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, CPO Joe Jinno (Kane Kosugi), a former U.S. Navy SEAL is sitting in a military jail cell in Roanoke, Virginia. Japanese detective Aguri Katsuragi (Show Aikawa) 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 (Masaya Kato), has set up the Muscle Dome, an underground fight ring where his champion, Lee Son-Min (Ken Lo), 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 (Robert Baldwin). 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.