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dustin d Golgo 13 has an interesting premise and a great lead character, but this movie misses the mark in most instances. The action sequences are mostly clumsily shot and edited, which is unforgivable in a movie that doesn't have much else going for it. It's too bad, because this could have been a good franchise. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Hardboiled noir that never runs out of ammo--Mister super cool!! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Golgo 13: Kowloon Assignment is a gritty grindhouse movie, typical of 70?s Japanese cinema and Sonny Chiba by the time this movie came out had settled into a rather stereotypical role handed to him by various filmmakers - that of a tough uncompromising man. It's not his best movie but if you're a die-hard fan you should find plenty to entertain you here. You'll certainly have to suspend your disbelief at some of the things that goes on - for example Golgo 13 must be one hell of a shot to shoot his target on a helicopter in flight whilst dangling from a cliff! Apparently this kind of absurdness is typical of the director Yukio Noda and you'll find more than one such sequence in this movie. The story trundles along at a brisk pace full of exciting shootouts and bone breaking martial arts mayhem. There's a fair bit of nudity on offer too courtesy of the delightful and sultry actress Dana. You would not be wrong to think that there's a kind of a James Bond like feeling to this movie as the story takes us to several countries and is not just content to stay in Hong Kong. Miami, Kyoto and Macao are several of the globe trotting locations on show though going to these places doesn't really advance the plot one bit. Sonny Chiba delivers a solid performance as Golgo 13, a paranoid individual who expects to get attacked by anybody at any moment. He matches the image of the cool anti-hero assassin in the manga and was probably the perfect choice to play the role. The character of Golgo 13 hardly smiles, has a stony expression and snarls his way through the movie. Whenever he goes, death and violence seems to follow him such as when he helps a young woman who kills her violent boyfriend in a sidestreet. He rescues her from the police and then from her boyfriend's gang who's out to get her. This comes in handy for Golgo 13 later when he's shot in the leg during a sequence in a car junkyard. She repays his kindness by helping him treat his leg on her boat. OK, so the plot of the movie may be thin but then again what we've really come to see is Sonny Chiba doing what he does best - kick some serious ass and this he does in spades in the movie's fight scenes which are very violent (witness Golgo 13 stabbing a man in the mouth with a knife!). A great foot chase sequence sees Chiba going on top of a moving bus that will remind viewers of something that Jackie Chan would do years later to better effect in Police Story 2. Unlike JC, he doesn't go through a window but grabs a passing pole and swings down to safety below. This could have been a lot better than what it turned out to be but it's still a rather good action movie thanks to the presence of Sonny Chiba. I'm sure this movie would have been a damp squib without him. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Gave this one another look in advance of listening to a podcast review of it - it holds up really well, as Chiba is a killing machine who moves easily through gangs of thugs and avoids the pursuit of a tenacious cop while trying to prevent him from carrying out his assassination mission. Fun stuff, well worth a look, give it a rental. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Being financed by a Japanese studio and a Hong Kong studio, it is more like a Hong Kong cop action film featuring Golgo 13. Depending on what language version you watch, it will just confuse you. The Japanese version, Golgo obviously speaks Japanese but so do the Americans, as well as everyone in Hong Kong. Watching this movie, you have to completely take out the word 'logic'. As for a Golgo 13 adaptation, incredibly disappointing. As for a mishmash 70s action pic? Fun stuff. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member I'm only familiar with Golgo 13 through the 1980s NES game. Only later did I find out it was a long running Japanese comic. Sonny Chiba plays the title character, signature sideburns on the assassin and all. Lots of good over-the-top Streetfighter-like Chiba action in this one. Must see for Sonny Chiba fans! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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