There's nothing worse than a plodding martial arts flick with a muddled plot and this is a good example of such a film. First of all, the fights aren't exactly spectacular but more matter-of-fact and then there's no fantasy element involved - something which I always prefer in my movies. Instead what we have is some dumbly-edited film about a Japanese fighter who travels to China and Thailand to fight, using his karate skills as opposed to the Chinese kung fu and Thai boxing of the other countries. Lots of people attack him but he manages to beat them all before coming up against the "Cobra" - one of the toughest Thai boxers out there. Now before I make this film sound in the same league of SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA (another movie which concentrated on the difference between the various fighting methods) it's certainly nothing like that minor genre classic. The characters are uninteresting, the dubbing poor, and the fights just go on and on without being well choreographed or exciting.
Sure there are some incidental pleasures but these are few and far between. Watch out for a Japanese wrestler (a Santo wannabe) in a black mask who gets beaten quickly by our hero or the disco fight routine which is hilariously cheesy stuff. Then there's the battle which takes place in amusing slow motion (why? who knows? who cares?) or the strange noises our hero makes as he practises on the rooftop of his home. But the acting is bad and gets on your nerves and even the hero is boring and uncharismatic. Things plod on to a letdown of an ending which is only impressive due to the great ruins showcased as the backdrop of the fight. Finally there's an unwelcome moral message about the futility of battle and then the credits thankfully roll on a film which is neither interesting or well-made. A real disappointment and a film which should stay deservedly obscure.
Sure there are some incidental pleasures but these are few and far between. Watch out for a Japanese wrestler (a Santo wannabe) in a black mask who gets beaten quickly by our hero or the disco fight routine which is hilariously cheesy stuff. Then there's the battle which takes place in amusing slow motion (why? who knows? who cares?) or the strange noises our hero makes as he practises on the rooftop of his home. But the acting is bad and gets on your nerves and even the hero is boring and uncharismatic. Things plod on to a letdown of an ending which is only impressive due to the great ruins showcased as the backdrop of the fight. Finally there's an unwelcome moral message about the futility of battle and then the credits thankfully roll on a film which is neither interesting or well-made. A real disappointment and a film which should stay deservedly obscure.
