Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Kodie Bird True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

peefyn I admit: I looked up this movie due to the biblical(ish) monologue that was borrowed by Tarantino in Pulp Fiction. It starts off the movie, and is by far the most interesting thing with it. I can understand Tarantino deciding to use it himself.I have no experience with old martial art movies, but I do appreciate it as a genre, and the mark it has left on popular culture. After seeing this movie, I realize I should probably start with some of the more higher rated movies. Also, I'm not sure if watching the dubbed American releases is the best idea. Sure, it has a campy quality, and maybe it's a nostalgic feeling for those who saw these movies as they came out (or went as reruns) - but honoring the original intent of the director is probably a good idea. Still, even though I have only seen the American release of this movie, the director's intent here probably isn't that interesting.As many have already pointed out, the plot is confusing and, well, boring. I love the premise: A master of martial arts publicly stating that he will serve as a body guard to anyone who will go against the drug mafia. That's a good set up for an interesting movie. But here it is followed up with bad fight scenes, silly decisions, horrid acting and boring dialog. Worst of all is maybe how the camera is operated. At times, it seems like the camera man thinks he is wielding a steady cam when he is not - leading to a very shaky image. Almost like when you see kids making movies, or home movies.I could go on, but basically: Start somewhere else if you want to get into kung-fu movies.

MartinHafer Before I begin, you need to know that I am a huge fan of many of Sonny Chiba's films. His biographical series of the life of his master, Mas Oyama, were amazing and among the best martial arts films ever made, as were most of his Street Fighter films. The action was practically non-stop and with the possible exception of Bruce Lee (depending on who you ask), he was the greatest martial arts practitioner on film during the 1970s. Because they are so good, I've seen at least 15 of his films and recently bought some more (which I am in the process of watching).Unfortunately, despite my love of these films, I am NOT a mind-numbed zombie who worships the man to such a degree that I rate EVERY film a 10. There are a few reviews like this here on IMDb and I truly think that anyone giving this film a 10 should be ignored because this is such a bad film from a technical standpoint and isn't even close to the being Chiba's best work. A score of 10 isn't a real rating--it's some zombie fan trying to make a statement about Chiba, not this film! As I said, technically this film is awful. Some of this was the result of my seeing the American dubbed version, with its irrelevant prologue and bad dubbing. But most of the problem would still exist with the original Japanese print. The camera-work is simply atrocious--like it was done by chimps (smart chimps, but still chimps nonetheless). Often, much of the fast martial arts action is missed because the camera is so slow or the tops of the actors heads are clipped off due to the shoddiness of production. And, again and again, the camera pans in and out like it is a new toy being used by an idiot plus the editing is beyond wretched--with cuts being done haphazardly and confusingly.I don't know whether the musical score is original or not--but it was also very, very bad. Sort of like acid rock of 1970 blended poorly with Ennio Morricone's "Spaghetti Western" music--it was annoying, distracting and just plain silly.As for the martial arts action, I think that having chimps do the choreography would have improved things a bit. Instead of the great fight scenes you'd look forward to in a Chiba film, the fights are too brief and often missed by the camera!! So what you are left with is the story...and this MIGHT just be the worst part of the film! It's supposed to be an anti-drug film starring Sonny Chiba as....Sonny Chiba! And when the film begins, he vows to destroy the drug trade in Japan. But, the Mafia (complete with not a single member who looks Italian, but who are ALL Japanese) vows to stop Chiba. And, when a lady comes to Chiba with promises to give him information about how to destroy the drug trade, he agrees to help her and risk his life with no conditions--even though she's NEVER forthright about telling him what she knows! In fact, later it turns out she is just trying to use Chiba to protect her while she herself sells a huge briefcase full of cocaine--and he CONTINUES trying to protect her!! This makes no sense at all and throughout much of the film it looks as if they just shot the film without a script--such as when they went into the bars and brothels and had Chiba walking about as if he was drunk.So if it was THAT bad, why still does it merit a 3? Well, first, there are many more horrid marital arts films (such as many of those from Hong Kong in the 1970s)--including one with guys dressed up in gorilla suits doing kung fu and their handlers with 3 foot long tongues they used for fighting (now THAT'S bad). Second, while the action is very bad compared to other Sonny Chiba films, compared to its contemporaries, it's not that bad. Still, you could easily do a lot better than this horrid little film.By the way, if you are wondering if this is the worst Sonny Chiba film, it certainly is not! In one of his first films, INVASION OF THE NEPTUNE MEN, Chiba plays a leotard-wearing super-hero who battles pointy-headed invaders from the planet Neptune. It's so bad that it rivals PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN for awfulness.A final note to parents--Like most of Sonny Chiba's films, this one is very violent and has its share of boobies. DON'T let little kids watch this no matter how much they beg! Make them wait until they are older before you let them watch wretched rated-R martial arts films!

wanderingstar I just finished watching this film and WOW was that bad. Actually the only thing that kept me watching was that it was SO MONUMENTALLY bad it was kind of entertaining. The action of the characters is hilarious, from the hyper-dramatic way they fall to gunfire, to their incredibly bad acting (were the bad guys all just pulled off the street, or were they actually actors?), to incredibly bad delivery of lines, to their inexplicable actions (if you are going to try and shoot someone through a doorway as they enter, obviously the thing to do is shoot directly at the doorknob!!). This film must break some record for worst written and delivered lines.The camera work was also really bad - you can hardly see what's going on in the fight scenes due to switching camera angles and shakiness.I would have voted "1" except that I do like Chiba and sidekick Sue Shihomi, and I was entertained by a couple of scenes: 1) breaking of a villain's arm so the bone pops out of the skin (that's gotta hurt) 2) a drug kingpin eating a brown-furred animal (a monkey??) by hacking away at the carcass with a meat cleaver 3) Sonny Chiba's performing some impromptu eye surgery on a guy with his fingers.I am actually a big fan of Sonny Chiba but this one is really not worth anyone's time. I've seen about 7 or 8 of his films and have come to the conclusion that the only ones worth watching (and they are great!) are the Street Fighter series, and The Killing Machine. I've also heard the Executioner and Golgo 13 are good. I recommend sticking to those ones.

Johann This flick is kinda boring. The beginning should be a flash-back to Pulp Fiction (Sonny Chiba reads the Ezekial 25:17 quote). This is probably the coolest thing in this damn movie. Let me get this out of the way, I am a Sonny Chiba fan. However, even Sonny's karate strikes couldn't save this bore.Sonny plays himself (or some character with his name, it's never really explained). He offers his services up to anyone who is interested in taking on the drug syndicate in Tokyo. OK, thus far things sound alright. The problem is that the film drags on for at least 45 minutes before we start to realize where the plot is going and who the girl he is guarding is. When the action finally comes, don't expect Streetfighter like, fast paced, karate action. There isn't even the gratuitous gore or sarcastic one liners.Overall, Sonny's performance isn't bad, but this movie is hardly a good vehicle for his talents.