It seems that CHIBA was acting as a mentor to the star (just as in ROARING FIRE) and taking a back seat too much, didn't work for me. Of course some of the fight-scenes in this movie are very good, utilizing slow-mo (as in KILLING MACHINE) and some excellent wire work (the spider ninja's moved quite naturally) and the other notable thing is the off-beat jazz/sax/porn music (that despite sometimes not catching the mood of the scene, certainly puts it in a league of it's own) The bottom line is, CHIBA doesn't fight enough, the hero (at one point) dances rather camp-like (whilst training) round a fire (hilarious!) and like most movies of this ilk, the plot can confuse/drag on a little
Excellent fight scenes and score, though
6 out of 10
Excellent fight scenes and score, though
6 out of 10