Good kunoichi (female ninja) movies are a rare treat. Alien vs. Ninja duo director Seiji Chiba and actress Mika Hijii attempt one with mini-budget but fall short. The opening is terrific though, kicking off with two excellently choreographed action scenes. Unlike the standard Japanese female action stars – pretty idols and soft core actresses – Hijii is a talented action performer and handles the choreography well. The standard storyline is unfortunately beyond any interest, and there’s neither humor nor aliens that made Chiba’s later film such a crowd pleaser. Shot on digital with no merits to mention, even at 70 minutes the film tends to drag between the action bits. The fights are good but it must be said the best action bits are found right in the beginning.
Golgo 13 (Japan, 1973) – 3/5
Name: Duke Togo. Time of birth: unknown. Place of birth: unknown. Nationality: unknown. Profession: sniper. Hard to come across a cooler opening than the fore mentioned information displayed next to a b&w mugshot of Japan’s all time most charismatic movie badass, Ken Takakura. Toei’s first live action adaptation of Takao Saito’s hugely popular manga doesn’t redeem all of its potential and stumbles with storyline, but is nevertheless an entertaining piece of Japanese action cinema. The setting is most unusual: shot entirely in Iran with mostly Iranian supporting cast – with the entire Middle East speaking fluent Japanese! The unique setting, somewhat underused but stylish M16-action, spaghetti western esque imagery, and above all, Takakura’s unparalleled screen presence raise the film slightly above the 1977 adaptation starring Sonny Chiba.
