexual preferences like top/bottom/switch, relationship with poetry, seriously anything)

1) The Doctor and the Master married on Gallifrey and the entire show is just them having the most litigious divorce in the universe (still isn’t final because the Master has killed all the judges); 2) Ushas/The Rani is ace; 3) The Deca was a 10 people polyamorous relationship; 4) Romana and Livia were girlfriends at the Academy and they hate each other now because the break up was baad; 5) Romana writes fanfiction; 6) Romana/Leela had a thing in Davidia I KNOW it; 7) Leela pegs Narvin; 8) Brax has a life-size painting of Romana at his collection or a statue or smth; 9) Brax’s dream in Reborn is actually REAL and he’s married to Romana, Leela and Narvin all at the same time

U - 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms

I don’t even think I’m in 5 fandoms but

Doctor Who: The Master, The Doctor, Romana, Leela, Sarah Jane, Bill (this was the hardest thing ever)

The X-Files: Mulder, Scully, Monica, and can I add The Lone Gunmen too?

Star Wars: Leia, Obi-Wan, Finn, Poe Dameron and honorable mention to Din Djarin and Grogu

Hannibal: Hannibal, Will, Bev, Alana, Chiyoh

V - 3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms

That’s hard

Doctor Who: thoschei ofc, gallifrey ot4.......... uuhh as you can see i don’t ship many pairings in the show

The X-Files: Mulder and Scully. And whatever Scully and Monica had going on because they definitively flirted

Star Wars: Poe/Finn, Han/Leia, whatever Han/Lando had going on too

W - 5 favorite ships and 5 kinks you like best for said ships

WHATVASHAJSKAJSA ok this is a little embarassing but I don’t have a lot of kinks for many ships... I guess I have some for thoschei like, choking, whipping, blindfolds/gagging, bondage, begging, biting, sem-public, phone sex, dirty talk, body worship, praise kink, etc. Alright alright I know it’s a lot but in my defense they've shown half of these on the show

X - top 5-10 characters who are yoUR PRECIOUS BABIES AND YOU WILL DIE DEFENDING THEM

The Master, Romana, Leela, Brax, Narvin, Bill Potts, Martha Jones, Sarah Jane, Donna Noble, Lucie Miller. No particular order for most of them but the Master is my precious baby and I will die for this mf

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)

Not many, usually the people I follow are in the same fandoms as I am but I’ve seen some mutuals reblog some Hadestown stuff which is a play that I’ve never seen but definitively would because the protagonists look hot 

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go (prompts optional but encouraged)

I DON’T KNOW WHAT DOES IT MEAN

it took me three hours to do this but it was fun!! thank you bb <3

[innocentfighter]

pingo1387

replied to your

post

:

okay, 2211 words into Nano, which is good,...

yyes

Okay, so (I don’t actually have a functional plot because I’m not a functional writer but I digress). The jist is that my main characters, twin brothers, Axel and Milo are what are dubbed in my universe Traders (ie scoundrals, space pirates, unlawful property movers, etc). They have had a shit life, and enjoy the roguish life style along with their long time best friend and pilot Cîelo. The story begins when they’re looking for a job to replenish their funds and the tavern they’re in is invaded by the UP soldiers (UP = Union of Protectorate Planets). Naturally fighting occurs and they make a mad dash to get away. Meanwhile they’re followed by a man that goes by the name Sax, who claims that he has a job for them. 

The job is that they need to fence a piece of technology for him. All Sax wants is safe passage to a uncontrolled sector.  Its simple enough, until it isn’t. Basically everyone wants this tech from them, and now they have to figure out what it is and make the right choice with it before some one gets killed.

That’s what I have so far. Its a WIP.

Characters? Characters. Love these kids. Under cut for lack of dashboard clutter!

Milo -> He’s technically the younger brother. He has ash blonde hair, which contrasts with his dark tan skin and hazel eyes. His most notable features are the dimples he has when he smiles and the scar he has through his eyebrow. Located by his jaw is a piece of tech that functions  as a breathing tool as well as a translator.

Personality wise, he’s a flirt and is unashamed of his like of sex. More times than not, his flirting has gotten him and is friends in trouble. He’s a people person and just loves to talk to anyone, although he can be arrogant he’s usually the first to lend a helping hand. Milo’s personality can be dominate which can brush people the wrong way and lead into them getting into fights.

Some other notable information is that Milo is an incredibly good shot, he first learned to shoot when he was twelve. He only learned how to use a blaster because his brother’s life was in danger and he had to do something to save him. Some of his quirks include tapping on his thigh five times, pausing for three beats, and then resuming the tapping. This occurs whenever he’s feeling high emotions be them negative or positive.

Backstory moment: He was the brother that suggested that they steal an UP ship to get off of their homeworld. Originally, Milo had wanted to steal it and sell it for scrap and just make their life comfortable, but after what happened on their home planet, Milo wanted nothing more than to get away from Prerth. Of course, their joyride didn’t get them very far, and they got arrested for the first time when they were 14, but before they could be transferred to a prison colony (or worse) they met Elo (Cîelo) , who helped them escape and they became fast friend.

Axel -> The older of the two. His hair is darker than his brothers and instead of hazel eyes he has russet colored ones. While his brother is roguishly pretty, Axel’s features are more delicate making him simply pretty, however he has an X shape scar that runs from his nose to the edge of his jaw with another crossing from below his eye to edge of his mouth. Depending on who you ask it can detract or add to his looks. He has the same dimples has his brother.

Personality wise, he’s considered to be the more serious of the two. However he has an untrusting nature and a short temper. Despite that he’s open-minded and polite enough in a social setting. While it’s not an aspect of his personality, most people assume that he’s also the quieter of the pair (I’ll get back to that in the moment). Also he’s the more tactically minded and reckless in battle.

Notable information, Axel is actually deaf and non-vocal due to an incident in his childhood. While he had been born with the ability to hear and speak, the loss of it was something that he handled as well as to be expected. He never let his deafness stop him from becoming a Trader. As he is non-vocal, he and his brother had developed their own form of communication based on gestures (technical wise I’m using signs from ASL, in addition to creating my own and my own grammar rules). 

Backstory moment: The twin’s father was a piece of shit, and in order to pay off gambling debts, he gave his oldest son away to one of the people that he owed money to. Axel had been mouthy to him (it was some local rich guy), and as a result of that the Rich Guy had Axel undergo a non-legal and unsafe surgery that essentially froze his vocal cords. The process, if done right has a high chance of being reversed, but of course the doctor had been shady and hadn’t done it right. Under the same man he suffered from an infection (something akin to meningitis) that caused him to lose his hearing.

(Its still a WIP so its all subject to change).

Cîelo -> Pale nearly translucent skin covers her entire body. Her hair is hollow feathers She would be considered heavy by typical human standards, however for her people she is at the proper weight. She has dark rimmed eyes and her irises are almost as black. Her bones are thicker than Terran's and she runs at a higher temperature than they do. She generally dresses as if she was going to go out into the land of her home, and is dress in furs and feathers and leathers. She wears carved bone ear wraps in her hair. e.g She’s built to survive in the cold and snow.

Personality wise, she’s confident but humble. Unlike her male companions she isn’t one to get fired up easy, she’s very level-headed and analytical which can cause her to over think things and hesitate. Elo is also very independent and likes to set off on her own before asking for help. Also as it is with her species, her language isn’t very specific, so occasionally she’ll be vague but not on purpose. Living with regular terrans (for lack of better term atm) and picking up common has caused her to lose that habit for the most part.  

Notable information, she’s the first of her species to leave her home world of Skade. Not much is know about her species and she doesn’t disclose much. However she left because its what she felt that her Goddess wanted her to do, since she had been always interested in what is beyond her planet and what the night holds (which can be taboo in her culture). Also because her species is isolated others tend to think that they’re less advanced when it isn’t the case at all. Also using one’s full name is a sign of endearment, usually in the romantic sense but can also be a sign of deep love and it isn’t to be used lightly or often. Its why she’ll always call Milo and Axel M or Axe

Fun fact: Her language is a series of clicks

Backstory moment: Skade rarely let outsiders onto her planet, however a contingent of UPs crash landed and her and her family took them in to nurse them back to health. It caused a political rift among the Skades, which didn’t concern Elo that much. She had been participating in the world-wide ship race. It was the UPs that gave her the idea that she could leave the planet, but it took years after that event for her Goddess to giver her guidance on the path she should take.

Sax -> He’s a dark-skinned male, whose muscular and tall. His eyes are an amber-brown color and he keeps his hair cropped close. He had double implants, one on his jaw that’s similar to the one that Milo has and then another one that curves around his ear that’s used for more tech based encryption or decryption. He has gold tattoos around his wrist and back.

Personality wise, Sax is by far the most serious of the group, which doesn’t mean that he’s the least fun. He makes dry jokes most of the time, and then the rest of the time he’s cracking jokes, but he knows when he needs to be serious which can make him come off as haughty. Sax is also very gentle and prefers to talk his way out of a situation that go to his gun, which sets him apart from the rest of the group. He is also the one who wears his heart on his sleeve and shows his emotions freely.

Notable Information, Sax loves to indulge in the arts. He personally is known to write poetry, and is also continually impressed with the drawings that Axel does. In his culture the ability to make art or the dedication to make art well was considered to be a gift from the gods. Being a warrior was a given, and you were respected for being good, but the artist were loved. Which is why the celebrate their accomplishments through their skin via tattoo. (I have a whole thing on both Sax and Elo’s cultures).

Backstory moment, Sax’s first tattoo was a singular curved line around his wrist. He earned it from being the strongest child in his class as he could lob a flour sack further than anyone else. He designed it so that eventually it would be part of the tree that he would design on his back as he earned more and more accomplishments. He got his back tattoo by his poetry being able to impress a rival village’s leader with his poetry about non-violence.  

[thephantomprojectionist]

Film Face-Off: Deadly Target (1994) Vs. White Tiger (1996)

While re-watching some of my movies in search of something to review, I realized how strikingly similar 1994’s Deadly Target and 1996’s White Tiger appear to be. Both are pretty good vehicles from Gary Daniels’ solo career, and seemingly by coincidence, they have the same plot. This realization and the provisional quality of the films makes me want to try something new and turn this would-be review into a competitive comparison between the two. Should be fun, right?

Know now that this article’s almost exclusively for the Gary Daniels fans out there. Few casual viewers will have seen both features, but hey, we’re all about niches here at B-Movie Dragons.

First, some background. Deadly Target is a PM Entertainment production, and while not the first starring picture for Gary Daniels, it’s his first solo vehicle that’s actually good. Indeed, it wasn’t until PM gave him this nudge that the prettyboy kickboxer from London became Gary friggin’ Daniels. Just a couple years afterwards, he was working on a Hong Kong feature when the production went broke and was bought out by the Canada-based Keystone Pictures company. Keystone scrapped the existing footage and did away with the storyline, committing themselves to a completely different movie called White Tiger, which inexplicably ended up being very similar to Daniels’ aforementioned feature. There’s no evidence that this was actually their intention, but there’s no denying the parallels.

Now, let’s look at which version of this adventure did it better.

The Story

In both features, a law enforcement agent seeks to capture a rogue member of the Chinese-American mafia who’s killed the hero’s partner en route to distributing an addictive narcotic on the West Coast. In both cases, the hero is aided by a love interest and the final showdown takes place on a docked ship.

The overriding difference between the two is how seriously the story takes itself. As tends to be the case with PM productions, Deadly Target is lighthearted with a noticeable comedic streak. It’s a popcorn flick despite never having seen the inside of a theater. Contrarily, White Tiger is far too serious to have much fun with itself. It goes for drama over laughs, and even when there is some humor, it’s dry or ironic. Merely considering this, I prefer the former. While I can see some viewers being bored by Deadly Target’s 90s-style cheesiness, it’s the same cheese which gives the story texture and an organic quality that White Tiger lacks. That said, White Tiger invests you more in its characters. While not the most skillfully-written action feature, it knows what it’s going for and does a good job of directing viewers’ emotions. Deadly Target’s characters are established as soon as they appear onscreen, but White Tiger’s tend to not show their cards right away. There’s development here, and it’s not just limited to the leads. The movie wants you to think about characters’ motivations, and it’s ambitious enough to try and surprise the audience at intervals with out-of-nowhere twists. Wisely, it doesn’t overplay its hand: though it liberally sprinkles the thriller aspects,  it never forgets that we’re expecting an action movie and makes sure to avoid pretentiousness. To that end, it wins me over. Deadly Target may be more fun, but White Tiger gives me more to write about. It’s a pretty good movie with which to introduce newcomers to Gary Daniels, whereas Deadly Target is mainly for established B-movie audiences.

Point: White Tiger

The Hero

Gary Daniels wasn’t the greatest actor at this point in his career and his starring roles sort of blend together. Such is the case when you compare these movies: he’s Detective Charles Prince in Deadly Target and Agent Mike Ryan in White Tiger, and they seem like merely different takes on the same character. The major difference between them is that Charles seems to have more fun with his life-or-death mission, taking the time to crack jokes and express interest in other things while Mike pursues his target with uniform intensity. You can see practically Charles in an early scene of White Tiger while the hero’s vacationing with his partner’s family, and Mike seems to pop up in Deadly Target whenever he’s faced with the lead villain.

When it comes to their motivations, Mike is a little easier to empathize with. Charles mentions that the villain killed his (first) partner, but with Mike, you not only see this happen but also experience his investment in his partner’s family. This favors White Tiger, and it doesn’t help that Charles seems to have some sort of unspoken homophobia going on…but despite that, I give the point to Deadly Target. For all his shallowness, Charles is simply more likable. Gary Daniels turns in a better dramatic performance for Mike, but he’s just not interesting enough to make his relentless seriousness worthwhile. Charles is an example of Daniels having fun with a role, and in this case, it wins him the category.

Point: Deadly Target

The Villain

A hero is only as impressive as their adversary, and in both cases, Gary Daniels draws a good card for a bad guy: Byron Mann as Chang in Deadly Target and Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa as Victor Wong in White Tiger. Mann and Tagawa are both acclaimed performers who, despite having predominantly acted in other genres, are generally known for playing martial artists – Mann in Street Fighter: The Movie and Tagawa in Mortal Kombat. Both are versatile actors who swing between low-budget and Hollywood-grade productions with ease, bringing class to both while keeping their dignity intact. For both movies, they elevate the production and help legitimize Gary Daniels with their presence.

That said, I’m more impressed by Cary in this instance. Part of it’s just that his character’s written with greater nuance, but he also just has the stronger presence. It helps that this role goes against type for him, so that he’s not depicting an upright sentinel for a change. He starts off like that, but within minutes you get the impression that Victor Wong would be more at home in The Silence of the Lambs than Showdown in Little Tokyo. By the time the movie reaches its climax, Victor has become a self-destructive freak, single-handedly justifying the film’s drug & fire motif. Comparatively, Mann doesn’t have much going for him other than that he’s obviously having fun. Byron manifests the tone of the screenplay perfectly, but his character sometimes goes absent long enough for me to almost forget he’s the bad guy. Given his youth, Mann may seem like the more obvious choice for an underworld renegade who’s upsetting the established order, but Tagawa stands out thanks to Victor’s greater depth. (Also, he has a fight scene with Gary Daniels, which Mann doesn’t.)

Point: White Tiger

The Love Interest

Please forgive the condescension this label implies, but in both movies, the most prominent female character is largely defined by her relationship with the hero. Nevertheless, Susan Byun’s Diana Tang and Julia Nickson’s Jade are uniquely different characters that lend differing tones to their features. Diana is a warm-hearted person who, despite working in a casino owned by a mob boss, leads a pretty sheltered life. Jade spends much of her movie being an enigma, clearly knowing more than she’s letting on. Diana wants to get intimate with Charles because she feels genuinely attracted to him, whereas Jade is a femme fatale who nudges Mike along and has sex with him only to further a personal agenda. Also, Jade is infinitely more in touch with her Hong Kong heritage while Diana is utterly Americanized and initially repulsed when Charles prepares her a “Chinese delicacy” with squid.

As for who earns the point, it comes down to how they fare in the face of danger, and there’s really no question. Diana introduces herself by clubbing an attacker in the head to rescue Charles and later goes on to have two unexpected fight scenes. Susan Byun becomes a temporary action hero despite her character’s conventions, but Julia Nickson ironically fares worse. White Tiger spends much time building Jade up as an experienced assassin, but when the need for her to make a move arises, she’s instantly overwhelmed and becomes a damsel without really having accomplished anything. For both of these characters, they end up doing the exact opposite of what you’d expect, but only Diana benefits from it. It’s a cheap move on the part of White Tiger’s writers to ultimately demean their character this way, and in this instance, it costs them.

Point: Deadly Target

The Supporting Cast

Which set of supporting characters you end up preferring is largely dependent on what tone you favor, as all the performers do a good job reflecting the mood of their picture. Again, there are many parallel roles that are merely played differently. Portraying the hero’s partner is Ken McLeod in Deadly Target and Matt Craven in White Tiger: martial arts-practicing straight man and tragic best buddy. Both police captains are played by award-winning TV actors: colic-y Max Gail (Barney Miller) and the reserved Philip Granger (Neon Rider). The most visible mafia lord is played by the expressive Aki Aleong in the first film and the graceful Dana Lee in the other. Both feature henchman extraordinaire Ron Yuan as the villain’s lieutenant, but he’s only a fully-fledged character in Deadly Target. Last but not least are the roles good ol’ George Cheung plays: he’s a mafia figure with no lines in the first picture, and one of the more interesting co-stars in the second.

If there was nothing else to consider, I’d happily decree this category a draw, but the deciding factor ends up being the amplitude of supporting fighters in Deadly Target. It’s a cool lineup: Leo Lee, Al Leong, James Lew, Randall Shiro Ideishi, and Koichi Sakamoto all have at least one highlighted altercation, and the late Master Bill Ryusaki plays one of the more active henchmen. Lieutenant Lydia Look – along with her stunt double, Olympian taekwondoka Dana Hee – has a couple of surprisingly good fights against Susan Byun. By comparison, White Tiger doesn’t bother highlighting many of its supporting kickers, and that seals it for me.

Point: Deadly Target

The Production

In addition to the filmmakers’ talent, the quality of a movie’s production is a matter of time and budget, and it’s easy to tell which of these films had more. As I’ve mentioned, Deadly Target is a PM Entertainment film, and while PM was great at maximizing its resources and cranking out exciting B-movies, it’s obvious that these are, in fact, B-movies. Deadly Target’s no exception: the locations are unremarkably urban, the cinematography is staid, the camerawork isn’t dynamic, and even the film quality is a little grainy. Director Charla Driver – one of the few women to direct a PM production and one of the few women to direct a U.S. martial arts feature, period – is every bit as good as her cohorts at putting together a compact and entertaining action package, but there’s no opportunity for it to rise above that status.

White Tiger, on the other hand, may easily be mistaken for a Hollywood production. Keystone Pictures would actually produce a couple of those shortly after this one, which in retrospect seems like a warm-up exercise for director Richard Martin. The movie showcases some exotic locations, has a lot of good-looking sets, and actually has the time to do fun stuff with its camera. The musical stings are almost comically overdone at times, but the soundtrack still stands out where its adversary’s is forgettable. The movie generates mixed results when trying to be artsy but still has the finesse to qualify as a neo-noir. Whereas both features are by-the-numbers in their own way, White Tiger is simply more lavish and thereby pulls ahead.

Point: White Tiger

The Action

In a way, this is the most important category. Action pieces and fight scenes are the backbone of any martial arts feature, and with a star as capable as Gary “Danger Man” Daniels in the lead, both productions knew they had the potential to make a minor action classic. To help get them there, both selected fantastic coordinators to get the job done: Deadly Target had Jeff Pruitt and White Tiger had the late, great Marc Akerstream.

Pruitt was an exotic regular of the TV and DTV realms from 1991 to 2003. As the first American member of the Japan-based Alpha Stunts team, his cohorts and he brought a dynamic, stunt-heavy style of action to the small screen. Though best known for working on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Jeff regularly got career-defining performances out of the performers he directed, particularly DTV golden boy Jeff Wincott. Deadly Target was the first (and thus far only) time Pruitt collaborated with Gary Daniels, and the Hong Kong veteran works well with the style of his handler. No slouch either is Akerstream, whose career highlight may have been working with Jackie Chan by coordinating the vehicle that gained JC fame in America: Rumble in the Bronx. Though he tended to work in low-budget fare, he coordinated several times in Hollywood blockbusters and did a ton of work for TV. Tragically, an accident on the set of The Crow: Stairway to Heaven ended his life in 1998.

White Tiger may actually be Marc’s magnum opus as an action filmmaker, as he delivers some strong pieces without being relegated by a higher-placed coordinator. Though this is primarily a martial arts movie, it mixes things up with some vehicle scenes and shootouts. Deadly Target does this as well, but White Tiger has a flair in that regard that the former can’t top, especially when it comes to the well-choreographed scenes with the biker assassins. Still, Gary Daniels’ fight scenes are the highlights of the picture, and what highlights they are! The brawls dig deep into Daniels’ real-life abilities, featuring not only a plethora of spinning kicks but also aikido throws and intricate kung fu exchanges. A showdown with Ron Yuan is pretty cool, and the final match with Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa is a very decent brawl.

However, the increased production standards ultimately work against White Tiger via over-editing. While not horrible, the fight scenes are filled with cuts and slow motion that tries to fool you into thinking that the brawls are even better than they already are. Gary Daniels isn’t some inexperienced Ken doll with shortcomings that need disguising, so the editing tricks are facetious. Deadly Target’s fights have no such problems, with their long takes and limited slow motion. Though Jeff Pruitt’s heavy usage of throws and flips may seem excessive to some, the fact is that his film’s simply less restrained in showcasing physicality. While I understand that White Tiger’s action may simply be a matter of stylistic consistency, Deadly Target’s greater willingness to show a fight junkie like me everything its performers have to offer puts it over its competition.

Point: Deadly Target

The Winner: Deadly Target

Deadly Target (1994) Directed by Charla Driver (assistant director for Ice Cream Man) Written by James Adelstein, Michael January (To Be the Best) Starring Gary Daniels, Susan Byun (Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.), Ken McLeod (College Kickboxers), Byron Mann Cool costars: Ron Yuan, Aki Aleong (Farewell to the King), Lydia Look (Battle of the Damned), Philip Tan (Martial Law), Master Bill Ryusaki (Ulterior Motives), George Cheung (First Blood II), Al Leong (Rapid Fire), Leo Lee (The Perfect Weapon), James Lew (Balance of Power), Randall Shiro Ideishi (Black Scorpion), Koichi Sakamoto (Bounty Tracker), Butch Togisala (Firepower) Content warning: Violence against women, kidnapping, police brutality Copyright PM Entertainment Group / Echo Bridge Home Entertainment

White Tiger (1996) Directed by Richard Martin (Air Bud: Golden Receiver) Written by Bey Logan (original story), Gordon Melbourne (Bulletproof Heart), Roy Sallows, Don Woodman, Raul Inglis (uncredited) Starring Gary Daniels, Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa, Julia Nickson (Noble House), Matt Craven (Crimson Tide) Cool costars: Ron Yuan, George Cheung, Dana Lee (Dr. Ken) Content warning: Violence against women, torture, sexual assault Copyright Keystone Pictures / Crown Media