I see a very competently done film that is literally lifted off the ground and carried to the finish line by the extraordinary one-of-a-kind performance from a (then) 50 year old Pat Morita, an actor who essentially spent his entire career doing 'asian walkons' and offers us only this one role as a chance to see what he actually could do.
I remember the phenomenon from the 80s yet as a 'prolific reviewer' for the IMDb now (which, for buffs, is not the same thing as a 'Voracious Eater' from the Claymore series) I now see the film differently. Done by the same director as Rocky, this unusual 'feel good' movie became a hit in 1984 and generated two sequels before the mania died and the franchise imploded.
