Rating: ***
Review Date: 11/7/26
Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama
Still bearing the facial scar he received at the end of the first film, Buddhist priest Shinkai Mikuni (Tomisaburo Wakayama) wanders from town to town stirring up trouble. The film starts off with a bang as two young women picking flowers come across a large wild mushroom, which just happens to be Shinkai's penis. WTF?!? Anyway, they run away screaming and the next thing you know, he's cutting down a dozen Yakuza thugs. The target of their attack is a man who begs Shinkai to take his son to live with his father while he turns himself into the police for committing a crime. But things are never simple for Shinkai and the boy's grandfather refuses to see him, which leads to lots of awkward situation comedy as Shinkai attempts to care for him. At the same time, the town is under attack by a Yakuza clan who wants to take over their cockfighting business, which ultimately leads to a bloody showdown with Shinkai when he interferes with their plans. The film closes with Shinkai being taken away in handcuffs by the police, leaving you to wonder what will happen in Part 3.
The wandering priest and constant child companion really make this entry feel like a cross between "Zatoichi" and "Lone Wolf And Cub", and Tomisaburo Wakayama eerily starts to resemble both protagonists. It features more sex, violence, and action than the first film, but the pacing is still sluggish and the comedy is even more crude. Shinkai is a dirty pervert and really earns his moniker of "wicked priest" in this movie with the way he treats women. The film looks great and the action scenes are excellent. Shinkai actually uses a sword this time, which adds more variety, blood, and dismemberment to the proceedings. His final assault on the bad guy's house is epic and he is a truly intimidating force. Unfortunately, his rematch with Ryutatsu is shot through a green filter for some reason, which makes it hard to follow and difficult to watch. The only other disappointments would be the constant misogynistic tone and the numerous cockfighting scenes. Overall, it's on par with the original, and arguably better.