Henchman: The Al Leong Story is a 2018 documentary produced & directed by Vito Trabucco (Bloody Bloody Bible Camp 1/2, Holidays of Horror, Psycho a Go-Go, Never Open the Door, Visions of Horror, & Slices). This documentary explores the life of one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces from 80’s & early 90’s action films. In addition to being the greatest cinematic henchman Al Leong is also a martial arts champion, stuntman, biker, cancer survivor, & much more. From Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, Big Trouble in Little China, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Last Action Hero, Rapid Fire, Action Jackson, Double Dragon, Death Warrant, & many others.
Follow the iconic career of Al Leong with vintage footage, film clips & candid interviews from several of his collaborators/friends including John Carpenter (Halloween, Big Trouble in Little China, They Live, Escape from New York/LA, & The Thing), Jeff Imada (Missing in Action 2: The Beginning, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Big Trouble in Little China, & Prince of Darkness), Allan Graf (Beverly Hills Cop II, Another 48 Hrs., Road House, & Streets of Fire), Craig Baxley (Action Jackson, Dark Angel, Stone Cold, Rose Red, & Kingdom Hospital), Gerald Okamura (Big Trouble in Little China, Showdown in Little Tokyo, Samurai Cop, & The Octagon), James Lew (Best of the Best, The Perfect Weapon, Do or Die, & The Shadow), Raymond J. Barry (Justified, Christmas Evil, Rapid Fire, & Falling Down), Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Faster, Jumanji franchise, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Doom, & Fast and Furious franchise), Brandon Lee (The Crow, Rapid Fire, & Showdown in Little Tokyo), & others.
You might not know the name but you definitely recognize his face from so many entertaining films over the years. When it comes to cinema, he is the henchman that you will never forget especially when it comes to action flicks. He may never be the main villain but he was always killed by the hero while trying to get to them. Al Leong was all over the scene in the 80’s & early 90’s but he was much more than a character actor. He was also one of the top stunt men in the industry. He was a biker who took many risks & a skilled martial artist that never backed down from a fight. Al Leong is a fighter in life, he has survived cancer & two strokes. Many of his friends & collaborators shared stories about the known cinematic villain.
They go from his early martial arts training/competition days to him becoming a stunt man/actor in television working on shows like The Greatest American Hero, Hart to Hart, Knight Rider, The Equalizer, Airwolf, Hunter, The Fall Guy, T.J. Hooker, & many others in 80’s. He got a big break working on stunts plus acting on The A-Team for several episodes. After being noticed in My Science Project, he got the gig for Big Trouble in Little China. After that, casting directors & filmmakers made sure to include the stand out bad guy in all their productions. He appeared in action hits Lethal Weapon & Die Hard soon after, the whole world knew his face after that. He got to show his comedic talent on Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
They all chat about working with him on various projects. They talk about him as a person & their friendship with him. He has went against some of the biggest action stars of all time which includes Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Kurt Russell, Brandon Lee, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, & Chow Yun-Fat. He was a coordinator for Kung Fu: The Legend Continues & The Scorpion King. He was the first victim of Godzilla plus he appeared on Deadwood & 24 later on in his career. He jokes that he is a stuntman that acts sometimes. Al Leong had to re-learn how to talk & move after his strokes. He is living proof that if you work hard enough, you can achieve anything! This documentary was heartfelt, hilarious, & very entertaining, one of the best that I’ve seen in a long time. There’s no extras on the disc but I do love the artwork for it. It’s now available on a limited edition DVD from Gatorblade Films, check it out. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!
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