Sonny Chiba is a legend in his own right I guess, but for some reason, to this day I had not seen any of his movies. It was time to remedy that situation, in the same vein uncle Argyle remedied the not-speaking-Latin conundrum of William Wallace.
If I had seen this movie in the seventies, I would have probably thought it was one of the best movies ever. Sadly, I have seen the future of martial arts films, and Tony Jaa is my guide to the promised land. I'm sorry to say that my taste is more refined nowadays. The action here is way too... intermittent. I don't like how the movements end abruptly, I fancy a more flowing style. The quirky codes of the fighters seem very outdated as well. "Your karate is inferior, I will kill you. But I will fight honorably using only my fists, even though several of my henchmen surround you with pistols. Let us begin." Funny stuff.
It feels like these Japanese movies were counter-programming for the Chinese kung fu cinema, or it could be that Japan was making these before China (useful sentence, right?). Whatever the case, they now have their own cult hero... Who makes lots of stupid faces. Seriously, he could be Jerry Lewis for all I know. And why on earth does this one dude call Chiba Darling throughout the film?! It is not his name. There is one awesome scene though, when Chiba does to a rapist-wannabe the exact thing I would do to them all. Satisfying much? Oh yes.
I will always extend more leniency to martial arts movies as far as my ratings go, so I will give this five stars, even though it makes absolutely no sense. There are lots of fights, but they are mostly mediocre. Definite bonus points for brutality, awesome theme song and a badass ending.
If I had seen this movie in the seventies, I would have probably thought it was one of the best movies ever. Sadly, I have seen the future of martial arts films, and Tony Jaa is my guide to the promised land. I'm sorry to say that my taste is more refined nowadays. The action here is way too... intermittent. I don't like how the movements end abruptly, I fancy a more flowing style. The quirky codes of the fighters seem very outdated as well. "Your karate is inferior, I will kill you. But I will fight honorably using only my fists, even though several of my henchmen surround you with pistols. Let us begin." Funny stuff.
It feels like these Japanese movies were counter-programming for the Chinese kung fu cinema, or it could be that Japan was making these before China (useful sentence, right?). Whatever the case, they now have their own cult hero... Who makes lots of stupid faces. Seriously, he could be Jerry Lewis for all I know. And why on earth does this one dude call Chiba Darling throughout the film?! It is not his name. There is one awesome scene though, when Chiba does to a rapist-wannabe the exact thing I would do to them all. Satisfying much? Oh yes.
I will always extend more leniency to martial arts movies as far as my ratings go, so I will give this five stars, even though it makes absolutely no sense. There are lots of fights, but they are mostly mediocre. Definite bonus points for brutality, awesome theme song and a badass ending.