While global audiences in this section of history were enjoying the physical feats of action stars like Jackie Chan, North American action cinema was primarily concerned with one white guy after another. There’s also the unavoidable fact that Miami Connection is a rare American action movie from this era of explosion-laden cinema in America to place a person of color front-and-center in the narrative. Kim and company made a shlocky action movie tailor-made for the sensibilities of the ADD generation. But in the modern world of action films that jump everywhere imaginable, such as in Everything Everywhere All at Once, Miami Connection feels right at home. The erratic and sprawling style of this story didn’t quite fit in an era of compact narratives like The Terminator.
Similarly, in the first 30 minutes, all plot momentum gets thrown out the window so that the viewer can watch Dragon Sound perform two uncut songs at different concerts. There’s a lot of ground to cover here, with certain plot lines getting jettisoned for extended sections of the story.
