Golgo 13: Assegnazione Kowloon

Also known as Golgo 13: Operation Kowloon,(US title) this is a perfect example of a grindhouse cinema Yakuza movie. Before John Woo there were these Yakuza movies. Films that merge the fetish of a slasher film with sex, guns and ammo. Gritty noir that has all of detective work of Chinatown with none of the charm or depth. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it just means that it's a different more lowbrow but equally watchable form of entertainment. Another American example would be Charles Bronson's "The Mechanic" from 1972.

As the relentless killer Golgo 13, a hitman that NEVER leaves a job unfinished, Sonny Chiba delivers what I would dare say the most hardboiled of it's time hitman movie. Devoid of mercy and full of bullet holes this movie takes out all of it's aggression on it's viewer with a rapid fire delivery of the plot and action sequences that flow together as if it's own style of dialog.

A perfect starter film for anyone interested in grindhouse and kung-fu style movies. Movies like Leon, Kill Bill, Ichi The Killer and later John Woo's The Killer all tip a hat to Chiba's work in this film.

The charismatic Sonny Chiba is most impressive in this kick ass action movie that flits from Hong Kong to Miami and from Tokyo to Kyoto.

We flit from enemy to enemy as well in a slightly confusing tale of drug dealers, hit men and the Hong Kong police, not forgetting the Peruvian ambassador and his daughter!

How much we follow the slender plot matters not, as long as we miss none of the mister super cool Sony Chiba action.

All fast moving and spirited stuff with martial arts, shoot outs and assassinations.

Spirited.

Ever watch a movie that wasn't in your native tongue to start but has been so badly dubbed you can't tell if the movie bites or the dubbing? This is one of those movies. Sure I've seen plenty of bad sword and sandal films and martial arts flicks but this films dubbing so so hideous that I'm wondering what planet the dubbing director was on. Its all the bad 70's dub voices but in this film they are put to particularly bad use...

The horror, the horror...

I honestly can't rate the film because the dub is so bad its not fair to even try....

If you look into Golgo 13 film adaptions, you're more likely to encounter the anime 'The Professional: Golgo 13' produced in the 80's. But little would you know that there were unfamiliar live action films beforehand. This film is what I'd call 'the familiar of the unfamiliar'.

This film came part of 'Sonny Chiba Collection Vol. 2'; a three-disc boxset consisting of Chiba's roles outside the popular Street Fighter films (not to be confused with the videogames) which I found one day (probably better than the three films on Vol. 1). What caught my attention was finding him portray Golgo 13. Having read an English translated first volume manga compiled with two stories of Golgo 13 beforehand, I was interested to watch.

If I could compare this film to the structure of the manga, I'd say it's done a good job. You don't see the title-role most of the time until he attempts an objective at the right time just like the manga. It probably makes sense for who he is; he's an assassin with an unknown past, unknown origin, etc. He's a master at sniping, he won't shake hands, and he only meets contact with the hirer once, unless something goes wrong with the objective.

Sonny Chiba, if I had to match the image of the role he plays, was probably the perfect role for Golgo 13. He has the strong eyebrows, the charisma, and the attitude like the character.

The story's great as well. Rather than follow the same familiar structure of 'waiting for the villain to get assassinated' from the manga, the film takes a bit of a different approach. That, I won't spoil for anyone.

The only downer I'd probably give, is the Japanese dubbing on gaijin (foreigners). It's fine with the Chinese actors, but with the Americans, it looks cheesy and unrealistic in a way. Sure, a foreigner could pick up the language with the accent too, but there's probably a hard chance on the rest to handle that reliably. But despite that, it shouldn't be such a big deal to be taken on.

Overall, in my opinion, you'll probably like this film if you've read the manga at least once. I dunno if those unfamiliar with the series will be glued to their seats for the entire picture, but I think the ol' Chiba action in parts would keep them entertained. Well, maybe. Give it a try at least. It's a stylish 70's flick from Japan to enjoy.

Going into Assignment Kowloon, I was half expecting to see a campy 70s chop-socky interpretation which capitalised more on the success and fame of Sonny Chiba to earn a quick buck. But as it turns out, this is not only a damn fine representation of its source material but a damn fine movie in its own right. Golgo 13 seemingly had two of the best pieces of castings regarding live-action because Sonny Chiba is as much a dead-ringer as Ken Takakura was just for different reasons. Chiba's Golgo is much less human than Takakura's with a stone-faced expression that never leaves his face but makes exceptional use of his skills as a martial artist and stunt performer in some very grounded fight sequences and impressively daring stunt work. Director Yukio Noda makes excellent use of the film's variety of locations, from Hong Kong to Miami back to Japan, and although the film does stutter at first (most notably with some poor editing) it quickly finds its feet and maintains a very stylish atmosphere that simply oozes coolness throughout.