Muscle Heat
Muscle Heat is a 2002 Japanese action film directed by Ten Shimoyama. The film stars Kane Kosugi, Show Aikawa, Masaya Kato, and Naoto Takenaka. In the film, an ex-Navy SEAL attempts to bring down a criminal organization that is benefitting from a dangerous drug called "Blood Heat." Muscle Heat was theatrically released in Japan on October 26, 2002.
Plot
In the year 2009, Chief [petty officer |CPO] Joe Jinno, a former U.S. Navy SEAL is sitting in a military jail cell in Roanoke, Virginia. Japanese detective Aguri Katsuragi has gotten amnesty for Jinno, whose refusal to kill terrorists because the enemies he found were scared children had him court martialed. Two months later, Jinno was tasked by U.S. Secretary of Defense to join an undercover mission with Katsuragi to stop the circulation of Blood Heat, a new drug on the market that acts as a super steroid. The man in charge of the drug's circulation, Lai Kenjin, has set up the Muscle Dome, an underground fight ring where his champion, Lee Son-Min, uses Blood Heat and goes through his opponents with ease.At a local nightclub, a deal is about to be made between Kenjin and Russian drug dealers. However, Joe and Aguri are able to stop the deal from happening. They are unable to stop Kenjin as he escapes and Aguri ends up kidnapped. That night, Joe looks at a big screen TV and finds Aguri in the Muscle Dome, where he is viciously beaten by Lee and is crucified. Lai gets a visit from his Chinese half-brother Lai Kenkyo, whom he hopes can make a merger to distribute Blood Heat. The next day, Joe finds Kenjin's place and begins to make his way through Kenjin's men. When Kenkyo refuses to help his brother, Kenjin murders his brother by impaling a chopstick through his mouth. Joe fights hard against Kenjin's men in the hallway leading to Kenjin's apartment. However, Kenjin escapes by helicopter and Joe is busted by female cop Ayane Katsuragi, Aguri's sister. While in custody, Joe makes his escape and even knocks out Ayane in the process.
The next day, Ayane finds Joe again but this time she is not alone. With the cops hot on his trail, Joe jumps off a bridge and lands on a cargo ship. Ayane is warned by her superior, Asakura, that Joe is a "walking weapon" and that he may be involved with the circulation of Blood Heat. Meanwhile, Joe rescues a young girl named Haruka, whose father turns out to be the creator of Blood Heat and was forced to continue making it by Kenjin. As Haruka and Joe make their way to escape, they find a reluctant group of youngsters underground. The youngsters are revealed to be orphans whose parents were victims of Kenjin, whether it was Blood Heat or losing major bets at the Muscle Dome. The leader of the "rats" is the mysterious Ken, who refuses to help Joe and Ayane, who learns of everything that has transpired and decides to help. However, when Joe is caught by Kenjin and refuses an offer to work for him, Joe finds himself in the Muscle Dome against Lee.
To give him motivation, the video of Aguri's death is played at the Muscle Dome. In a fit of rage, Joe begins to unleash his skills on Lee, eventually knocking him down. Lee takes Blood Heat and seems to get the upper hand. However, the fight is interrupted by Ken, who decided not only to help but had planted bombs within the confines of the Muscle Dome. Ken appears on the big screen in the dome and tells Kenjin of all he had done and makes various areas explode. However, despite the chaos, Lee continues to fight Joe until Joe finally is able to kill Lee. Ayane learns Asakura was also in cahoots with Kenjin and a scuffle resorts to Ayane gunning down Asakura. Meanwhile, Joe follows Kenjin to an abandoned parking garage, where Lee reveals he wanted Joe because he knows that anger is the driving force to kill someone. Joe and Lee, who has taken Blood Heat, begin to fight using sledge hammers but soon find themselves fighting bare-handed. The two stand off and lunge kick at each other, where just before the hit is made, we get a narration from Joe.
A dark figure walks out of the garage and it is revealed to be Joe as Kenjin is seen dead on the ground. Joe meets with the "rats" and Ayane as they celebrate the end of Blood Heat. When Ken asks Joe who he is, Joe, who had not smiled throughout the film, finally releases a smirk before the credits roll.