Review: Sonny Chiba is probably be going to know best for his role in The Street Fighter. I mean, yeah, he kicks ass in other movies...but not to the degree that he does in this one. Originally given an X-rating in its initial run in America in the '70s because of its unapologetic use of gore, The Street Fighter is what it is: a very entertaining exploitation flick. The Street Fighter walks a fine line between cartoon-ish violence and Bruce Lee-esque fight sequences.
Let me first this say--the character of Terry Tsurugi wasn't thought out very well. He's a complete bastard in the beginning of the movie who sells some chick into prostitution and cares only about becoming stronger, but then he's going to protect the one woman he was trying to kidnap before and all of a sudden develops an honor system? What's with the sudden change of heart? Didn't make much sense to me, but whatever, as long as it leads to a climax where Sonny Chiba is pummeling a ton of guys, I'm happy.
Then there was his annoying sidekick Ratnose, who for some strange reason managed to survive almost the entire film. Holy crap was he pathetic, begging Terry in a very questionable manner (it's not the end of the world, dude).
The only other main character I can really yap about is Junjou, who managed to kick ass in his respective role despite getting little time on screen. Who knew such a skinny guy with an orange ascot could be so imposing?
Obviously, the makers of the movie weren't focused on plot or characters here. In fact, you'll be scratching your head halfway into the movie saying "wait, what the hell just happened?" It's basically an endless supply of random action sequences that put Terry in a hopeless situation.
He fights a karate dojo of students, fights some blind swordsman, battles his way through a ship full of unarmed gangsters, and much more! The Street Fighter moves at a frantic pace and doesn't slow down on the action or gore for very long.
The fights themselves are kept on a realistic level for most of the time. Believeable karate and such, but then Sonny Chiba starts to "redistribute his chi" by taking in absurdly deep breaths and then smashing his opponent's skull, making him spit out a pint of blood.
He knocks ten teeth out of one guy, tears on Junjou's throat, and even tears off some guys testicles. Maybe it's unrealistic, but I'll be damned if it isn't fun to watch. The movie increases in violence towards the end where Terry is spilling blood left and right.
If you dig your gore and fighting, then you'll in all likelihood be pleased with The Street Fighter. Fights are frequent and kept interesting while at the same time satisfying gorehounds. However, it doesn't totally satisfy. Sure it's fun, but the film never has any real grounding in the storyline.
I mean, why even bother explaining it a little if you're just going to chuck it all out the window? Why is Terry such a cold-hearted bastard in one scene and honorable in the next? What was the point of the flashback to Terry's childhood?
And why even bother telling us that the yakuza are working for the mafia? That doesn't make an goddamn sense. Storyline and characters aside, I don't really have any complaints. The Street Fighter was made for the sole purpose of those that enjoy their martial arts mayhem, and on that level it succeeds. It has many cool and bloody fight sequences and a really badass Sonny Chiba as the lead. How can you go wrong with that?
If you like your mindless martial arts exploitation flicks and don't care if it has the IQ of a rock, then you're in for a good time and should see The Street Fighter. This is the essential Sonny Chiba, for all Chiba fans out there, so you can't call yourself a real fan until you've seen this one. However, if you're looking along the lines of something like Enter The Dragon, then you're probably going to feel a little disappointed with this one at its lack of characterizations and non-existent plotline.
But when everything's said and done, I say The Street Fighter is an entertaining super '70s karate movie with a lot of gore to boot. Plus I'd like to thank the makers of this film for coming up with one of the greatest taglines every to be put on a movie cover. "If you've got to fight...fight dirty!" How true.