Who is Sonny Chiba you ask? Only The Street Fighter that's who! Or the master sword smith in last years Kill Bill. But this time he is a character cooler than both, he is Golgo 13! You may know of the character from the anime movies of the same name, the most recent being Golgo 13: Queen Bee. There are many to chose from but only Assignment Kowloon(the episode I'm reviewing) and Queen Bee are in DVD format, the rest are VHS. If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing Golgo at work I'll have to fill you in. He is the world's best assassin.

To give the character a quick bio is a bit difficult. Not much is known about him, just that he is Asian, but nationality is unknown. He takes his name from the Bible. Golgo from the hill, Golgotha, where Christ was crucified. 13 from the thirteenth man that placed the crown of thorns on Christ. That is where the Christian references end as far as this movie is concerned. He is able to make impossible shots from great distances, a fact he proves throughout the movie. His trademark is to shoot people between the eyes. He is also known for having a great pain tolerance. He tends to get shot more than most protagonists and he has scars from past wounds. The character originates in Japanese manga. However try finding any translated copies. I find this odd since Golgo 13 is supposed to be the best selling manga series of all time, yet none in English. I'm not sure if that means I just haven't found them, or if they don't exist, or if it isn't the best selling series of all time. In any case the character is really cool!

With all this talk about manga and anime I need to stress the fact that this is live action! I didn't pay attention and bought the DVD because I thought it was the first anime in the series. However it turned out to be with real people. That's what I get for not paying attention. It's not bad though because if anyone fits the character it is Sonny Chiba. He looks remarkably like the character and he plays the part well. Not that it is too difficult, it just takes beating people up and looking mean. Hey I never said the movie was Oscar worthy.

The movie was released in 1977 and is quite dated. It's Hong Kong theater so if you don't like the cheesy appeal these movies have you won't like it. The dubbing is far from good, but for the two stars Golgo and Callan it isn't too bad. Callan comes from the gangster movie Jumping Ash from 1976. He is a tough guy cop who will do anything to get his man. He obviously gets mixed up with Golgo and tries to bring him down. But unfortunately for him no one is tough enough for Golgo. The fight scene between the two is pretty good, but not a Hong Kong classic. The best fight scenes are where Golgo takes on multiple people and, of course, takes them all down. They did a good job of showing his character through the fights, he is very efficient and brutal.

Well if you made it this far you probably want to know what the plot is all about. An assassin gets killed and Callan gets put on the case. He quickly figures out that the man the assassin was supposed to kill, Chu, is an underworld kingpin. The only problem is that the man is a respected business man. The people who hired the first hit man decide they need a better man for the job thus Golgo arrives in Hong Kong. Things get mixed up when Golgo 13 is found out by his trademark bullet between the eyes. His target leaves an anonymous tip to the cops saying that Golgo 13 is in town to kill Chu. Now Callan must hunt Golgo 13 as well as Chu. I don't want to ruin the ending, but there still is a Golgo 13 series running, so Golgo gets away in the end.

As in the anime there is nudity and sex. The violence is graphic, but dated. By today's standards it's not ultra-violent, but I'm sure it was in the 70's. Golgo kills a female assassin while sleeping with Chu's girlfriend. He than kills the girlfriend. Not exactly the hero you want your kids to look up to. That is unless you want them to grow up to be assassins. In any case there is blood, not a lot, but enough. You don't have to worry about blood spurting out of severed limbs, but a lot of people get shot or stabbed with knives.

If you are a fan of Hong Kong theater this is a movie you should have seen at some point. Sonny Chiba is one of Bruce Lee's successors and thus is important in the martial arts world. He was important enough for, Quentin Tarantino, to bring back for his Hong Kong styled Kill Bill. The Street Fighter series is much better known, but his film has it's importance as it mixes Golgo 13, Callan and Sonny Chiba together, all of which have independent followings.

As far as DVD features go there aren't many. There are chapter selection, but there are only four chapters, so it isn't a big help. They give you the theatrical trailer, but no deleted scene or director/actor commentary. However they do offer a choice between English dubbed or Chinese with English subtitles.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age