Satsujin ken 2

Sony Chiba returns as the assassin for hire to take on a whole bunch of new villains. Satsujin Ken 2/The Return of the Streetfighter(1974) continues the adventures of Martial Arts master, Takuma Tsurugi. Begins with an excellent fight with the Police that ends in Tsurugi jumping out a window after silencing a witness for a client. He completes the job by killing off an accountant who betrayed the mob. Not as good as The Streetfighter(1974) and with less of the good/bad persona that made the first film an enjoyable film to watch. The Return of the Streetfighter(1974) is best viewed in its full uncut glory. The arch enemy from the first film returns to continue his quest for vengeance against Tsurugi. There are three outstanding set pieces in the flick. One, the fight against the masters of different Martial arts. Two, Tsurugi against a group of people in a health place. Three, the final battle between Tsurugi and the mob's goons.

Well, against the ostensible general tide of opinion I must say that I wasn't a particularly huge fan of the original film that this follows. In fact, for me at least, the only saving grace it boasted was in its violent excesses – the majority of which were saved until the final third of its running time. From reading many of the other reviews on this site, it furthermore seems indicative that the exact said graphic violence is the principle reason that most other reviewers have awarded the flick such lofty marks.

Interestingly and conversely, this sequel actually tones down the blood letting somewhat and apparently as a result didn't hold quite as much appeal it would seem. Well, that's what I'm assuming at least.

From my own perspective however, whilst this sequel is indeed bereft of much of the old red stuff a flying, I would say that it actually surpasses the original in pure entertainment value by far. The martial arts sequences are far superior this time around including some rather nifty Kobudo weapons displays throughout. Also Sonny Chiba is on much better form here to – just check out the awesome sequence near the start of the film in which our protagonist allows himself to be taken to a police station in order to silence a witness. He makes his escape by kicking the bars out through the wall and leaping through the subsequent hole from a few stories up!

Another scene of amazing note involves our hero punching some poor chap so hard in the back of the head that his eyeballs literally pop out!!! (some great utilisation of ping-pong balls there!) It's also great to see the return of a supposedly deceased character from the first flick who returns here with the intention of exacting his revenge upon our hero.

To be quite honest, there's only one negative I can think of in this flick and that is the ill advised inclusion of Chiba's 'side-kick' (the first film also suffered the indignity of including one to!) who in this instance is a veritably annoying chick boasting ridiculous looking pig tails and who furthermore, has a rather unfortunate propensity for warbling along to crappy music (badly at that!)

Aside from this minor gripe though, overall, this proves to be a tremendously entertaining affair throughout and is well worth tracking down!

Sonny Chiba is back with those funny faces. I am still never sure if he is a good guy or a bad guy. He seems to switch sides at will. One thing is certain; he does not have the honor of Bruce Lee - he's in it for the money.

I really don't see the point in the karate lessons or the weapons naming (sai, nunchuka, kon, etc) , or all that brick breaking.

This time, he has a new sidekick - a girl with some fantastic outfits.

The fighting in the film appears to be pretty realistic. Chiba seems to bleed as much as his opponents. He has a really cool step there that has some cool sounds when he is on your ribs.

The crushing-blood-on-the-face blow is a real gore-fest. The eye popping scene is going to make you laugh. No rapists in this film; so we don't see any more castration, but we do have a Bond girl of sorts who has evil on her mind.

If you like the action, then there is plenty for all.

(1975) The Return Of Street Fighter DUBBED MARTIAL ARTS ACTION

The second of three Street Fighter movies from Japan starring karate actor Sonnny Chiba, as he plays Terry paid to kill some people just in case they leaked any information about the syndicate's illegal practices, which has something to do with harassing clients for the construction of buildings. As soon as they ask Terry to kill one of his respected masters, he declines and the syndicate then try to kill him next. Although, this set up has been done many times before, it is only the backdrop to showcase the gory violence Terry and foes inflict on each other. This movie also includes characters from the first movie as well as old enemies.

In this sequel to The Streetfighter, released the same year, it's much more of the same for bad-ass martial-artist-for-hire Tsurugi (Sonny Chiba), only much less plot. Of what there is, the film focuses on a fake charity organisation used to embezzle money for the mob and see good folks out of their hard-earned money. Tsurugi is still p****d at the mob from the first film, so he doesn't take too kindly to this revelation. The mob sends waves of bad guys after him, and he kicks their arses. Also returning is Masashi Ishibashi as the presumed-dead Tateki, only minus a throat and plus an artificial voice-box.

I must admit I remember very little of this film apart from a lot of thoroughly enjoyable action sequences in which Chiba is never under any threat. I thought this was because I'd drank quite a lot of brandy, but it is because the film genuinely contains little else. Saying that, I still enjoyed the 70 minutes of carnage. It doesn't come near to the original, in which Tsurugi is much more despicable character, but I suppose they were aiming at a wider audience with this sequel. Which is probably why the gore factor, something that was so lovable about the first film, is noticeably toned down. It still has a scene where Tsurugi knocks someone's eyes out with a blow to the back of the head, so not all is lost. An easy 70 minutes, and mixes very well with spirits.

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