darrenmurray84

I had been looking somewhat forward to the Vigilante Diaries after reading some interviews with the writer and star Paul Sloan. His enthusiasm for the movie had me intrigued.

The first thing that stands out from the movie is the excellent technical quality of the film. The production values of the movie definitely make Vigilante Diaries stick out from the DTV crowd. The bullet and blood effects are, although digital, done well and give the action a bloody, gritty feel.

The film is also shot in a number of location's, which is not usually seen in a DTV action movie. They travel to Russia, Glasgow, London and others. I ma assuming that Sloan and Sesma done this with their own money, to give the film an international feel. Unfortunately a lot of these scenes are not required and drag the film out. Although it was nice to see places like Glasgow in an American action movie It seems they were used just because the actor/director had the opportunity to visit these places.

Sloan as the Vigilante of the title, equips himself well as the lead. I don't think he will ever be a leading man, but is great at action, and I will look at the rest of his career with interest. Michael Jai White also shows up in a limited role, but does get a chance to show off some moves. Rampage Jackson is also good, in what is actually quite a humorous role. Of the leads, the only bum note is Jason Mewes, who is cringe worthy in some scenes, and wouldn't have been missed if he was cut from the film altogether.

As mentioned before, Director Sesma does a great job with the technical aspects of the film, and the action scenes are great. Unfortunately the film should have been edited down. Although the movie only runs to 105 minutes, it feels much longer due to some unneeded scenes. I feel bad complaining about a DTV movie being over ambitious considering some of the garbage that currently floods the market. At least I can say that it is miles better than some of the recent Steven Segal films and their like.

I would definitely recommend Vigilante Diaries to action fans, and would have given it a higher score if it wasn't for a few elements which bring it down a bit. Hopefully with Sesma's next film he will get everything right.

This was the film that made Chiba an international star, and is also famous as being the first film in America to be given an X certificate due to its violent content and not for sex or swearing.

There is very little plot in the film. Luckily there is some excellent action along the way which makes up for any of the plots shortcomings. Chiba is excellent and proves once again that he is one of the best martial arts stars ever. Here he plays Takama Tsuguri, the Streetfighter of the title. He isn't you'r usual kind of hero, and in any other film he would be probably classed as a villain. The film begins with Tsuguri being hired to break out a convict from prison which he does with extremely violent results. Afterwards he is double crossed by the family. Most people would get their revenge by just beating them up, not Tsuguri. Instead he beats up the convicts brother and sells the sister into prostitution, and this is the hero of the movie.

What lies ahead of this are a number of increasingly violent action scenes culminating in an excellent fight on board a giant tanker fighting the main villains henchman until he comes face to face once again with the convict that he freed at the beginning of the film.

Direction in the movie is basic, other than a use of an x-ray shot that shows broken bones, which was utilised to better effect years later in the Jet Li movie "Romeo Must Die". Also there are no performances of note other than Chiba, and even then he is known more for his fighting skills than his thespian ones.

It is no surprise that this film made Chiba a star as he is definitely in a class of his own. His popularity in America was also due to the death of Bruce Lee and audience's wanted to fill the void left by him. Personally I prefer Chiba to Bruce Lee. He may not be as skilled as a Martial Artist, but just seems more deadly on screen than Lee was. Even in its dubbed and re-edited form, the Streetfighter is still a great Martial Arts movie.