Miho Tsumiki is absolutely captivating in this film as a fearless firecracker. It's hard not to keep your eyes glued to the screen whenever she's in the frame (or performing acrobatics moving out of the frame).
With better material and production values this could have been an easy cult classic the likes of which ranks up there with some of Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock's classics. But alas, this film just isn't good.
The plot is interesting, as it sees three groups of criminal organizations (one of which happens to be the local police force) having a tenuous yet effective truce to deal drugs and make money. But the female-led group supplying the drugs -- headed up by the devious Yoko - has other plans.
There is a lot of moving parts in the plot, yet the plot itself plods along.
Despite having a rather short hour and 38 minute runtime, it feels like it drags on, and it's unfortunate because in the hands of a better production company, this would be an easy classic.
The action scenes aren't terrible, but they also aren't filmed very clearly. Tsumiki goes over and beyond as the very physical and hard-nosed Asuka, a rogue vigilante trying to take down the big criminal organizations plaguing the streets. She's aided by her friend Miko, and the film follows how their exploits lead to a complete unraveling that tenuous relationship between the three criminal factions.
On paper this sounds exciting, in execution it's not.
There is some decent squibbing work here when shootouts take place, but the pop-cap effects for the guns really hampers the tension of said shootouts.
The budget also greatly restricts how some characters and moments should have been built up. Toki talks big and is given a lot of pomp from other characters, but doesn't actually get to do anything, or show his prowess at any point. Some of his gang members also look cool, but again, they don't get to do anything.
The movie also recycles the same set well over a dozen times for all sorts of events, especially the action scenes.
Also, if you're expecting any kind of sleek choreography like you might have found in some of Hiroyuki Sanada or Beat Takeshi's early work, you'll be sorely disappointed here.
While Tsumiki is agile and fast on screen, and dishes out as much punishment as she takes, there's nothing fanciful about the actual combat. Her speed and agility is what sells the fights more than the actual choreography.
In fact, Tsumiki gives it 110% in this film, and you would be easily goaded into thinking this was a much more serious and hard-hitting affair than what it is.
Kumiko Takeda looks absolutely stunning every time she's on-screen, and Mikari comes across as rather ethereal as the local crime head, Hibari. Everyone else either overacts or phones it in.
It's a real shame because the material is decent, and the director of photography and editor definitely did a decent job. Despite recycling the same sets over and over, the production crew definitely made the film look good for what little they had to work with, but too much of the runtime is spent meandering and the acting just isn't strong enough to compensate.
It's a real shame, because trying to track this film down IS NOT easy at all, and in some ways, its low production values and plodding pace kind of justifies why it's not the cult classic one might expect it to be. Mad Max this film is not.
Even still, if you can manage to track it down, I imagine some people might want to keep this in their collection for the sake of nostalgia or just to own rare Japanese films from the niche sukeban genre. Otherwise, you're not missing much here other than a great physical performance from Miho Tsumiki.
