Rage of Honor

this Shô Kosugi movie is better than his previous movie,Pray for Death.at least i think it is.the acting is better,there's more of a story,and the fight sequences are much better.this one is also faster paced.and there's a bit of intrigue,which Pray for Death didn't have.it doesn't have any slow moments.of course it still has the usual two dimensional characters,and it's still not his best movie,but it's definitely watchable.i would watch it again.it's still a revenge flick at it's core though,as most of Shô Kosugi's movies are.but it should keep you entertained for just over ninety minutes,especially if you're a Shô Kosugi fan.for me,Rage of Honor is a 6/10

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.

Please do not confuse this title with RAGE AND HONOR starring Cynthia Rothrock. This martial arts / action film is still not pumped up to the limit, but it did deliver some occasional surprises. Our Asian action man, Tanaka, can fist-fight and use a gun simultaneously. Not only that, he also carries a wide arsenal of weapons including ninja stars and bombs, all of which makes this worth an evening rental. Even more, he does about a couple of cool action stunts that rival (but not as good as) Jackie Chan once in a while. It's a fairly solid 80s actioner because of these features. Let me warn you, though. This movie is kind of lame and it won't hold your interest after one viewing. Solid choreography carries RAGE OF HONOR above the average mark.

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.

A Japanese cop, Shiro (Sho Kosugi), and his partner Ray are after a bunch of drug dealers. But they are betrayed by an insider and Ray is killed. Shiro follows the murderer, a sadistic drug lord, up to Singapore.

This is director Gordon Hessler's follow-up to "Pray for Death" (1985), also starring Sho Kosugi. The general consensus seems to be that the best Hessler-Kosugi team-up was "Pray for Death", but I respectfully disagree. I feel they stepped it up a notch or two for "Rage of Honor", and I really appreciate the James Bond-as-a-ninja theme.

Some people may take issue with Hessler's direction. Cool A** Cinema notes, "Unfortunately, the action sequences suffer the same fate as most American martial arts pictures of the day. There's very few master shots and far too many close ups." That point is well taken, but for those looking for an action film rather than a martial arts film, this may not be easily noticeable. No one should be expecting Bruce Lee.

The Arrow Video blu-ray is not packed with extras, but is far from bare bones and does include a brand new interview with star Sho Kosugi on "Rage of Honor" and the later stages of his film career. We also have an interview with Stelvio Cipriani, the film's composer. The first pressing includes a collector s booklet featuring new writing on the film and an extract from Kosugi's upcoming book. And, of course, you are getting the film in high definition, looking far crisper and cleaner than we ever got in the glory days of VHS -- you can actually see the individual drops of splashing water.