Somewhere inside Human Weapon is not only a great show, but a necessary one. Martial arts have been on the cusp of immense popularity in their own right since they first made headway in the 1970s, and have been looking for the appropriate vessel to gain a foothold in the American imagination totally apart from their occasional depiction in mainstream films. The goal of Human Weapon (to travel the world and speak with practitioners of various martial art forms) is admirable; its execution leaves something to be desired. Due to an overreliance on a travelogue format and a poor choice of hosts, Weapon is never able to engage the spirit of practiced combat in a way that feels meaningful, and never finds the proper voice to communicate the language of strikes, kicks, and bashes.
Hosts Jason Chambers and Bill Duff are on a quest to find the most effective moves and techniques in all of internationally practiced martial arts, and have set about it in the only way that they know how: to have a camera crew follow them around as they globetrot to different locations, some urban, some very remote. Once there, they speak with acknowledged masters of their different mediums, observe them in their local setting, and give some history about the form and the area and historical events that generated them. While more established Asian forms (such as judo and Tae Kwon Do) are obviously given some preference, they also speak to practitioners from modern military units, such as the United States Marine Corps and Krav Maga Israeli commandos.
Chambers and Duff are both accomplished athletes in their own right. Chambers first won fame as a mixed martial artist, and Duff is a former football player. One has no doubt when watching them that they are perfectly capable of contesting these fighters on a purely physical level, but they don’t really seem to convey (or even fully understand) the focused instincts that creates a true master of the form. Duff is likeable enough, if lacking in personality, while Chambers tries to act as the Han Solo of the outfit, frequently cracking jokes (which needless to say stand out atonally when the show tries to address serious topics such as the genocides perpetuated under the Khmer Rouge). Both of them seem out of their element when dealing with people who are trained to kill, and by nature of their occupations are required to be ready to do so. The personalities that they encounter tend to have quiet, reserved demeanors that suggest a level of wisdom and experience beyond what most people on television can claim to possess; they’re also able to do things like the ‘wrist bash’, a move that enables the striker to smash a baseball bat into pieces with only one concentrated blow (demonstrated here). Most of this show’s target audiene could probably not do such a thing.
Jason and Bill spend most of their time in the presence of these men in rightful awe (as would just about anyone), but the focus never really turns away from the two of them long enough to give these practitioners a voice of their own, apart from the paraphrasing on the part of the hosts. This probably wouldn’t be such a liability if their subjects weren’t the real-life counterparts of the Jedi Knights, but they are, and it seems clear that they know it. It sounds strange, but it would almost be easier to imagine this show as a PBS series without benefit (or hindrance) or excessive music or video graphics and greater focus on instruction. As is, it feels like something of a wasted opportunity, a show that could have carved a place in American culture for martial arts that was previously unoccupied, but instead flinches when it comes time to trust the audience with qualities crucial to that of a practitioner: patience, endurance, and a refusal to take the easy way out.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
None.
"Human Weapon: Season One" is on sale November 11, 2010 and is not rated. Reality. Directed by Jonathan Berman, Patrick Leigh Bell. Written by Adrian Maher, Brian O'Connor. Starring Jason Chambers, Bill Duff.
