K.G.

The acting is either wooden or scene chewing over the top with almost nothing in between. The plot is paper thin, generic, and illogical even by martial arts movie standards. Overall, the movie feels low budget....but none of that is probably why you're interested in this movie. You probably care about the fighting and I'm happy to report that this movie has plenty of excellent fight sequences.

The movie doesn't have the budget or the creativity for big action set pieces, so they wisely keep the action sequences as simple as possible. That puts the actor's very cool karate fighting styles front and center. The movie does not use quick cuts or shaky camera so you really get to see the details of the fight choreography. Overall, that's the main appeal of the movie. Hand to hand combat. It elevates an otherwise bad movie into watchable territory.

Bonus points for including behind the scenes fight and stunt footage during the ending credits. Not enough action films do that these days.

With the compulsory dramatic intro scene you immediately get to know the villain of the movie and the younger versions of the Karate Girls. Come again two Karate girls. Yes,two of them. And both who actually know Karate. The story is very simple. Yet the director thought it necessary to explain what Karate should be about in almost every talking scene. Even in some of the action scenes there seems to be too much talking. The action scenes are adequate but do look very choreographed. Sometimes far too slow and too much breaks during fights. Since the pace of the movie is quite slow it only makes the movie even seem slower. It surely doesn't help that the movie takes itself far too seriously. Especially when the acting is real bad.It is a shame really that the director failed to put in some real excitement. The trailer for this movie looks promising. But like most trailers they put in the best scenes from the movie in there. So in this case you are better off watching the trailer.

In my IMDb list of all time greats, I have several martial arts entries. Properly done, they can be fun, even exhilarating. This entry, which loosely follows HIGH KICK GIRL, is literally the lowest possible level of movie export. No real budget. No real story. No real dialog. No real choreography. Rena Takeda does have a legitimate fanbase, and she has skill, but even in her native Japan she tends to get cast in B- and C- films. Even the English dubbing is terrible. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Karate Girl is certainly better than the numerous overrated karate movies starring American or Chinese actresses and actors that have flooded the market throughout the past few decades. The story revolves around a young woman working at a cinema who has a troublesome past. Her father was assassinated and her little sister kidnapped by a group of thugs. The young woman secretly survived, changed her identity and got adopted by another family. When she is filmed fighting two thieves at the cinema and the clip goes viral, the thugs however realize that she is still alive and want to annihilate her.

This movie convinces on several levels. The atmospheric opening scene and multiple flashbacks are quite atmospheric, emotional and violent. The film's locations vary fluidly between beautiful settings and gloomy spaces. This tale of revenge doesn't offer any surprising twists but should appeal to fans of classic martial arts movies from the seventies and eighties in particular.

However, this release certainly isn't without its flaws. The acting performances are at times wooden, repetitive and predictable. The fight scenes lack authentic choreography and look at times unintentionally funny. The film suffers from rather slow pace and repetition and would have been much more efficient if it had been shortened by fifteen to twenty minutes.

At the end of the day, this film is only interesting for fans of female martial arts films and might especially appeal to teenagers. More seasoned genre fans however simply can't overlook the film's numerous significant flaws. Karate Girl is overall passable for some relaxed entertainment on a lazy afternoon but fails to leave a significant mark. Ironically, the footage from behind the scenes during the credits and the music video coming along with the film show better quality than the movie itself.

When Rina is fighting, the movie is exciting. The rest is dull, talky and mostly wooden. I recommend fast-forward for everything between the sisters' action sequences, to avoid boredom that can dilute the impact of her artistry. Rina deserves better vehicles.