|
Review by
Calvin
McMillin: |
1974's The Street Fighter
introduced audiences to a tough-as-nails Japanese mercenary named
Takuma "Terry" Tsurugi (Sonny Chiba). With its over-the-top
violence and charismatic lead actor, the film proved popular enough
to spawn two official sequels in the same year and earn a devoted
cult following upon its U.S. release (with Quentin Tarantino as
one of its most famous fans). Though most sequels tend to be inferior
to the originals, the Street Fighter series is one of the
rare exceptions where each succeeding film improves upon the last—at
least in terms of entertainment value, but not necessarily in
terms of plot.
Whether a person would agree with
such a claim could probably be measured by how they react to the
film's snappy pre-credit sequence. During these scenes, the hero's
face remains hidden behind a Mission:Impossible-style human
mask he wears. After saving a mobster during this sequence, the
grateful man asks Tsurugi to identify himself. In a gloriously
cheesy moment, Terry rips off his latex disguise, flashes a winning
smile, and quips, "Terry Tsurugi's my name, but some people
call me the Street Fighter!" The film suddenly freeze-frames
on Chiba's toothy grin as the title card appears, accompanied
by the film's funky Lalo Schifrin-inspired theme song! If you
find that sort of overt goofball campiness endearing then this
movie's definitely for you.
The paper-thin plot of The Street
Fighter's Last Revenge centers on the frantic search for an
elusive heroin formula. Complicating matters, the secret recipe
is hidden on two tapes that must be played simultaneously in order
to be understood. An elderly Yakuza boss named Owata and a crooked
District Attorney are both vying for the tapes with our man Tsurugi
caught right in the middle. Of course, the tapes change hands
numerous times during the the film, and Tsurugi meets a couple
of femme fatales along the way. The definite bad girl of the film
is the mob boss's sexpot sister Aya, who'll do just about anything
(or anyone) to achieve her villainous aims. In contrast, the "bad
girl with the heart of gold" award goes to Sue Shiomi's unnamed
character, a Mandarin jacket-garbed spitfire who works for the
crooked D.A., but secretly wishes to be on the side of good. However,
her good girl status doesn't extend to her vocabulary; at one
point, she says, "What I'd like to do right now is cut your
goddamn balls off and then send them to you for a birthday present!"
Such is the madcap world of The Street Fighter's Last Revenge.
The wacky hijinks continue as Tsurugi
faces off with the film's main antagonist, the evil District Attorney.
Before their duel at an abandoned amusement park, the not-so intimidating
D.A. begins a hilarious warm-up exercise that involves some absurd
chicken-dance movements and some unnecessarily heavy breathing.
Despite the sheer silliness of his repertoire, the D.A. is able
to knock Tsurugi into a pool and get away.
In keeping with the series' roots, Tsurugi
seeks answers about his foe's perplexing kata at the dojo of diminutive
sensei (and series regular) Masaoka (Masafumi Suzuki). Tsurugi
then demonstrates the bizarre style to Masaoka with unintentionally
comic results. And just like he does in the two films prior to
this one, Tsurugi slips into an obligatory flashback to his father's
WWII-era death in order to gather his strength. Naturally, many
more asses get kicked for the remainder of the picture, which
concludes on a literally explosive, yet surprisingly poignant
note.
While the film may lack the shock
value of the original Street Fighter, it more than makes
up for it by polishing up the Terry Tsurugi character. Just as
Goldfinger, the third film in the 007 canon, solidified
all the well-known trademarks of the James Bond persona, so too
does this second sequel demonstrate the further evolution of Terry
Tsurugi. Here, Tsurugi is no longer the oafish caveman he once
was, but is instead now a far more likeable, but still deadly,
protagonist. In many ways, Tsurugi is very much a James Bond-type
figure in this film, at one point even donning a white tux to
rendezvous with Aya. But then again, Tsurugi isn't exactly a Bond
clone. I don't seem to remember 007 ever dressing up as a vampire
in public. Yes, that really happens in this movie. And no, it
really doesn't have any logical connection to the plot.
As if having Tsurugi sport vampire
fangs in a dancehall wasn't zany enough, the movie goes on to
introduce the evil Mr. Black, a monstrous Mexican strongman who
can break chains with his bare hands. Oh, and he also shoots lasers
from his sleeves. And did I mention he's wearing a matador outfit
and a HUGE sombrero? It's those little absurdities that make The
Street Fighter's Last Revenge all the more enjoyable. It's
got loads of sex and violence, tons of unintentional comedy, and
a thumping seventies era soundtrack. In short, it's a definite
camp classic. (Calvin McMillin, 2003)
|
|
