Golgo 13: El Professional

TAG-LINE (EUR): "Leonard Dawson is the richest man in the world...powerfull people makes enemies...if an enemy becomes a problem...then someone calls the proffesional, codenamed: GOLGO 13. The proffesional is about to be tested...to his ultimate level...how long can the Proffesional last? Hard hitting action as the Proffesional faces his ultimate challenge."

This film got too little publicity at the time, and deserved more recognition. I dont understand why the media failed to recognise this anime, before the Western release of AKIRA. And personally, I think it was unfair. Even today, the detail in the artwork, and the fluencey of animation is astounding. Never before have I seen a more detailed drawn anime. The animators sorted everything from the rendition on the gun lenses to the air-brushed shading to give the guns a more metalic look. Another notable thing about this film is the use of CGI graphics to add extra realism to the atmosphere, something which was unheard of, and thought impossible in 1983. Golgo 13 demonstrated this way before Akira came into the public domain. Many of the anime today are drawn sharp, and unimaginatively, e.g. Pokemon, but it's always the "old sckool" anime that retain high standards in the art-work. The plot is just something that noone would have expected from animated production: A man supposidly hunting down another man for the murder of his son, but in the end it is revealed to the viewer his actions were purely for the sake of passion. I especially liked the idea of a spoiled-pretty woman hiding behind the guise of a ruthless crime-mobster, too which noone expected to be "Doctor.Z" The film is a worthy adaption to Saito's comic series, and thankfully it didn't have a crummy television series, with drab animation. The story alone portrays the more explicit, cold violent world surrounding the guise of a lone-Japanese pre.James Bond 007 who is UNLIENCED to kill. Golgo 13 kills purely for a living, and the mystery behind his cold, seemingly-cyborg character, and the fact that his soul is void of human sentiments and ultimately, emotion adds further interest & suspision to his past and true motives behind the killing game. Definately worth a watch if your a fan of Japanese cinema or anime, but may seem a bit dull for those of you who are used to John Travolta/Nic.Cage shoot'em ups where the guy gets the girl and the bad guy dies, etc. A far from lame story. *8/10*

I admit that this movie does have a lot of flaws, but I think in the long run, the good outweighed the bad. It was interesting to watch if only because "Golgo 13" is the longest running manga by number of years. It was interesting just to find out about it. It's pretty easy to tell that this was modeled after James Bond. I think the worst part is how it does take awhile to really get good. When it does get good, it just keeps getting better and better! This is the first animated film to use CGI in some way. The helicopter at the end looks very bad. The opening sequence, however, does it a lot better, if only because it's not meant to be part of the story.

It's weird to see an animated movie of any kind that has swearing and nudity. Keep in the mind that it wasn't really until the 1980's that the Japanese started making feature length anime movies and this was one of the first to be based on a manga. Makes sense, seeing as how it's the longest running one. The villain in the film is probably the best part. He really is set up very well and you could even argue that he might have fewer vices than the actual hero of the story. It's a very gracefully done film, but due to its content is probably not for all tastes. Still nice. ***

The Professional was an incredibly awesome action film, packed with guys getting gunned down, and lots of chicks in black bikinis. The story in The Professional was much much better than in a lot of those James Bond films. Those animators are good with those pencils; their technique! Wow! Apparently, this movie was one of the first to use computer animation, but it was pretty much squat compared to what they can do now. Still, this movie will persuade you to want to be a spy, because this job has all the extras! Don't worry, all you animal lovers, because no real animals were hurt during the making of this film. It's just a film. For a good time, watch The Professional. It is, like, so cool. Rating: 10/10 ( Anyone else think this movie's disturbing? Just say Golgo if you do.)

THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 is an archetypal animated crime drama. This is a relentlessly brutal film about one man's crusade to destroy the elusive figure who was solely responsible for the murder of his own kin. THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 is also an emotionally disturbing film which demonstrates the pain and distress of having to cope with the loss of a love one. It serves as a chilling reminder of how human beings can easily succumb to the power of suffering. THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 is a tautly made film dealing with the psychological mind, but most importantly of all, it is a thriller that leaves you on the edge-of-your-seat from the first frame to the finish.

Duke Togo (a.k.a. Golgo 13) is an assassin for hire. He does not care about his clients at all; he only cares about himself and his money. Devoid of emotion, Golgo's life is predominated by violence and sex. Golgo's latest mission is to terminate Mr. Robert Dawson, the son of a wealthy oil-business baron, Leonard Dawson. With just a single bullet, Golgo 13 has successfully accomplished this task. Meanwhile, Mr. Leonard Dawson, understandably aggravated with the death of his only son, has vowed to terminate this assassin once and for all. Leonard Dawson is usually use to `getting what he wants,' but this entrepreneur does not realize what a formidable foe Golgo 13 might be...

Desperate, Leonard Dawson has hired a number of professional mercenaries and agencies to assist him in tracking and eliminating his loose cannon. Along the way, Dawson has employed a ruthless, cold-blooded killer named `Snake' to personally make sure that Golgo 13 suffer a violent and painful demise...

However, Golgo 13 always manages to be ahead of the game. Whenever danger strikes, this elusive hitman always succeeds in escaping with his life. He is quick, agile, and intuitive, but consequently, he is a man with little sentiment...

Golgo 13 is constantly on the run from the menacing villains of every color. Will Golgo 13 be able to save his own skin...or will he truly meet his match with a professional adversary?

THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 is certainly an adult-oriented tale. This is an extremely sickening film, with grotesque deaths being shown in explicit detail second by second. The color red tends to literally predominate the screen at times. Typical of the Japanese animation style is also the gratuitous use of frontal female nudity, especially since virtually every female in this movie removes her clothes at least once during the film's duration. Indeed, as shown by the abundance of sanguinary violence, soft-core sex scenes (Golgo's love-making scene with `Cindy' is particularly steamy.) and unclothed females, THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 is animation made strictly for mature audiences.

It would be unfair to dismiss THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 just because of its excessive violence and nudity. Unlike most films of this caliber, what is admiring about this movie is that though it is full of sex and violence, it does not let those two qualities overshadow the film's technical and also rather profound attributes. First, the technical accomplishments in this movie are plentiful. The camerawork and editing are stylishly done. They often shift from the use of freeze frames to slow motion sequences to split screen features. The animation too, is marvelous; the use of different colors and lighting effects are utilized to the first degree in order to symbolize a certain character's behavior such as pleasure or anger. As well, the computer generated action scenes near the end are themselves a masterfully created piece of work. THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 contains some of the best artwork and details of a modern animated feature.

THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 is also a trenchant character study. This movie shows the mental anguish and vulnerability in the human soul, as demonstrated by the erratic behavior Leonard Dawson displays. THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 spares no punches as it illustrates that human misery does not only affect the individual himself; it could also affect his loved ones just as sharply. This motion picture shows as well how an obsession with revenge will leave a person devastated even more deeply. It is a very sad movie indeed, but this movie dares you to actually show sorrow for many of the characters involved in the predicament...

What makes THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 even more remarkable is the film's diversely outrageous cast of characters. They range from the sick and bizarre lunatic, `Snake,' to the deformed twins `Gold' and `Silver,' and then, to the sexy, lascivious lady, `Cindy.' The breakthrough character sketches in this movie (plus the state-of-the-art animation) make the viewer believe that instead of watching a lame cartoon, he/she is experiencing an actual feature presentation. THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 is truly `number one...with a bullet.'

Overall, THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 is a unique experience. Unlike most superficial, one-dimensional cartoon presentations, THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 is a realistic (albeit still an animated feature) film that is rather plaintive, bleak, and depressing. At the same time though, THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 will leave you breathless as the amazing action and gritty visuals will keep you addicted for more excitement. The animation especially, is notably conceived. THE PROFESSIONAL: GOLGO 13 is a destined cult hit in the making. Though this is an animated film, the spellbinding plot, assured direction, plus the three dimensional characters and strong themes help give this motion picture a potently authentic quality. There are more than enough plot twists to keep you enthralled even after the denouncement. Plus, a powerful subtext (amongst many) about how the letting of one's emotions cloud his/her thoughts can easily cripple one's life forever will keep the viewer suitably mesmerized. This is a film that will leave you contemplating about how delicate the human soul really is...

If you are looking for a near perfect thriller, then search no further.

RATING: ***1/2 out of ****.

I don't think hitman stories are overused. "Golgo 13" is the reason why I think this now. This movie was cool. It's interesting how people can make an animated movie, and treat it like a movie with real actors. Cartoons were never supposed to be like this. I was impressed. The action scenes were thrilling, it had great characters, and it was well acted too. The drama was actually strong in this movie. We focus on the father of this one person Golgo 13 killed, (It's not the whole movie. We focus on Golgo 13 too.) and it's strong. We see how bent on revenge he is, and it shows that your not just watching this for violence. If you like Japanese anime, then you'll like this one.