Zero Woman 2

Zero woman is supposed to about this elite supercop but she gets caught by the bad guys very often . She's supposed to be an excellent shot but she can't even hit the side of bus if it were in front of her. The action scenes are a joke. The acting, what acting? I can't believe any one would compare this to a John Woo film. The budget must've been someone's lunch money. This looks more like a student film than a professional production. It is pretty sad that in order to hold the viewers attention, the main female character has to constantly disrobe and flash her boobs. Zero woman, Zero plot, Zero points.

This low budget, shot on video, erotic thriller is little more than an excuse to get model/actress Natsuki Ozawa naked in a variety of sleazy situations. The film attempts to combine the sexual charms of Ms. Ozawa with woefully inadequate action sequences, made even worse by the fact that she doesn't seem comfortable or convincing while handling a gun. Martial artist Kane Kosugi (remember him from those early 80's Sho Kosugi ninja flicks?) is the only one in the group who can throw a decent kick, but even he can't salvage the poorly realized action scenes. In its defense, the film is a step above similar Andy Sidaris get naked action fare in style, tone, and content, and is passable as a late night sexploitation romp. However, if you're looking for something more, don't bother with it. Additionally, don't let the American marketing of this popular Japanese series mislead you - this film was originally released in Japan as the second film in the series, "Zero Woman 2".

What is the popularity with this film series? I really need it explained to me. Yes, there is a nice noir-ish bleakness to the film; yes, the leading lady is very attractive and is often nude, but that's it. No compelling story telling, limp action scenes and lapses in logic dominate most of the running time.

The story concerns some heist stuff being foiled by the "elite" (it's hard to say that with out laughing) Zero division, the field operative being the sultry Zero woman. Seedy criminal world types, sexual miscreants and good cop/bad cop characters show of from time to time, but you will have lost interest in the story long before in comes to a close.

The main draw card here is the hot and willing lead actress, who seems to have no qualms stripping down. Even when she is dressed she looks like she will come undone at any moment. Ergo, sex appeal is what the film makers are trying to hook you with. However, you can only see the same woman strip down so many times before it begins to lose it's luster.

The action scenes should balance this out, but they are so terribly unexciting. Fights are amateurish, shoot-outs are lamely filmed, and chase scenes...wait, what chase scenes? Let's also not forget that despite her super elite training she regularly gets beat down by damn near everyone and couldn't shoot her way out of a paper bag.

Male fantasy subject matter aside, this is a pretty forgettable effort.

4/10

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. (**)

In all honesty, there's not much to dislike about this movie. The heroine is very beautiful and she takes every opportunity to remove her clothes (for the most part, they're so skimpy that it's a wonder they stay on at all). The John Woo-style action is clearly sabotaged by low production values, but for the most part is pretty good- the action scenes are slick, visually striking and well-paced. The only times the movie really falters is at the very end, when it suddenly becomes very, very bleak, and when the pacing bogs down in the middle section. As usual, the writers figured out how to come up with dynamite scenes at the beginning and at the climax, but the material they bookend is slow and clearly not given much thought. However, if you're a genre fan, the good stuff just might outweigh the not-so-good stuff. Make up your own mind.