Director: Shigehiro Ozawa
Year: 1976
Country: Japan
Alternate Titles: Onna hissatsu godan ken
Genre: Kung-Fu
Plot:
Trying to please her mother, a young woman continually leaves their successful kimono shop business in order to take martial arts at a local dojo. Her friend at the dojo becomes concerned about her stepbrother going missing one day, eventually learning that he's been in the employ of the movie studio's owner who's been using the studio as a base for a series of smuggling operations using the film shoots as a front for the activities. Taking the situation up with a police detective, things take a dark turn when the stepbrother gets killed and her friend is kidnapped for investigating the drug ring, forcing her to take a secret role in the studios' latest production in order to recover her friend and put an end to their operation.
Review:
Overall, this one easily emerges as the weakest of the entries despite some positive points. One of it's strongest points is the fact that this one manages to introduce the strongest story. This one does trot out the drug-trafficking angle one more time, but there's a remarkable meta-ness here with the entire ploy being hidden behind a movie studio making a martial arts film. The fact that the ring is operating under that guise and smuggling the drugs out in the props used for filming is a pretty clever way of doing so, and with the added bonus of being used as a front the manner in which everyone gets caught up in it seems quite logical. Having the friends' stepbrother involved against his will sets up a fine storyline here involving them investigating the incident through the production they're filming, and with the secondary plot about her being forced into a setup with the detective carries this part of the film nicely. As well, the scenes featuring the action taking place aren't too bad, with some brief flashes in the first hour before really letting loose with a spectacular brawl across the studio lot in the finale that stands up to the big, grand fights that were present in the other entries in the series.
Also rather enjoyable is some of the fine acting on display. Despite not playing a large role here, Etsuko Shihomi as Kiku Nakagawa carries herself with the most amount of comfort and grace in the series outside the action scenes. From the playful rebellious relationship she has with her father in order to get away to study based on the obvious discomfort she has in a kimono to the rather fine determination she has going after the criminals, it's a nice range and there's a lot to like from her beyond the obvious grace and dynamic skill set shown in the martial arts battles. The other big plus here is Mitchi Love as the heartbroken Michi, who has a fine change-of-pace from the innocent best friend to full-on participant in the brawling. The backstory we get on her and Jim's relationship is perfectly utilized here to make her emotional breakdown really honest, and while she gets kidnapped midway through she's a perfectly fine addition to the cast. Tsunehiko Watase as detective Takagi is a fine one-note cop, trying to bring down the drug ring while trying to keep a level head about the imposition Kiku has on the investigation. The rest of the cast isn't bad but none of them just stand-out all that much.
That said, there are some problems with this one. The biggest setback against it is ironically the setup that favors keeping the star of the film from doing what she does best off-screen for nearly the entire film. It's quite evident that there was little reason to incorporate this one into the franchise as the lack of crazed villains or wall-to-wall kung-fu battles that were part of those entries which are quite absent here. That manages to keep her from performing any kind of physical action until the end as the main focus is on the crime-drama elements of uncovering his murderer which leads to the movie studio and their smuggling operation, decidedly keeping the film low-key and laidback for exceptionally long periods of time. The pacing never strays into boredom, but this formula change-up doesn't gel with the tone of the other films and keeps the film from really breaking into the over-the-top style that could've really provided plenty of fun. As well, this aspect also manages to feel slightly odd when it does break into the action at the end where the frenetic action and editing in the huge brawl across the studio lot against scores of henchmen is so completely at odds with the sedate crime thriller this had been beforehand which seems to come off as if being shoehorned in from another film entirely as it's so tonally odd within the rest of the film.
The other problem with the film is a seemingly odd shift in tone throughout it's main drama. The plight of the brother and his stepsister is a somewhat interesting take on nationalism in Japanese society, what with him being half-black while living in a completely tough Japanese neighborhood where they encounter racist and nationalistic antagonization from childhood that seems to strengthen their bond together, only to then dump that in favor of exploring the drug trade as if there was little reason to include it. On top of that curious touch, the weighty topics it chooses to tackle such as the nationalism evident there or the more realistic touch from the investigating officers seems completely clashing with the lighthearted humor on display. The idea of her being nearly prearranged for marriage to a chauvinistic police officer is played for laughs as the parents' old-school mindset goes against the more modern take she has for her life in her martial arts studies to be able to fend for herself. These scenes of her in make-up and bright kimonos are incredibly silly, much like the outright cartoonish idea of tying the girl to a log and sent towards a buzzsaw to be split in half. These elements are just part of what happens to make the plot feel incredibly jarring and distracting as a result even if none of it really holds it down in terms of pacing.
Overview: ***/5
With a few minor enjoyable elements and some rather standout flaws to be found, this one comes off as a rather curious entry that still maintains some watchable efforts but is decidedly on the low-end of the series as a result. Give this a look if you're itching to try something else out after the rather same-feeling original trilogy, while those simply looking for another high-energy kung-fu heavy affair should heed excessive caution.
This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
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