Golgo 13: Il professionista

This anime adaptation of Takao Saito's long-running manga classic is one of my all-time favorite action movies, animated or otherwise, and I'm at a loss to explain why so many dyed-in-the-wool anime junkies despise it (cruise the internet and you'll see what I mean).

Duke Togo is the world's greatest assassin-for-hire, better known as "Golgo 13," and if you're on his list you might as well dig the hole because there is no way, repeat, NO WAY you will elude him. Once he's hired, it's your ass. Togo's adventures take him across the globe, and his skills with weaponry, hand-to-hand combat, and damned near anything else a human being could master are constantly put to hair-raising tests. Though lacking in actual meta-human superpowers, Togo could nonetheless be considered a superman, so with that in mind it's seldom in doubt that he'll come out on top in any given situation, so the suspense lies in seeing just how the hell he's going to pull off the often impossible assignments he chooses to accept. All of this information is old news to readers of the venerable manga series, but it's given the most cursory noting in the feature, seen briefly in a C.I.A. transcript at the film's beginning, but it's vital to suspending one's disbelief and once past that we're immediately thrust into Togo's violent world.

Gazillionaire industrialist Leonard Dawson throws a birthday party for his son, Leonard Jr., aboard his private cruise ship, a lavish ceremony in which he names his son heir and successor to his empire, but Dawson's elation is shattered when his son is surgically shot through the forehead with but a single bullet, killing him instantly. The assassin: Duke Togo. The senior Dawson, now nearly insane with grief, launches an all-out war against Golgo 13, employing the most vicious and lethal professionals that his bottomless coffers can procure, including horrific ex-military sociopaths, crooked intelligence officials, and an unspeakably terrifying monster of a man who rightly goes by the moniker "Snake," all while Togo hops the globe carrying out other "jobs." Togo must stay one step ahead of his assailants, each as hard as he is, and figure out how to survive one Christ Almighty perfect storm of graphic violence. And there also lurks the mystery that spurs the plot: exactly who wanted the junior Dawson murdered, and why?

Loaded with more action than most films have any right to possess, Golgo 13 is a breathless kick in the ass that fans of old school James Bond and other such espionage will simply eat up. I first saw it on an untranslated VHS tape in 1986 and I've been a staunch supporter ever since, sharing it with as many people as I can convince to give it a chance despite its reputation as a bomb. I think it may come off a tame when compared to the later excesses in Japanese animation, such as post-apocalyptic slug-fest filled with showering viscera, city- leveling psychic children and titanic robots, female ninjas with poisonous naughty bits, and the ever-popular spectacle of sailor-suited schoolgirls having their every orifice explored by the tentacles and other bits of demonic rapists just before they explode in a torrent of offal and demonic DNA, but Golgo 13 has all of them beat for sheer quality entertainment that even your parents might dig.

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 ****.

James Bond served Japanese-style. Not much character development of Golgo 13, just a suave assassin who enjoys the pleasures of women. Just look at his face during the coupling scenes and you see that his blood runs ice-cold. There is much humour, and many ridiculous killers, from Snake to Silver & Gold. The narrative telling the background story of Silver & Gold is priceless and worth the viewing of this film just for that scene. I am talking about the 2 guys dropped into the jungle without food or weapons for 30 days and they both killed a whole army of guys.

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.

The baddest professional asassain I've ever seen! Good anime flick. The main character, golgo 13 is a character so stoic, so stonefaced, that he hardly cracks even a hint of emotion even when in the act of having hot sex. There's a good deal of that in the movie, and it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the plot, but that's the standard bug about most anime movies I've seen. Oh well, the kiddos should get a good thrill out of it anyway. The action is intense! This guy is an amazing shot, with either his modified M 16 or his revolver. My favorite scene is when he goes head to head with Snake (a repulsive, toothless villain who uses bladed yo-yos to kill his victims. I'm not making this up,) in an elevator. The final brawl he had with the twin killers Silver and Gold was cool too, but given how much they hyped up the two characters beforehand, I frankly expected them to put up more of a fight. Anyway, it's a great anime flick.