Sadly Over-hyped

recommended

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Playing down the ultra-violence that made the first two STREET FIGHTER films so memorable, this third and final addition to the movie trilogy is still entertaining for a number of reasons. Firstly, it's less serious than the previous two entries, and less concerned with gritty realism. Instead the film-makers decide to let the audience have a darned good time by upping the camp value and making the film work on a number of levels. Secondly, the film is chock-full of martial arts action which, whilst nowhere near the violence level of previous adventures, still packs a lethal punch in its depiction of Sonny Chiba going about his business of crushing the bad guys to death.The plot is basically a piece of fluff, something about a couple of video tapes which keep falling into the wrong hands. There are loads of double-crosses, traps, and endless nudity from main starlet "Cathy". The action scenes are dynamic and in full force. Only the vestiges of the brutal street art remain in Chiba's battles; instead he seems more graceful, intent on sweeping his enemies before him with long kicks and amazing sweeps. Thus the battles are exciting, brutal, and fast-paced and never disappoint the viewer. Full points for inclusion of the bizarre Mexican character who attacks with a laser (!) and who gets cremated for his efforts to kill Chiba! The Chiba-man is on top form despite some very poor dubbing in the US and the supporting cast adequately fill their roles. It's just a shame that the dubbing means that everybody sounds the same, making many of the double-crosses and twists rather confusing to a western audience. Still the film is primarily a piece of spectacle that concentrates on offering non-stop action and this it does with finesse. Chiba has transformed from a hard-bitten mercenary to an almost top-secret super spy, who uses endless rubber masks to outwit his opponents and who has a secret lair with sliding doors and the like. Despite the differences, the cheesy flashback to the death of Chiba's father is present one final time, and the finger-snapping popular score from the first film is back once more, slightly different but definitely put into overdrive this time. Action fans should seek this one out immediately as a great deal of fun. Chiba's last appearance as Tsurugi was in SISTER STREET FIGHTER, a spin-off movie.

The third Sonny Chiba film about the Tsurugi Takuza character continues the trend towards a more sympathetic hero and a less violent/gory film. As such, although it probably has the best story of the three, it's by far the least entertaining. There's virtually none of the gruesome brutality of the original, and Tsurugi is a much less complex and ambiguous man, played with less animal intensity by Chiba. I guess they didn't understand what made the first film so special? There's generally less action in the film, and the fight scenes feel a bit lacklustre when they do occur. Chiba still busts out some cool moves and there are some impressively long takes, but it feels a bit like they want to get the fights out of the way so they can focus on the story (rather than vice versa, as it should have been :p). Etsuko Shiomi returns as a new character who shows some promise, but she's mostly wasted. I hope the SISTER STREET FIGHTER spin off films in which she stars are better.Maybe 3 STREET FIGHTER films in as many nights is just too much Chiba for me... but more likely, 3 STREET FIGHTER films in one year was just too much Chiba for Chiba and director Shigehiro Ozawa. It's not a bad film in its own right, but it's certainly disappointing when compared to the original. Oh well, c'est la vie :)EDIT: from reading the other reviews on IMDb it's clear that the English dubbed version of the film RADICALLY changes the story... the tape and the plot have nothing to do with heroin! Further evidence that dubbed films should be avoided at all costs!

If you love THE STREET FIGHTER (and you probably do if you looked up this entry) don't even bother with this final entry in the series. This one sucks out loud, and has only one decent fight scene which lasts for about a minute. Our hero now has taken on a more "MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE"-type persona since he now is a master of disguise (???). Skip this.

Japan had its Bruce Lee craze just like everywhere else in the early seventies and Sonny Chiba was their answer to Bruce Lee. Along with the vicious action scenes there were some typically Japanese acts of misogyny which seem pretty bizarre to Western audiences when it's the "hero" doing it (When was the last time you saw Chuck Norris or Jackie Chan sell a woman off to a slave ring because she couldn't afford to pay for getting her brother out of jail?). STREET FIGHTER'S LAST REVENGE is somewhat tamer than the first entries into the series. This time around Chiba is more of a James Bond kinda character, donning rubber masks and vampire fangs(!) and is mixed up in a plot involving cassettes with top secret information. There's also some Gong Show-type freak (Who you see a lot of on Japanese TV) who can break chains (He actually uses a laser) who's heard to kill Chiba (Yeah, right!). Along with the awful dubbing there's also the same black and white footage where Chiba, as a kid, sees his father executed to the Chinese which turns up in all the STREET FIGHTER movies.