Rating: **
Alternate Titles: "Kuroi Mehyō M", "Black Panther Bitch M"
Review Date: 5/25/19
Cast: Reiko Ike, Mikio Narita, Kenji Imai, Masashi Ishibashi
"It feels like you step onto the tatami mat of my heart with your shoes still on."
Reiko Ike is an elite assassin known as "M". She's been hired by the chairman of a powerful corporation to take out an ambitious underling (Mikio Narita), and it takes her the entire film to do it. This was Reiko Ike's only film for Nikkatsu, and it's a disappointing effort. The pacing is unbearably slow and the film is marred by sloppy camera work and intrusive lens flares. The action is weak and poorly executed, and for an assassin of her caliber, M makes a lot of painfully stupid mistakes. The bad guys have really bad hair, and Reiko's hair constantly changes style between shots. The awkward and misplaced porno jazz soundtrack sets an odd tone, as does Reiko's outrageous flare pants. While it's always nice to see Reiko Ike in action, she seems bored and looks like she's just going through the motions.