Rating: **
Review Date: 5/26/24
Cast: Sonny Chiba, Lun Chia, cameo by Etsuko Shiomi
A major Hong Kong drug dealer is doing business on the side, which makes the competition angry. After several failed assassination attempts, Golgo 13 (Sonny Chiba) is hired to kill him. Unfortunately, a violent and aggressive cop (Lun Chia) is constantly hounding him, which makes his job more difficult. But against all odds, Golgo manages to play all of the ridiculous angles and get his man.
This film is laughably bad and considerably worse than the original "Golgo 13" (1973). While Sonny Chiba definitely brings more physicality to the role than Ken Takakura, he's a far worse actor. Chiba is a bombastic performer who overacts everything, so Golgo's cold and stoic demeanor doesn't fit his style at all. Even when he tries to be stoic, his forced comical scowl comes across as parody. Etsuko Shiomi has a tiny cameo as a police detective who falls victim to the bad guys, and she only gets one fight scene. Sadly, it's filmed in the dark, so you can't appreciate her fancy kicks.
The action is terrible and the car chases are frustrating due to the lack of camera stabilization. Lun Chia's hot-headed cop is overly cliché and the villains are bland and uninteresting. Most everything is played straight, except for a lip reader who is inexplicably a man dressed up as an old woman. I was hoping for something more in line with "The Street Fighter" (1974), but this film is more interested in international politics and foreign locales than hard-boiled action. That said, it doesn't shy away from blood, and it has a few scenes that might make you wince. For Chiba completists only.