Onna hissatsu ken: Kiki ippatsu

I just stumbled across this movie on cable (under the title "Sister Street Fighter 2," and I believe the above review by Brian Camp relates to a different movie (or, perhaps, the movies are inconsistently titled in English, which often seems to happen in this genre.) I believe the Camp review relates to "3," as the movie I saw contained different plot elements and action settings, and the one review on "3" mentions the same "surgical removal of smuggled diamonds" bit, which does not appear in this film.

In this one, the plot concerns gold smugglers and a crime lord named Oh. Koryu travels from Hong Kong to Yokohama to take down the crime ring and save a little girl's mother (Oh's prisoner, mistress, and chemist, an interesting trifecta.) There's a lot of well-executed action, and Etsuko Shihomi has an appealing screen presence. It's especially well-photographed, and looks great in widescreen. The bad guys have a lot of over-the-top color, from a death match to determine which of a dozen or so strange martial artists from around the world (including one who I think is supposed to be a Zulu spearman) will have the right to kill Koryu (wouldn't it be easier to just send *all* of them after her?) But these movies have their own rules. The white-suited, one-handed, wheelchair-bound Oh is a lot of fun, and a rather transparent imitation of *Enter the Dragon*'s Han. You'll never guess the secret of Oh's fake left hand! Or of his wheelchair (though if you're an SCTV fan, you might be able to make a guess!)

With its funky 1970s music score and outrageous fighting sequences, 1974's "Sister Street Fighter: Hanging by a Thread," a sequel to "Sister Street Fighter" which had been released earlier that same year, is an interesting if not entirely successful follow-up to the previous film. It is worth noting that the sequel concerns the return of Koryu Lee (Etsuko "Sue" Shihomi), a half-Japanese/half-Chinese Karate powerhouse who travels from Hong Kong to Japan to investigate the disappearance of a wealthy man's young daughter. As she digs deeper into the mystery, she uncovers a deadly diamond smuggling ring and the powerful gangsters behind it. Directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (who also directed the first film), the fights are fast, furious, and bloody - everything a good Karate film from Japan should be. One of the reasons the film works so well is because of the performance and fighting prowess of Etsuko Shihomi. A student of Japanese martial arts sensation Sonny Chiba's action school, Shihomi more than holds her own against the numerous baddies standing against her. She's also very easy on the eyes - yes, she is quite a cutie! But don't let that fool you: she can kill you twice before you knew what hit you. It's interesting to note that some bad guys make the mistake that just because she's a girl, she can't fight, or she's weak, or both. Well, as "Sister Street Fighter" and this film prove, anyone who makes that assumption is sorely mistaken, and you'll wind up on your back on the floor unconscious for making such an arrogant assumption.

8/10

The sequel to Sister StreetFighter was something I didn't think was possible. If you thought you've seen it all, Think Again! This time without Sonny Chiba, the Sister Street Fighter is out to protect a young child who's mother is involved with a gold smuggler/ drug enforcer. The uncle was a detective who was tending the niece, and is killed by doing it. The Sister Street Fighter leaves Hing Kong with the niece meets up with her friend from class and kick some serious butt at a dock in Japan. Those two ladies make a great team. In the meantime, the big-time villain tries to get some of the greatest fighters to take her out. One fighter has a punch that more lethal than any weapon a skilled fighter will possess. However, his boss' true colors come out when he is double-crossed during the fight against the female fighter. The reunion of mother and daughter was short-lived, but the fight for avenging loved ones went on non-stop. Both fighter take out the greed ladened boss. Paying for his misdeeds straight out! A fine movie, very fun to watch. don't care about the budget, the movie speaks for itself! 3 out of 5 stars!

Koryu (Etsuko Shihomi) flies from Hong Kong to Tokyo in order to rescue a hostage, but the gangster boss keeping that hostage has many skillful fighters. The summary of "Sister Street Fighter"? No, the summary of its sequel, although that reads exactly the same. The second movie copied the first, while the producers carefully kept everything that probably was responsible for its success. A few tiny differences I'd like to sum up: The gangsters smuggle diamonds instead of drugs this time. Etsuko Shihomi wears a much nicer costume in blue and gold (later: red and gold). There is more hand-held camera which can be annoying on the big screen. And there is some additional sadism, for example when the girls who smuggled diamonds under their skin are cut open like cattle by the butcher (no excuses, please - anesthesia were available in 1974), there is a horrifying scene when Koryu's sister is tortured, also when Koryu kills one bad guy by nailing his pair of glasses to his head. Nothing for Sunday afternoon television, I'd say. Anyway, the first movie was better and less predictable. I voted 8/6/8/7 for the 4 "Sister Street Fighter" movies.

Sister Street Fighter: Hanging by a Thread is the second film in the martial arts franchise about the empathic, resilient and tough lead character Li Koryu. This time around, the movie doesn't feature actresses or actors from the Street Fighter franchise that helped kickstart this spinoff series that would turn out being as great or even slightly better than the original series. This entry is the franchise's emancipation and easily proves that versatile actress Etsuko Shihomi can stand her ground all alone.

The story isn't a far call from the first entry but neither this franchise nor Sonny Chiba's Street Fighter films stood for particularly creative plots. Li Koryu is asked to find a former classmate who got kidnapped and is forced to be the mistress of the boss of diamond smugglers who surgically implant the precious stones into the buttocks of Chinese prostitutes. To make matters worse, Li Koryu's own sister is linked to the criminals and forced to betray her sister. Li Koryu however gets assisted by a mysterious stranger who is initially hired as a hitman tasked to kill her but has his own hidden agenda.

The film is on par with its solid predecessor. The story is entertaining, fast-paced and quirky. The fight scenes involve more hand-held camera sections which adds a new touch to the series. The characters are eccentric, memorable and unique. The locations are fascinating as fight scenes take place on a rolling train, in an abandoned stadium and even on logs on the water. It's the most brutal movie in the franchise that involves some graphic scenes that conveniently spice things up from time to time. The funky soundtrack underlines the film's dynamic touch at the pulse of the wild seventies.

This movie is entertaining from start to finish and will appeal to anyone who likes contemporary martial arts films or quirky action thrillers from the seventies. The movie has aged rather well thanks to its charismatic protagonist and modern camera techniques. It's one of the few examples when the sequel is as great as its predecessor.