Zero Woman 2

This movie begins with 2 men and a woman forcibly taking a briefcase full of stock certificates from a courier inside an underground garage. As it so happens, a special agent for the Japanese government known as Zero Division, attempts to retake the briefcase but the thieves manage to get away. In the process the agent, "Rei" (Natsuki Ozawa) also has to kill the courier in self-defense. After informing a colleague of the incident the two of them set out to track down the thieves and recover the briefcase. The problem is that there are interpersonal relationships among both sides which complicate matters even further. Additionally, not all of the characters involved have the same agenda as everyone else. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this turned out to be an interesting film which was essentially based on an earlier movie titled "Zero Woman-Red Handcuffs" produced 21 years earlier. So in that respect the movie is a sequel of sorts even though the main character is played by another actress. Be that as it may, this film has plenty of action which includes more than a few scenarios involving violence along with several scenes of a sexual nature. For that reason this movie is clearly not suitable for minors. In any case, while not necessarily a great movie, it was still somewhat entertaining and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Zero Woman 2 is one of the most thrilling pieces of erotic action cinema that I have ever seen. Though the production is extremely low budget, you must give director Daisuke Gotoh for pulling off an extraordinary film an an incredibly low budget. The film's plot concerns a young assassin named Rei(played by the gorgeous Natsuki Ozawa). Ozawa plays her part with an expert tough-girl image and a raw sexuality. Some of the highlights include a scene where our buxom heroine is drugged and taken advantage of by an evil butcher and an intense bullet removal scene that will have you biting your knuckles! If you're in the mood for a violent, sexy, dark action flick done Hong-Kong style, then Zero Woman 2 is the film you want.

The star is very attractive and that made me tolerate the bad points of the film. So for those looking for something other than T&A and soft core scenes don't look here. The lead is in almost all the scenes save for one where the kidnapped wife gets drugged/raped. For the rest here's a brief summary:

• shower scene. Being a cop means you have to get clean. Very clean. - scene where she is drugged by a butcher. He proceeds to fondle and disrobe her and she seems to acquiesce before regaining her senses just in time to skewer him with a meat hook. - scene where a colleague picks her up and of course, she must shower again. Coming out of the shower she welcomes him with open arms... and legs - a scene where that same colleague must tie her up, gag her and then extract a bullet from her inner thigh. The symbolism is quite apparent; this is a very sexualized 'operation'

I kinda liked this movie. The heroine took her top off so many times that I thought she was Rene Russo for a while, but I managed to cope with those sequences. This movie might turn people off due to several rape sequences. These are not stylishly done and almost amount to a fetish. It's a Japanese thing...I wouldn't understand.

The plot is simple. As with most Japanese movies, the acting is sometimes over the top. Considering what looked like a low budget, it looked surprisingly good. The effects that they did pull off were respectable.

So, if you wanna kill ninety minutes and look at a skinny Japanese woman's breasts, this is the movie for you...

In her second cinematic adventure, Rei (played this time by Natsuki Ozawa) is looking for 10 millions worth of stock certificates that were stolen by a trio of Chinese crooks (two guys and a girl). She is assigned a new police partner, who turns out to have his own agenda: he plans to find the certificates himself and sell them to the Yakuza. Massive bloodshed ensues.

More violent and more exploitative than its predecessor, "Zero Woman 2" also boasts a higher body count and an increased quotient of martial arts, thanks to the presence of Kane Kosugi (the son of Sho). Natsuki Ozawa is not as attractive as the first Zero Woman Naoko Iijima, but she's still pretty and adequately athletic. The main problem with this film is the same as with the original: the extremely slow pacing that can really numb your senses at times. In that respect, the second half of "Zero Woman 2" is better than the first. But the whole film feels longer than it is. (**)