Top Fighter

Rage of Honor (1987)

** (out of 4)

A Narc agent (Shô Kosugi) gives up his job and goes for revenge after his partner is brutally killed and no one seems to care. It gets even more personal when the drug lord kidnaps his girlfriend and the agent decides to take everyone down. RAGE OF HONOR isn't going to win any Oscars and most people are going to hate it with a passion but if you're a fan of the genre then it should at least keep you entertained. Again, if you're looking for some type of high art then this here certainly isn't going to be your cup of tea but genre fans should eat it up. Kosugi was never an actor and his lack-of-acting skills actually makes for some pretty funny moments and especially in the more dramatic moments. The actor simply can't display any sort of dramatic moments and this at least gives some campy humor to the film. What Kosugi can do is kick major a@# and this is apparent during the various action scenes throughout the picture. The best one and the highlight happens on a hotel balcony as Kosugi's girlfriend is dangling from the side about to meet her death and her boyfriend is in the room fighting. The climax to this fight is pure martial arts material and classic. The supporting characters are all pretty much cardboard and none of them are interesting enough to really make the material better. The film also runs on a tad bit too long, which is another reason the film doesn't work better. With that said, there's enough silly action and camp to make it worth viewing for fans of the genre.

Boisterously unleashed not too long after after the explosive wake from Ninja extravaganza 'Pray For Death' had barely subsided, solid action director Hessler renewed his historically successful collaboration with iconic 80s martial arts sensation Shô Kosugi whose steely gaze, natty Ninja threads, fleet-fisted fighting style, and deadly Shuriken-slinging expertise had Iron-fistedly galvanized the global Ninja craze, and in his bruisingly action-packed B-Movie Bond 'Rage of Honor',Katana-cool, Icepick-deadly, Buddha righteous, thug trashing cop Shiro Tanaka (Sho Kosugi) is darkly embroiled in the murderous machinations of sadistic drug kingpin Havlock (Lewis Van Bergen), with his partner dead, girlfriend kidnapped, capable writers Robert Short, Wallace Bennett, and no less competent film-maker Hessler robustly construct a rewardingly blood-thirsty arena for our Teflon-toed, panther-quick, gravity-dodging, gangster-goring avenger Kosugi to righteously revenge his fallen partner, and free his bound lady love from the nefarious clutches of his merciless foe, whose diabolically extended reach stretches poisonously from the sweetly sublime vistas of Singapore to the harsh, mercenary-infested jungles of South America! With plentiful, excitingly choreographed fight scenes, and blazingly balletic gun battles, 'Rage of Honor' has all the requisite blood-pumping, head-knockingly heroic hallmarks of a Shô Kosugi vengeance-fuelled VHS-era classic!

My review was written in February 1987 after a UA Twin screening in Manhattan.

"Rage of Honor" is a substandard action vehicle for martial arts star Sho Kosugi, who gets the chance to choreograph the fight scenes and introduce gadgety weapons, but is otherwise sunk by pointless writing and limp direction.

Kosugi plays Shira Tanaka, a Phoenix-based U. S. narcotics investigator who gets in a tizzy when his assistant is tortured and murdered. He quits his job, hops a plane to Buenos Aires seeking revenge (improbably taking along his blonde girlfriend) and there ensues a boring series of fights and double crosses until nearly the entire cast is wiped out.

Besides being at least two reels too long, film doesn't work because Kosugi is never in any real danger and all incidents are merely functional devices to get a fight scene going. The ease with which he dispatches at least 100 adversaries robs the fights of excitement. Nadir occurs in the Argentine junle, where indians attack and Kosugi, not content with wiping out baddie, massacres dozens of indians in situational self-defense.

Kosugi's difficulty in delivering English dialog is still a hindrance and the supporting cast here is exceedingly bland. The main villain (character roles are not identified in the credits) seems to be auditioning for a career as Harrison Ford's stunt double. Tech credits are acceptable, but Gordon Hessler's direction seems phoned in.

Sho Kosugi re-teamed with PRAY FOR DEATH (1985) director Gordon Hessler for this international action flick. Shiro (Kosugi) is a Drug Investigation Bureau (D.I.B.?) agent who seeks revenge after his partner is murdered by drug-lord Havelock (Lewis Van Bergen). He quits the force and flies to Buenos Aires to get his revenge. Oh, I'm sorry, he rages his honor. Shiro is apparently not the smartest cookie as he brings his girlfriend along and she is quickly kidnapped, resulting in a huge chase through the jungles of Argentina. This was Kosugi trying to expand his screen image a bit, resulting in a character that is sort of like James Bond with some ninja tendencies. He doesn't have Bond's instincts though. For example, the "good guys" send a chopper to pick him up and 6 deadly ninjas pop out to kill him. Shiro dispatches of them, yet still follows the instructions of the "good guys" to "take the disc to the abandoned factory" (how he knew which factory is beyond me). The action is very well staged by Hessler, who gives the production a really big budget look. The last half hour is pretty much fighting and shootouts non-stop. The MGM DVD I have have (part of a ninja 3-pack with American NINJA and REVENGE OF THE NINJA) is frustrating in that it starts the film widescreen for the credits and then jumps to 1.85 for the movie. But at least it is better than the full frame single edition release MGM previously put out.

This movie is very 80s. It has agents, ninjas, military, evil druglords, jungle tribes... it reminded me of every action movie from James Bond to Rambo to American Ninja.

It also has bad acting, uninteresting characters and somehow boring flow of story. I can't give a really good rating because I felt a bit bored most of the time. But when the action starts, then it gets good. The action scenes may not be the best possible quality but they have certain coolness, with nice stunts, crazy ninja weapons, and enough explosions. I also liked hard rock/synthwave kind of music which seals the very 80s feel.

So, this is not a movie you watch for the story, but if you have a soft spot for 80s' action movies it has a decent dose of that ridiculousness you probably yearn for.