Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

      View All
      Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      The Killing Machine

      R 1975 1h 29m Adventure List
      Reviews 72% 1,000+ Ratings Audience Score A champion of justice in postwar Japan uses secret kung fu techniques to subdue local black market gangs. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (24) audience reviews
      Audience Member Originally titled 'Shorinji Kempo', 'Killing Machine' is a great Sonny Chiba film with a groovy sountrack. The filmography however suffers with awkward angles and unstable shots distracting from many of the scenes. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member During WWII, So Doshin is a master assassin and spy for the Japanese military. After the surrender, returns to Japan penniless (or should I say 'sen-less') and angry. He eventually becomes a good mentor to some street children, and often arrested for his displays of violence against the U.S. military. But when he finally gets a chance to build a shaolin temple of his own using the knowledge from China, Japanese martial arts schools take vengeance on him... OK, so it's not that much of a coherent story, but there are fun setpieces with action, multiple side-stories, and the obvious goodness of Sonny Chiba. The story doesn't come full circle by the end, and unusually for a Sonny Chiba film, no vengeance. More like, peace will prevail. And kick ass... Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member The Killing Machine sorta gets overshadowed by the Streetfighter series (& even The Bodyguard to some respects) but this is really a top 5 Sonny Chiba flix. Im sure the nationalism will be a bit lost on North American audiences but if you want to see Chiba kick some serious ass then this will be right up your alley. He has a heart of gold w/ a soft spot for homeless children & a prositute but then he will break your arm in two places. He even gets a bit nasty by cutting off one guy's peni w/ a pair of scissors & feeding it to a dog! I shouldn't be that shocked because Im sure that's the main ingredient in most discount dog food Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Sonny Chiba does have some killing machine moments, but the is a surprising amount of drama in this film about post WWII Japan. Not brilliant, but a passable drama with some good fight scenes sprinkled throughout. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Filling in the holes in my Sony Chiba knowledge, this film was a lot of fun, following China as he becomes a leader in his community in spite of numerous set-backs, teaching his fellow man to fight back against oppression in the process. Good stuff, well worth a look. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Very violent tale starring Sonny Chiba. Plenty of sequences featuring Chiba kicking the crap out of various people. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Movie Info

      Synopsis A champion of justice in postwar Japan uses secret kung fu techniques to subdue local black market gangs.
      Director
      Noribumi Suzuki
      Screenwriter
      Takeshi Matsumoto
      Production Co
      Toei Co. Ltd.
      Rating
      R
      Genre
      Adventure
      Original Language
      Japanese
      Runtime
      1h 29m
      Aspect Ratio
      Scope (2.35:1)