I don't know whether the terrible dubbing on my DVD is to blame, but the plot to this third and final film in The Streetfighter series made very little sense to me—some nonsense to do with a pair of cassette tapes containing the formula for synthetic heroin. Sonny Chiba's hard-as-nails mercenary Terry Tsurugi is double-crossed by the Yakuza over the sale of one of these tapes and consequently takes revenge, taking time out from the kicking and punching to get jiggy with sexy siren Aya Ôwada (Reiko Ike, who goes topless). Oh, and there's a mariachi in a big black sombrero who fires lasers from his fingers, and Terry dresses up like Dracula.
Clearly, it's all a far cry from the gritty brutality of the original film, with Terry more secret agent than anti-hero, complete with headquarters featuring sliding silver doors. Terry even dons latex masks, Mission Impossible style, to change his identity. Even though I usually welcome a healthy dollop of wackiness in my martial arts films, It simply doesn't suit this series, being too far removed from the previous films, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I wanted more of the same, but what I got was a whole load of silliness. Very disappointing.
3.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 4 for Reiko Ike.
Clearly, it's all a far cry from the gritty brutality of the original film, with Terry more secret agent than anti-hero, complete with headquarters featuring sliding silver doors. Terry even dons latex masks, Mission Impossible style, to change his identity. Even though I usually welcome a healthy dollop of wackiness in my martial arts films, It simply doesn't suit this series, being too far removed from the previous films, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I wanted more of the same, but what I got was a whole load of silliness. Very disappointing.
3.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 4 for Reiko Ike.