Two years after he hit the big time with the fabulous Dead Calm, Australian director Phillip Noyce made this nifty martial arts saga. Rutger Hauer plays a blind Vietnam veteran who rescues his buddy's son from evil gangsters and then hits the road, bonding with the boy while fending off the bad guys at every available opportunity. It's a gimmicky, but above-average, action adventure (based on the hugely popular Japanese Zatoichi film series), and Hauer does his best to cover up the lack of substance with some split-second samurai stunts. A smattering of well placed tongue-in-cheek humour helps the time pass in reasonably entertaining fashion.

A blind Vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, comes to America and helps to rescue the son of a fellow soldier.